Well, went to have a new master cylinder put on today, and after my mechanic drove the car to make sure everything was right (he's quite meticulous) he came back ,and...had to put the window down to open the door from the outside. Sigh..... so....is it likely a broken rod? Could just come loose without something breaking??? the handle still moves normally...never had this happen before, not sure what to do, short of taking the door panel off (and have only done that on cars with manual windows, this car has power windows/locks) thanks!
It's usually just the clip falls off the rod. It's even easier on power window/locks car. No window crank handle to remove. Pull panel off and disconnect electrical connectors or just leave it attached and corner on the ground. There's probably a plastic water shield to peel out of the way. Follow the rod from the inner door handle to the latch and if you're lucky, the clip just popped off, or maybe broke. They sell clip assortments at the parts store in the Dorman section. Pop the old one, new one on, reassemble door and you're good to go. Some screws/clips on the door panel may be hidden, so don't go pulling really hard on it and break something.
Well sadly, it wasn't something simple....not even sure what you call it, but "loop, Donut hole" on interior door latch broke. Pot metal, so can't be welded back together either Heard this was an issue with 70's mid sized GM cars? One person told my Dad that these were rivited in, so having been bolted in place meant it had happened before, but I wonder if they were thinking power window motors? Looked stock to me. And while my car is a power window/DL car, I kinda wish it wasn't, at least right now.... it's been decades since I took a interior panel off, but pretty easy with a 69 Impala, and even a 73 Caprice, to lube up the tracks....this panel seemed like it had never been off. I looked for any videos that might help online, but saw only the guy with tons of 78 and up midsized videos. He did talk about how brittle the lower panels can be, and can break, so I was extra careful. It is in two pieces (screws are hidden under top part, near the bottom, if that makes sense I think 3 of them) Took a exterior trim removal tool I had (for some reason) and a large blade screwdriver (used at the same time)to pop off some of those plastic clips....guess it was 40 + years of never being taken off before.... had a heck of a time getting the PW switch off the panel, and putting back on the wires now dangling so I can put window up and down as I scramble to find a junkyard that might have one....just hope they are bolted on.... not much luck on the web, lots of RH handles for sale....kinda amazed some company doesn't make a replacement one...Thought I would upload some pics in case someone else with little experience doing this could find where screws were, etc. Those covers over the strap also did NOT want to come off, was really afraid I was going to break them off. Last pic was me holding the broken in 2 "ring" that the long door latch rod goes through. .
You MAY be surprised if you go to a dealer. They are the same for many GM cars. If they don't have it they MAY be able to find something through their network.
