Broken outside door handles-both sides
02-02-03, 05:02 PM
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Broken outside door handles-both sides
I have a '94 and the outside door handles on both the passenger and driver's side are broken. The passenger side broke first. Oh well. But then 2 months later the driver's side broke. Crap. The outside handles are "floppy." They lift but do not actuate the unlatching mechanisms. Both inside handles/unlatch pieces work fine.
I undid the nuts on the back of the outside latches but could not see an obvious way to take everything apart. Do I need to take the whole door apart? What should I do? I understand this isn't an uncommon problem but could not find a fix posted anywhere on the net.
Regards,
Justin Wade
I undid the nuts on the back of the outside latches but could not see an obvious way to take everything apart. Do I need to take the whole door apart? What should I do? I understand this isn't an uncommon problem but could not find a fix posted anywhere on the net.
Regards,
Justin Wade
02-02-03, 05:54 PM
#2
well damn, both of them breaking is obviously bad. you would have to get in your car from the trunk. if they are floppy then i am guessing that is the handle that wore itself down like it did on my driver side. its a relatively expensive fix(i think 195/side give or take). it was 195 dealer price for the ddrivers atleast. i can get you employee for both pieces if you like. PM me we can chat. its really simple though. take off the plastic piece inside the car. then the two 10mm bolts. then take off the two platic pieces by twisting them(the ones that hold the door lock and handle bars in place). after that disconnect the power to the cylinder lock. take it all out. remove the cyclinder lock then replace with a new assembly. placec cylinder lock back in...etc. its pretty straight forward. hit me up, ill help you out when i can
kris
kris
02-02-03, 06:03 PM
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Both of mine are broken as well and I had to climb through the hatch. Check out Laujesse's (link below) website if all else fails. He sells used passenger side door handles.
http://laujesse.tripod.com/4jspec/id3.html
Good Luck.
http://laujesse.tripod.com/4jspec/id3.html
Good Luck.
02-02-03, 06:14 PM
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The same thing happened to me, except I fixed the driver's side before the passenger side broke 
I was able to take them apart and fix them both (didn't have to buy anything). When you get it apart, you will see a metal piece that will be bent slightly... all you have to do is bend it back (hopefully, unless the plastic the metal piece grabs is worn away).
To take them off, once you remove the two 10mm nuts, pull the handle off from the outside, and undo the two rods, like suprfast said. Disconnect the wires and remove the assembly from the car. I took everything apart, cleaned and greased, and reassembled.
I was able to take them apart and fix them both (didn't have to buy anything). When you get it apart, you will see a metal piece that will be bent slightly... all you have to do is bend it back (hopefully, unless the plastic the metal piece grabs is worn away).
To take them off, once you remove the two 10mm nuts, pull the handle off from the outside, and undo the two rods, like suprfast said. Disconnect the wires and remove the assembly from the car. I took everything apart, cleaned and greased, and reassembled.
02-02-03, 10:47 PM
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Thanks for all the help. I couldn't have figured it out with out your help.
I took both handles apart and sure enough the "lower" metal tab on the pivot are that engages the outside plastic handle was bent. It had worn away a small bit of the plastic but after re-bending the metal tabs it engaged the plastic handle very well.
Yeah, both handles not working meant my lovely wife had to climb through the hatch for her dumb husband on several occasions. To make sure nobody else has to endure such torture here goes.
To make things clearer for others that might find this thread in the future (should have taken pictures, oh well):
1. Remove the plastic trim piece inside the car which is behind the door handle.
2. Unbolt the 2 10mm bolts.
3. Disconnect the two rods. The smaller "upper" rod is for the locking mechanism. The larger "lower" rod is for the latching mechanism. Both are held in by plastic tabs which have open areas that can be twisted to free the rods. Once the rods are free, the whole handle assembly should flop down and only held to the door by the wires for the lock cylinder.
4. Unscrew the large screw which is the pivot point for the latching mechanism. There is a spring beneath this large screw which returns the door latch down. Don't loose it.
5. Now move the pivot arm of the latch mechanism out of the way. The wiring for the lock and the lock light is the last thing holding the handle onto the door. It is held in by two screws and a round metal tab. The tab is a PITA so be careful not to bend it. Lastly undo the plastic tab holding on the electric lock sensor to the back of the lock cylinder. Be careful it is brittle and breaks easily (ask how I know).
6. There is a large pin which is the pivot for the door handle. It is held in by 1 bearing on each side. Unscrew the two screws for each bearing and slide the pin out. Now the metal pivot arm should be free to slide out. Now the handle and metal pivot arm which actuates the large rod should both be free. You will see the "hidden lower metal tab" which is pulled on by the plastic handle is bent. Bend it back to 90 degrees. Some of the plastic on the handle will be worn. I guess it could be filled in with epoxy but I didn't.
