How do you repair the door handle on a Chevy Astro?

Answer 1

outside handles are riveted on. you need to drill out the rivets. you also need a rivet gun to re-install it.

REVISION: This may be on some ASTRO models, but I've never come across one with this. Most are bolted from inside the door. You simply remove the inner door panel (you may need to purchase some new plastic fasteners, as some of these will break as you pry the door panel off (most auto parts places carry them, they are fairly generic). Then, unbolt the remaining part of your broken door handle assembly and disconnect linkage and install the new one in its place. Reattach the inner door panel and you're done. The door handles on an Astro are one of the "weak links" of this vehicle. I've replaced all of them on all 3 Astro's that I've owned. The handles are readily available from a dealer (or cheaper aftermarket available on the web).

also to make it easier do not clip the lock mechanism on until it is fully installed and everything else is hooked up then get someone to turn the key while you hook up the bar and clip it makes it easier to get your hands around in there to hook up the rest of the linkage and bolts done 2 like this-easy done one the other way ouch

MY EXPERIENCE:

You will most certainly break the plastic inner door panel when removing it, there is almost no way around this. The removable fasteners are almost un-breakable and do not come off easily. What will break easily is the plastic door panel and the plastic grommet that receives the fastener so your inner panel will end up mounted only by hanging on the window ledge and by the few remaining plastic fastener mounts you didn't break - expect the inner panel to fit poorly and flop around after this job.

From the outside, the bolts that hold on the handle look like rivets but from the inside, they are threaded bolts with nuts. The lower bolt's nut can be accessed from a hole on the edge of the door frame after popping off the black plastic stopper. The upper bolt's nut is nearly impossible to access and very difficult to remove, let alone re-fasten. (Save the nuts from the original handle as the new replacement handle does not come with nuts) To make it more complicated - the upper nut requires a 7/16 wrench and the lower, a 10mm socket.

The little rod that activates the handle on the inside, pops off too easily and may break the little plastic clip that barely holds on the rod. You'll have an angry time with this little bugger.

After half a day of scraping your knuckes and cussing a lot you may be able to fit everything into place and bolt th handle back on but I guarantee you it will fit poorly and the little acuator rod will rub on the window guide so that you have to yank tha handle pretty hard to open the door. This is how my original handle shattered into pieces in the first place.

I spent some time with a wooden rod and a hammer trying to wack to window guide out of the way enough to prevent the rubbing but still the door handle does not work right.

This is a nightmare of a job. If you have the $500 or more - pay someone who knows how to do this.

or, you could try this:

I've done this a couple of times to my 1997 astro, and have learned a couple of things. IF you're not worried about appearances. take a jig saw and cut a u shaped notch in the side (not the outside or inside, the actual side of the door where the latch is). Line up the cut so that the U covers the area where the upper nut is located. I also "expanded" the hole on the bottom that's covered by the plug by doing the same thing there. After cutting the notches, bend the metal up and out of the way. You can now get a wrench on the top nut, and a socket on the bottom one . This will let you remove the outside handle without even removing the door panel. Then you replace the handle, but, as mentioned earlier, do NOT put the lock rod in until you mount the handle. Hold the handle in the open position, and put the tab end in first, otherwise you'll fight it all day. After the bolts on the new handle are tightened, use a flexible magnetic probe to put the latch rod through the bushing. Stick the probe UP through the lower hole, rest the bottom of the J of the lock rod on it, rotate it to line it up, and carefully start the lock rod through the bushing. Once it catches, carefully remove the magnet, insert a flat screwdriver through the same hole, and pop the rod through the bushing. Then bend the U cuts back into place, and you're done. Note that I've found that the silver part (where the rod attaches) does not open as far as it should on some aftermarket latches. These will quit working only a month or two after installation. To make them work longer, bend this part of the latch (you may need to carefully heat it) so that full open is about 1/4 inch further down. Be careful not to melt the bushing that holds the rod in if you do-these are impossible to find, so you'll end up spending another thirty bucks on another new latch. Also, my van is white, so I just covered the "u" cuts with a short piece of white reflective tape....improves safety and covers the hole until I need to open it again. Cutting these notches turns a two hour job into twenty minutes. Just be careful if you have power accessories, I'd pull the door panel first so I could be sure to avoid any wiring.