98 Driver side Door handle broke

alleycat

alleycat

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The outside door handle broke and I have a new one ordered. Now if someone will please tell me how to remove the door panel without tearing it up, you will be much appreciated. Also any advice on R&R the handle.
 
There's a screw around the light at the bottom & I think there's one under the power window switches too. Remove the inside handle trim & just pick up on the door. Then you unplug a gazillion wire harnesses. Now getting that new door handle in is a real B!tch, you can get the old one out in about an hour, there's 2 bolts on the inside of the handle & 1 or 2 smaller ones holding your keyless entry buttons to it. Maaco charged me $90 to install mine painted & it was well worth it to me.
 
Went through this a week ago.
Spent about 6 hours in the cold, and the replacement handle still doesn't even work right.
One of the worst jobs I ever had to do on my car.
If I could go back and just pay someone $90 I'd do it in a heartbeat.
 
the last one I did only took 35min start to finish that was passenger side
drivers side took 45min
 
i did the drivers side in about 4 hours. I should have saved myself the skinned knuckles and paid somebody else to do it.
 
I already had a painted drivers door handle ready to go when one of the springs broke. Paid a guy $80 that normally repairs stuck windows. Took him about twice as long as he figured to replace it.
Updated handle is much better, more solid.
 
I recommend going to a u-pull-it junkyard and pulling a couple of them. It makes it a lot easier when the first couple times you do it, you don't care about scratching anything up. I can replace them fairly quick now that I've removed 30-40 of them.

Last time I was at the junkyard, I had a friend with me who also does quite a bit of automotive work. He started on one door handle while I started on the other. I had my door handle off and out by the time he got the door panel off! lol.
 
they are a little tricky. The two bolts are the easy part. Its the twisting and turning of the handle to get it out without scratching something that sucks. IF I remember correct you can take the window track out of the way, which makes getting to the handle easier. It should have one bolt in it at the bottom then pull straight down. To put it back in there is a small clip at the top that holds it to the top track on the door.
 
Don't forget about that corny counter weight, didn't really figure out what that did. You could also carve away a little sheet metal to make getting in there easier. If you have anything bigger than a drinking straw for a forearm working on the back inside of our doors is tight
 
Thanks to all who replied. I'm a stubborn ol coot, so with your tips in mind I am going to take this project on. I'll post back with the results if the new handle ever gets here.
 
i thought it was funny, when i was working at the dealership the body shop manager would bring me every markviii handle they did, he could never get the new handle in and all the springs on right without scratching all the new paint off ;)
 
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