In my service manual for the '94 Civic it shows that the rod from the
actuator is connected to the outer door handle through some sort of
plug. It says to use a flat blade screw driver to pry this plug out of
the door handle. There is a UK service manual for the '95 Civic on line
at www.honda.co.uk/owner/civicmanual. Check page 20-7 at
http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/civicmanual/pdf/20-2.pdf. Here it says to
use diagonal cutters to pry out the plug. Your '96 may be different.

D McClintock wrote:
>
> In trying to remove the power lock actuator from the drivers door on
> my son's '96 Civic coupe, I was unable to detach the rod linking the
> exterior door handle from the actuator assembly. I was able to detach
> the other rods with little problem.
>
> It appears that this rod should detach at the handle side, not the
> actuator side. However, I was unable to find a clip or retainer that
> would allow me to remove the rod. I removed the (2) 10mm bolts
> holding the door handle/keylock assembly but was unable to pull the
> assembly out (hoping that it would provide a clue to detaching the
> rod) as it appears the keylock assembly is still attached to the
> backing plate. Removing the E-clip and lever from the rear of the
> keylock still did not allow the keylock / door handle assembly to be
> pulled out.
>
> Any clues or hints would be appreciated.