Step 1: Door Latch Nightmares

This is kind of a unconventional way of doing this Instructable. My drivers side door latch broke and i could not latch my door. This job is not hard, but it is very tedious. I didn't take the pictures to build an Instructable but when reviewing them I realized i had some data to share in case you ever have this problem.

The car in the pics is a 97 Chev Monte Carlo. Drivers side.

When doing this, I found to see inside the sheet metal hull of the door was only possible via camera.

You're dealing with a 4 lever / 2 servo latch assembly.

The 2 horizontal rods cannot be unhooked by any normal person at the latch, you are forced to disconnect at the inside door controls once you've removed the outside panel.

There are also 2 vertical control rods we'll discuss in a minute.

Step 2: Trying My Patience.

By this point, you've removed the door panel, unhooked the inside controls.

You're ready to remove the outside mount screws for latch. You'll need a torx set. I used a 'key' set to twist out. Careful to use the right size. They appear to be easy to strip out the teeth. Understand that the removal direction of the latch is going to be with the horizontal control rods attached. You'll be going down and need to twist out the window runner a little to the inside to clear around the rods.

Step 3: Evil Is in Your Future.

You're ready to remove the outside controls.

You'll need to remove the clip for the lock, pull the lock out.

Once you get the lock a little outside you can maneuver the upper section of that control rod off the lock, leaving it connected below. And now proceed to the little black evil lock on the next control rod. I've previously gave you what i can describe on how to pop that lock off the threaded end. Its a pain the ass. If you can get eyes on it, look at that orientation of the black plastic retainer clip. It can spin, so there is no telling what orientation it will have for you. If you can get a close up of the lock it will make your life easier.

Step 4: 1/2 Pack of Cigs Down and Its Out.

The first time and hopefully last time you'll need to do this is a aggravating job. This assembly appears to be common on a lot of GM cars in the mid/late 90's. While i had it apart i also replaced a couple of bezel pieces and the window motor and lift assembly. I should have taken pics of that too. But like I said, i didnt plan on making this. But i think its handy because I didn't find much info on doing this job. I believe the Lumina and Grand Prix's also has the same assembly.

If you have a question, please ask. I'll try to keep an eye on this.