dcw1

I have a 2002 Civic LX, 4 door, manual transmission. One day while unlocking the driver side door with the key, the lock cylinder came loose and pushed into the door panel. In other words, the key didn't stop when inserted and it bumped into the cylinder.

I took the door panel off and was able to remove the lock cylinder. From other posts and videos it seems there is supposed to be a U-shaped clip holding in the cylinder. That was missing when I removed the panel and cylinder. I have searched "inside" the door panel but it is very tight at the bottom and I have been unable to find it. It may be down there but I just can't see or find it.

I am going to order a new lock cylinder as the "cover" (for lack of a better word) where the keys enters the cylinder from the outside is gone also. The existing cylinder has a gaping hole for the key as opposed to a thin slot.

My questions are:

Is there anything else holding the lock cylinder in place besides the U-shaped clip?

Do I need to take off the door handle to get the new lock cylinder back in or the U-shaped clip to fit properly?

Any thoughts or help is appreciated. Thx.