changing out door handles:

[Mr. iNCREDIBLE]

How-To:
changing out door handles...

I did this a little under a year ago so lets hope I remember all the steps:
first I don't recall all the tool sizes needed so if anyone is doing this in the near future please PM me for corrections.

As I recall:
tools needed:
Phillips Screw driver,
Flat head screw driver, (small)
6mm or 7mm socket (I don't remember)
couple of socket swivels and extensions
door panel removal tool
T-20 (or T-25) Torx Bit

to start remove the door panels..
push in the clips slightly, don't force them and don't push hard or they will drop inside the door.
I have found using a small flat head screw driver and pushing at a slight angle works best:

with the center tab in slightly, you can now use a door panel removal tool to pop out the clip/rivet

next remove the 6 phillips screws in the panel:




ok now the fun part:
removing the handles is pretty easy, but getting to the bolts can be a little tough for those with large hands.
looking inside the door, you will see a clip (all different colors, mine was purple on the front doors and white on the rear, I've seen blue, yellow, red... Chrysler quality control... :shrug
DO NOT PULL THE CLIP OFF, it is hidged, simply pop it up and swing it away from the lock bar..
if you break it, they are $2.00 to replace, but a Pain to get too and without them the lock bar can slide out of it's slot and it WILL vibrate in the door causing a lot of annoying sounds in the car..

remove this clip by simply pulling up with your fingers. it is the clip that holds the lock bar to the handle. then pull the lock bar arm out of the slot that it is in, within the handle.
there are 2 lock bars, one for the pull up lock and one for the handle to release the striker bolt..


next using the socket wrench extensions and 6mm (or 7mm I forget) socket remove the 3 screws that hold the handle to the door:
2 of the bolts can be seen in between the lock bars here:

the other is on the opposite side where the handle latches to the door frame


reverse this to put the new handle on..

the back doors are a little trickier..
first you have to move the lock mechanism to get to the bolts because of the curve of the door..
if you don't do this step correctly you can jam the child locks and not be able to open the door from the inside..
double check everything before putting the door panel back on.
remove these three Torx screws


slide the lock down about 1 inch
you have 3 lock bars on the rear doors, the handle, the lock and the child latch:



you need to pop the clip and remove the bar from the lock same as the front door.

use these access holes to get to the bolts and remove them (same 3 as the front doors)



put your door panels back together AFTER testing that all your handles are working correctly..

also when installing the handles, verify the alignment BEFORE tightening the bolts.. .