There was no inner panel to remove. You could remove the 2 10mm nuts attaching the door handle, but that is not needed. A friend told me that you could remove the bolts holding the door latch assembly and moved it enough to release electrical connector.
Reallynot that hard, where are you located? I dont mind helping if your close by.
You must have a different model, as I have already completed the repair and had to go through all the steps outlined. In case it wasn't clear, I have an 08(JK) Wrangler Unlimited Sahara edition.
The door panels are in two pieces, an inner and outer. The outer is the side that faces the interior and is held in place by two screws, a torx screw(behind the interior door release) and several snap rivets holding it on to the inner panel.
The inner panel seals the actual door opening and functions as a base for all the inner door hardware and components, e.g. window motor, regulator, door lock mechanism, etc. and is held on by 6+/- 10mm screws.
You can't access the lock connector without removing the inner door panel from the door.
You can't get the inner door panel off of the door without removing the glass from the regulator and the bolts(3, and one nut) which hold the lock mechanism to the door.
You can't release the window from the regulator without cutting out two covers from the inner door panel.
You absolutely can't separate the regulator from the inner door panel as an alternate approach as it is screwed on to the inner door panel from the inside of the door.
This ain't my first rodeo, yet I still had to have a mechanic friend walk me through the steps over the phone to keep me from breaking something else out of frustration. I'd include pictures, but I'm not going through this work again until the strap breaks again. And hopefully, I'll be in a Pentastar equipped model before that time! Thanks for the help, though.
