Ford Windstar 1998 Sliding Door Panel Removal

[squigle2]

Please help! I need to remove the sliding door panel on my 1998 windstar (it's manual) to see why the door won't open from the outside. I removed the inside handle without a problem and I even see the clips referred to in the manual I bought. However, I don't see any reference to the yellow things that resemble plastic drywall hangers that apparently keep the panel attached to the frame.

Any ideas on why the outside handle won't work? It seems loose. If I tug (and I mean tug) on it it will open, but it's getting harder and harder and I'm confident it will stop working in the near future. The inside handle works fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[fcrew]

Once you have any visible screws removed along with the inside handle, you will need an upolstry tool on thin flat screw driver and slip it between the panal and the metal frame and gently pry the panal away from the door. The yellow clips have many little "arms" that hold the panal onto the door. Sounds like your outside handle has either disengaged from the rod that connects it to the lock or might be broken.