Hi Guys,
I recently stumbled on a way to remove the rear door locks without removing the rear quarter glass.
Tape up the door handle and remove all the necessary trims and fixings. Remove the rubber grommet by pushing it towards the rear of the door (see white arrow in photo) Push both ends of the grommet and remove it altogether, it just pops out, try not to drop it but if you do there is plenty of room in the bottom of the door to recover it. The door handle will be easier to move into the inner door.
Push the door handle upwards and towards the rear of the door (see red arrow in photo) and the lock starts to fall downwards. Push the door handle cable upwards and towards the rear of the door and the lock will slide down behind the window guide. It is as easy as that.
To replace, Cable first, then door handle, push up behind window guide and allow the handle to rotate back into position, the lock will follow up and with very little effort can be moved into the correct position to replace the retaining screws. Refit the grommet. Job done.
Believe me this is very easy and takes no time at all. There is no need to remove the glass.

 

I did it the same way...works great... crucial to tape outside door handle like you said..used duct tape and no worries