How to Remove Driver's Side Interior Door Panel to replace handle

My husband bought a new handle for his '97 Chevy 4X4 (I think it's a Silverado? Z71?) and doesn't know how to get the door panel off to even start the attempt of replacing the handle. He DID buy the handle though! Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Michelle

Reply to
MichellenJoe
Loading thread data ...

Just replaced the handle on my '98 2 weeks ago... you'll have to remove the inside door panel completely including the inner panel to get to the inside bolt holding the handle on.

Remove the 2 screws on the inside door handle rest. At the bottom and around the lower half of the panel itself use a putty knife to pop out the plastic holding pins. (for lack of a better word) Lift from the bottom of the panel to remove it off of the window frame edge. If it has PW and DL you'll have to disconnect that mess too before you can completely remove the panel. You'll then see an interior panel (mine was black) with a bunch of small bolt around the edges, remove these so you can gain access to that inside door handle bolt. Remove it, be careful not to drop it inside the door! (Do not totally remove this inside panel, for one thing it holds the track for the window and would be VERY hard to reinstall)

The outside bolt that holds the handle can be removed from the outside edge of the door. Disconnect the "rods" to the keylock tumbler and remove the handle assembly outwards. A word of caution... use some masking tape around the perimeter of the door handle assembly where it meets the side body panel so you don't scratch the paint while trying to remove and replacing the new one.. The hardest part for me was to get the key tumbler to properly "snap" into the new handle assembly. Reverse the steps to install the new handle.

Good luck... took me about 2 hours.

Reply to
Home

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.