Door Latch Assembly

I have a GE Advantium/micorwave oven. It is the model that has the hinges on the side, NOT the bottom. First, removing the door is necessary. The grill has to be removed first, then the door lifts right out. Next the plastic backing on the door has to be very carfully taken off to expose where the new latch has to be placed. Use a flat screw driver or putty knife to go around the permiter releasing the internal, unseen, plastic catches that hold it on. This should be done carefully, to avoid breaking the catches that you can't see. After the plastic is mostly removed putting in the spring is not too difficult, but a second set of hands is almost manditory.

Easy as pie!
1. Remove the 2 outer screws holding the top vent in place and remove the vent (it helps to have the door open)
2. Lift the door up, pull the top of the door away from the hinge and then list it up a little more to clear the bottom hinge.
3. Lay the door on the counter and with a putty knife, work your way around the perimeter of the door between the door and the inside bezel. The bezel is held in place with little tabs spaced evenly around the perimeter.
4. Once the bezel is off, the catch assembly is accessible. List it up against the spring pressure, and push it towards the outside of the door to release it from the frame.
5. Reverse procedure to install.

the door lifts off two pins after you remove the top piece. I broke the choke cover prying it off. It has little plastic things that hold the cover on. I popped it off from the outside. I think you may not break the clips if you go from the inside on the top an bottom. There are 3 on the top and 3 on the bottom about 4 inches in and in the center. The sides come off real easy. Even breaking the choke cover it was still almost $200 cheaper than the repair man.

Actually, the procedure is very straight forward. Take off top facia vent, (this will give you better door revoval clearance. Two scews on top) Open door 90 Degrees and lift door straight up and off the stems.
The removal of the plastic shield on inside of door is easy, use caution not to break plastic tangs. The steel insert is a little tricky . There are small phillip head screws,(6) that need to come out after you again carefully remove the steel frame. There are a couple of ways to remove. I used wooden paint paddles to make opening large enough to release the plastic clips. Also once the clips are starting to spread, break off a piece of paddle to keep
a small distance open as you go down line.
The plastic latch pawl is very easy. Watch the position of spring attachment. Have fun, Use Diagram to orient your progress. Don't be dissappointed if you break a few plastic tangs. GE micro handles are notorious to break off.

first I had to remove a plastic cover on the back of the door to get to the thing your instructions said where to start. I figured out how to do that myself. Taking this cover off was difficult because I was afraid I was going to break it. After I got the cover off I noticed that most of the plastic clips that held it on were so crysalized ( I guess from the continued heat exposure) that the broke off. After removing a few screws I now was able to do what your instructions told me to how to remove this door plate. Again just some pastic clip held it in place. I could not unlatch these clips and remove this cover because you had to hold about 3 or 4 different clips apart at the same time and just myself couldn't do that by myself. So eventually I had to get some help with another person to hold all these clipps apart at the same time to get this plate off. After we got this off it was easy to change the door latch and put back together. So not knowing how to do this and your instructions not able to tell me everything I needed to know, I turned a 15-20 minute job into about 2 hours.

I removed the choke cover using a small screw driver. Be very careful when removing cover or you risk the possibility of breaking the ketch clips that hold it into place (which I did). After removing the choke cover the latch/spring assembly easily removed by sliding the latch up and then out.

First I removed the inside of the door using a putty knife and loosening the edges. I removed the old latch by- (1) lifting up and sliding both the top and the bottom out of the door (2) pulling out the bottom part and (3) using a small plastic fork to push the spring off of the top part (paying close attention to how it was already sitting in the microwave). It required a little twisting (not much) and it came out.

I put the new spring on the new piece on the hook part. Then I put the new spring on the oven (where the old spring had been). I stretched the latch up and put the top slot back in and then with a little (very little) pressure I popped the bottom back in.

just snaped it to gather

This was easier than I had expected. Many of the instructions involved removing the door. I decided to skip this when I found a Youtube video showing that the latch replacement required little disassembly. Here are my steps #1 Open door completely and, if needed, have someone steady it. #2 Using a thin plastic putty knife, gently pry off the plastic fascia from the inside of the door. Try to break as few of the plastic retaining tabs as possible (my total was about 10). #3 Slide the old latch upward and outward towards the outside edge of the door with your putty knife. #4 Remove the old latch and spring. #5 Attach the new spring to the latch and hook it to the retainer on the door. #6 Lift the new latch into place, it will drop into the slots with no or little persuasion. #7 reinstall fascia. #8 "nuke" last night's pizza ;)

followed instructions posted on line.very good service .parts arrived in a speedy manner and were a perfect fit.