OT--my OT for the week-Intrepid door latch

[Tom N MS]

2000 Dodge Intrepid--door handle inside quit working..have to reach outside to let myself out..lever inside is still spring loaded but just don"t release the door..rod I guess has dropped loose...How big of a monster is it to get inside to see what"s going on?? I see a couple of screws near the front of the panel and one push in plastic plug where the inside door lever is located..That"s all I see-I guess the rest is clips that all break when you pop em loose..Any thoughts? Experiences?? Tks

 

[souNdguy]

i'd see what I could get at from removing the interior panel from the door.

doing that on my gmc youkon let me reatach the rod and spring 9 clip fell off ), that was on a rear door.

PITA that most of the interior clips self destruct when yo do this.. even with a bod panel clip tool...

soundguy

 

[Too Tall]

Tom,
I've never done this repair on an Intrepid but I have done it on several Ram 1500 pickups and one Dodge 2500 van. In all cases the interior door handle had broken behind the door panel. I repaired the first one before realizing how inexpensive these parts are (on a pickup anyway).
A google search revealed these instructions for your car http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dodge-Repair-809/2008/5/2000-Dodge-Intrepid-door.htm
As SoundGuy said, the clips are likely to break so when you pull this apart, have a supply of spares.
Usually the removal takes me longer than the re-assembly and on the pickups anyway, this is an hour job with two beer breaks in the middle.
Hoppe this helps
TooTall[/img]

 

[Caryc]

Replaced the inside door handle on my sisters Olds Cutlass Sierra. Got a new handle on Ebay. The part that connects to the unlocking rod had broken.

About the hardest part will be getting the door panel off without damaging it. I got one of the tools from Pep Boys for pulling those press in nylon things that hold the panels on. It really does work better than jamming a screw driver in there.

Don't know what you'll run into once you get inside but the handle on hers was riveted to the door. I had to drill out the rivets. I used large pop rivets to put the new handle on and it worked fine.

Sometimes the hardest part will be figuring how things are connected when you only have a few inches to reach into while trying to get the panel off without screwing it up. I was lucky in that I had a factory repair manual that I purchased for doing other repairs on her car.

If you can get a factory manual before you start it might make things easier on you. As I said sometimes you can only feel things in back of that panel and can't really tell how they are connected.

Altogether with running to the hardware store to get some larger pop rivets, it took me about 2 1/2 hours.

 

[Tom N MS]

Thanks-just decided today I wasn"t going to mess with it..Took it to a local body shop..They said the handle is a dealer item-over $100 for just the plastic handle--total $183.00--I told em to order the handle so I can be done with it..Hadn"t spent a dime on the old car other than plugs, wires, belt, brakes and tires..a cheap, comfortable ride over all since 2000 when I bought it new..

 

[Tom N MS]

Yes, I got ripped a new one--they are on ebay for $16.49 and free shipping..I got in too big a hurry, but was not going to tackle it myself..