hello, well I have collected alot of door handles for my 7. and I finish them all...Why? Koz they keep freaken breaking. I enter tru the trunk a couple of times. people laugh at me. hehe. anyways should I just shave my handles and just get door poppers?

 

how unlucky....my passenger side was the only one that broke...i just didnt bother to fix it at all...

 

Still have the handles? They can be *repaired*. Search for a thread by J-RAT and door handles.

 

It sounds like you're a bit too rough with the handle. Be a tad more gentle.

 

Buy a good one instead of getting used ones with 2% of their useable life left when you install them.

Buy new.

 

Yeah, I just did my wifes vert last night with the good old safety wire trick.. Works everytime.

 

I can vouch for the safety wire trick. J-Rat did the trick on my door handle about 6 months ago and its still held up. I do lock my door with the key though, I don't hold up the handle, just to be safe.

 

I almost did the J-RAT safety wire, but instead did what they do in aircraft repairs. I made a *double* and riveted it to the broken part with 1/8" pull rivets. The doubler is just a piece of sheet metal cut the width of the broken part and you lay it on top of the broken part. Drill a couple of 1/8" holes above and below the break. Holes go through the doubler and the broken part. Pull the rivets and your almost home free.

The problem with this method is the broken part moves through fixed slots in the handle assy and you have to widen those slots for the double to pass through the slots. I used a rotary file. The removed material is not visible once done.

I added five minute epoxy b/t the broken part and the doubler to hold it in place while drilling and pulling the rivets.

 

I think the J-RAT door handle fix should be put in the archieve, and so do dozens of others.

 

I was using .020 safety wire, but I think it flexes too much so I am stepping up to .032.

Far as the archive, PM your favorite mod!

 

My door handle does not work again. I took it out. The doubler is just fine and the rest of the handle is fine, it's the piece of plastic that threads on the rod that broke in pieces. It's that plastic piece that fits in the door handle.

Sooooooo. I've a block of aluminum, a band saw, Dremel motor, files.........and I'm going to make a metal one. And it'll have a cotter key on the nipple that fits thru the hole on the handle.

 

bg

 

hey man, that "tit" piece that goes through, your going to put the cotter pin through that, right?

 

easy $ 1.99 fix any ford dealer will have it my 90 explorer has the same piece

 

Oh well, I made one but from threaded rod stock instead. It works fine. It seems the next thing to fail will be that plastic clasp that holds the OTHER rod to the handle.

The bolt in the last picture represents the long threaded rod that the *nipple* screws on to.

My post makes no sense to anyone who has not removed and replaced the door handle several times.