Chevy & GMC Vans

Hope yall can stop laughing...

Interior AND exterior door handles broken on our 2000 Astro passenger door.

Looking for options. So far we've considered pulling the passenger seat out, in an attempt to gain better access to the door panel, disassemble what we can of the panel & literally tear apart what needs to be moved in order to access the door latch rod.

Or, is this a lost cause & we'd be just as well off using a can opener on the outside door skin?

Any and all responses appreciated. Helpful responses particularly appreciated :-)

So far we've considered pulling the passenger seat out, in an attempt to gain better access to the door panel, disassemble what we can of the panel & literally tear apart what needs to be moved in order to access the door latch rod.

Stop thinking and get to work. You'll want to have a long handle pry bar to reach in side the panel. If you pull the drivers side first it will help you locate the pins you need to reach on the passenger. Maybe you can find a picture online?

Edit--- Alternate plan would be get a new exterior door handle so you can use that as a guide to drill out the broken one and reach in with long nose pliers.

Edit #2---- Bo and Luke Duke plan,,,
use the window!!!

good luck!

Sound advice, all the way around. Appreciate the reply!

After multiple back surgeries and being medically handicapable for ~16 years, I do as much online research as possible prior to expending what little physical effort I have available. Thus the post. Standing on the shoulders of giants, and all. Yall are the giants in this case!

Plus, eventually someone else may have a similar problem and do similar research...in which case I hope the replies here may help them as well.

That being said...it's about time to stop thinking and get to work!! Thanks again. I'll update afterwards :-)

Hi there,

Yes, if possible go to Pic. Your Part and disassemble a passenger door. Carefully observe how it is done and take pictures with your cell phone.

AP

you should be able to drill the heads off the bolts on the outside door handle. then pull it out and grab the rod and pull up to open the door.

Astrohauler...another *excellent* suggestion. Sincere thanks.

Kidhauler...again, another *excellent suggestion. Again, sincere thanks.

I have bad enough back issues and (enter myriad excuses and/or reasons here), so I know everyone can empathize with me for not getting to it yet. I will...and I'll post the method used, and include any hints for folks who may one day come across this thread looking for a better answer than using a can opener on the outside door skin ;-)

Again, most sincere thanks for the responses. :-)

#-o Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I found the root cause of the handle breakage: Unfortunately, General Motors committed an execution flaw in the very latch assemblies of the M-body cab doors. Not enough meat on the release pawls to allow for wear. Early 2019, I replaced the outside driver-door handle on my 1997 M11006 as a precaution, only to break it within two weeks. In my case, the interior handles of both cab doors work, but the outside helper door handle won't trip the release, either. Applies to both the driver door (GM 16602475) and the helper door (GM 16602474). I'd like to get my hands on GM 16631626 and 16631627 to see whether the flaws in 16602474 and 16602475 have been corrected.