I replaced my door latch, so here are some observations and pictures for whoever can use them. This is a ’99 Marquis and seems to be a little different than Fred’s 2000 model. Thank you to all of you for your suggestions and information. After reinstalling my Schlage deadbolt assembly it worked perfectly again, so I did not replace it.
Here are some observations:
1- My door only has one latch. The interior handle, exterior handle and latch are fairly close together. The door was manufactured with a spot for a second latch, but the coach was produced with only one.
2- The connecting rods have no threads or adjustments. I didn’t need to adjust anything, but if you do, the only way to do it will be to modify the rods.
3- The post that the latch closes around is rigid on this coach. It does not float like many others apparently do.
4- The carpet on the door was secured with some type of rubberized adhesive to keep it from wrinkling (along with 6 screws). It peeled off easily. When putting it back, I used an aerosol craft adhesive that is meant to be either permanent or temporary, so it will be removable in the future. This seemed to work very well.
5- I lubricated the latch with spray lithium grease and it works better now than it ever has.
6- I had to remove the spring and activator from the new handle in order to get it into the cutout. The hole was cut with close tolerance. After putting the new handle in, you will reinstall the activator and spring.
7- The original handle is Trimark part number 030-0450. They don’t make this anymore. It has been replaced by Trimark 030-1450. The new handle is almost identical except for a more rounded design. It connected with the existing rods with no issue and completely covered the unpainted part on the outside of the door.