Outside Door Handle

I have a 1997 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab. The drivers door handle is broken. I tried JB Weld but there is not enough surface area to get a good hold. I found a replacement for $20.00. The question is: Does the inside of the door have to come off to replace it?

Thanks
Greg

Yup. I had my 96 at a garage once for an oil change and they busted the handle somehow. I think it was around $90 for the handle from the dealer , thankfully the garage paid for it AND changed it. There should be 2 or 3 bolts/nuts or screws holding it in place from the inside.

Unless they've changed the design a lot since 87, it's gonna be a fun job :banghead:

I broke mine on my 88 and there are two bolts that hold it on. One on the doorjam and the other inside of the door. The panel does have to come off. Good luck doing it. You have to think creatively to get it back on.

The panel does NOT have to come off. You can take the black vent loose on the jam of the door and get to the inside bolt of the handle. (window up) The outside can be taken loose from the jam.
I have done it this way twice and is a lot less work than taking loose the panel.

Well, I wanna know how Sivart was able to see wht he was doing when he went to put the new handle on. I work at a body shop and have some skills and all, but unless you have x-ray vision, I say youor gonna have to take the door panel off. You will have no problems getting that sucker off the vehicle but gettin the new one on is another story. I will admit that removing the black vent on the door jamb will give you the best access to the handle. But getting the rods in the right spots is definantley tricky!! Good luck with it.

BTW: yes its only 2 bolts (10mm)-one on door jamb, the other inside door. Might help to loosen the bolts for the latch to get the rods back in place. Tink thats what I ended up doing. Don't take them out though, just loosen them.

There is enough slack in all the rods to pull them up in the door handle hole to hook them up.
It is so much easier than pulling the door panel off.
Just trying to help out here like I have been helped in the past. I have no reason to lie.

Cool. I'll give it a try next time. I think I already had my door panels off when I did mine. I remember working on a couple of issues @ the same time which may have made it seem like a pain in the #$$.