Yesterday my door handle broke and it won't open from the outside, It only opens from the inside, what do you guys think is wrong with it ? I took the door panel off and everything looks normal, it's pretty hard to work on it because the inside of the door is in the way, anything response would help,!

Do I just need a new door handle or do you think something was disconnected ?

 

The doorhandle broke.

 

Yes. Should just need a new door handle. I've gotten mine from the junkyard up to this point but I think Mazdatrix still has them.

 

I think the exterior handle is poorly designed/engineered and it's cast from pot metal, so, inherently weak.
You may be tempted to "fix" it when you see where it broke but in my eight years on the forum I don't recall it being successfully done. Many have tried (myself included) but none seem to survive more than a month or so. My attempt lasted a week, I think.

Removing the handle is a fiddly, almost impossible to describe, exercise in holding your mouth just so and weaseling it out. Be careful of the plastic rod clips as they are old and brittle.

Oh, the fun you'll have.

 

I think I got six months out of a mix of JB weld and nails for braces one time. Then the JB weld broke along with the handle breaking in a different spot as well.

 

sigh, my passenger side needs a jb job, but I want to get it apart and look at it for possible better fixes. I tend to engineer a lot while keeping full function and form. It is my thing.

86 gxl white color code is WU in case you happen to need it........ ugh

 

you can re-engineer ****, but it will still be **** in the end.

wasn't there someone making these out of cast aluminum? wish he mass produced them, though stainless steel would be better. i'd rather add a couple pounds and have a sturdy part instead of a light shitty part.

if you really want to be bothered with it then you can create a splint by adding braces to either side, drilling through the leg and putting screws into it and epoxying over it all. quite simply how you would repair a complex broken leg fracture.

my driver door handle just gave up after 12 years owning the car, of course someone else was opening it because i know how to carefully open the door without stressing the handle...


i mean sure you probably could fix it but consider it temporary and is it worth it? maybe a quick fix but i wouldn't spend much time on it. the handle will break in many places and the pivots eventually wear out which causes the handle to drag on the paint and look like ***.

 

I tried fixing mine, same result.

replacing the door handle isn't that hard, worst part is massaging it out of the door to get the rods detached.

 

if its going in the trash i dunno why you guys are being so careful with the rod clips.

 

I didn't care about the rod clips, it's just really awkward pulling the handle out of the door to detach the rods.

I have the key cylinder light and I wish I knew where to get that teeny tiny *** bulb.

 

radio shack, 50 cent 12V LED. BLING!

 

I just finished replacing my door handle. 99.9% sure you'll see the same break when you remove yours. Don't waste your time trying to rig it back together, just look at the junk yards or classifieds for a replacement.

 

i've seen it break in many spots along that leg, that one is unrepairable without going above and beyond.

 

junkyard is out. The thing with mine, is it is going on a car with 35k original/paint. Ideally would get a WU color coded one in good shape in classifieds, as I am not sure I can color match a unit after prep. Mine is broke differently as well. there was a tiny braided wire sticking out of it when I got the car.

Eventually I will take it apart, but its on the passenger side, and I have no friends.

 

Bling!

I wish i would have thought of that...not sure if I feel like taking the door panel and door handle apart again to replace it. Maybe when my door lock actuator stops working again.

 

Looks like you're in luck. Mazdatrix has that door handle still. Not cheap though. Driver's side is NLA.

https://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.a...8-410C-FB01-WU

 

mazdatrix
new
color paint matched in the factory box
done

 

I got mine from mazdatrix. I think they just 3rd party it and get it from the dealer and then sell it to you for a margin.

Their margin isnt bad actually, its only about 10 cents on the dollar.

 

yea my door handle broke at the same spot as "No Love For Pistons" door handle broke. i got a new one from a friend and it works good as new, only took 30 minutes to take it out and put a new one in, this topic can be closed now if anyone wants to close it

 

Thanks for the link guys! I will do that.

 

Drilled holes either side, bent hanger wire into C, pressed it under the connecting rod armature and jb'd just to reduce play