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This is fresh in my mind, as I just replaced the lock cylinder on my driver's door and tried to fix the drooping handle.
The latch is easy to remove.
This is all done on the door, not the frame of the car)
With the door open, you'll see the large striker plate with the giant slotted screw heads. You can remove that or not, it's not necessary but may give you more room to work. Very close to that striker, you'll see two smaller screws that hold the lock mechanism to the door frame. Remove those.
Remove the cotter pin that holds the exterior door handle in place. You can see by the weatherstripping if you follow the door handle's path to the lock cylinder. This pin can be re-used and isn't bent on the other side. No worries about ruining it. Pull the handle out.
HEADS UP! I removed the door latch from the frame of the car at this time, so the door wouldn't accidentally lock itself if I pushed it closed.
Next pull back the weatherstripping just next to the lock cylinder itself, and you'll see a screw that holds the lock cylinder in place. Just back that screw out a bit.
Take the interior door card off. You have to depress the plastic plates behind the window crank and door handles and drive out a small pin. Kind of a pain in the buttocks. Carefully pull the door card off, trying to save as many metal clips as you can.
Now you'll see three screws holding the interior door handle mechanism to the door. Remove all of those.
Follow the bar from that interior door handle mechanism and you'll see where it passes through a small guide in the mid-door area, with 2 screws holding the guide in place. I just removed the lower one and loosened the top one on the guide. The bar can slide down out of this now.
I would push the lock cylinder out of the door now from the insde
Lastly, there is one more screw holding the lock mechanism in place on the interior door frame. Remove that.
Now you can pull the lock mechanism slightly into the door and then downward. I had to give mine a substantial tug or two to get it past the window channels.
The droopy door handle is not a result of missing or sagging springs. I replaced that spring and it still does it. After carefully examining the mechanism, it's from wear and general sloppyness in the mechanism itself after 50+ years of use. It can also be due to the rod of the exterior door handle being too short or even rounded-off a bit, causing it to droop. If you push the exterior door handle all the way in (against its internal return spring), you may find that the handle doesn't droop briefly. That's the case with mine.
I'm trying to build my rod up with JBWeld steelstick and will grind it into the proper shape after it cures a few days. There may also be a way to shim the lock mechanism, but I don't want to interfere with the mechanics of it.
The only real solution may be brand new lock mechanims and exterior door handles, but I'm not sure it's worth the $$ at this time unless I did a full-on resto of the car.
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