7. Clean the pivot, return spring, etc and grease/lube them.
8. Reassemble. Everything should be tight and much smoother. At least my two handles were. Only took 1 hour for both handles.
Regards,
Justin Wade
I took both handles apart and sure enough the "lower" metal tab on the pivot are that engages the outside plastic handle was bent. It had worn away a small bit of the plastic but after re-bending the metal tabs it engaged the plastic handle very well.
Yeah, both handles not working meant my lovely wife had to climb through the hatch for her dumb husband on several occasions. To make sure nobody else has to endure such torture here goes.
To make things clearer for others that might find this thread in the future (should have taken pictures, oh well):
1. Remove the plastic trim piece inside the car which is behind the door handle.
2. Unbolt the 2 10mm bolts.
3. Disconnect the two rods. The smaller "upper" rod is for the locking mechanism. The larger "lower" rod is for the latching mechanism. Both are held in by plastic tabs which have open areas that can be twisted to free the rods. Once the rods are free, the whole handle assembly should flop down and only held to the door by the wires for the lock cylinder.
4. Unscrew the large screw which is the pivot point for the latching mechanism. There is a spring beneath this large screw which returns the door latch down. Don't loose it.
5. Now move the pivot arm of the latch mechanism out of the way. The wiring for the lock and the lock light is the last thing holding the handle onto the door. It is held in by two screws and a round metal tab. The tab is a PITA so be careful not to bend it. Lastly undo the plastic tab holding on the electric lock sensor to the back of the lock cylinder. Be careful it is brittle and breaks easily (ask how I know).
6. There is a large pin which is the pivot for the door handle. It is held in by 1 bearing on each side. Unscrew the two screws for each bearing and slide the pin out. Now the metal pivot arm should be free to slide out. Now the handle and metal pivot arm which actuates the large rod should both be free. You will see the "hidden lower metal tab" which is pulled on by the plastic handle is bent. Bend it back to 90 degrees. Some of the plastic on the handle will be worn. I guess it could be filled in with epoxy but I didn't.
7. Clean the pivot, return spring, etc and grease/lube them.
8. Reassemble. Everything should be tight and much smoother. At least my two handles were. Only took 1 hour for both handles.
Regards,
Justin Wade
02-02-03, 11:11 PM
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Lucky you. My driver's side handle actually physically broke...the two "arms" that are attached the the flat piece that you pull on broke, right where they attach. A friend introduced me to the wonders of JB Weld at that point...we put it back together and that held it for over a year, believe it or not. But then its broken twice since then, each time the fix lasting less time, until finally I had to bite the bullet and buy a new one.
jds
jds
Originally posted by wadejg
Thanks for all the help. I couldn't have figured it out with out your help.
I took both handles apart and sure enough the "lower" metal tab on the pivot are that engages the outside plastic handle was bent. It had worn away a small bit of the plastic but after re-bending the metal tabs it engaged the plastic handle very well.
Yeah, both handles not working meant my lovely wife had to climb through the hatch for her dumb husband on several occasions. To make sure nobody else has to endure such torture here goes.
To make things clearer for others that might find this thread in the future (should have taken pictures, oh well):
1. Remove the plastic trim piece inside the car which is behind the door handle.
2. Unbolt the 2 10mm bolts.
3. Disconnect the two rods. The smaller "upper" rod is for the locking mechanism. The larger "lower" rod is for the latching mechanism. Both are held in by plastic tabs which have open areas that can be twisted to free the rods. Once the rods are free, the whole handle assembly should flop down and only held to the door by the wires for the lock cylinder.
4. Unscrew the large screw which is the pivot point for the latching mechanism. There is a spring beneath this large screw which returns the door latch down. Don't loose it.
5. Now move the pivot arm of the latch mechanism out of the way. The wiring for the lock and the lock light is the last thing holding the handle onto the door. It is held in by two screws and a round metal tab. The tab is a PITA so be careful not to bend it. Lastly undo the plastic tab holding on the electric lock sensor to the back of the lock cylinder. Be careful it is brittle and breaks easily (ask how I know).
6. There is a large pin which is the pivot for the door handle. It is held in by 1 bearing on each side. Unscrew the two screws for each bearing and slide the pin out. Now the metal pivot arm should be free to slide out. Now the handle and metal pivot arm which actuates the large rod should both be free. You will see the "hidden lower metal tab" which is pulled on by the plastic handle is bent. Bend it back to 90 degrees. Some of the plastic on the handle will be worn. I guess it could be filled in with epoxy but I didn't.
7. Clean the pivot, return spring, etc and grease/lube them.
8. Reassemble. Everything should be tight and much smoother. At least my two handles were. Only took 1 hour for both handles.
Regards,
Justin Wade
Thanks for all the help. I couldn't have figured it out with out your help.
I took both handles apart and sure enough the "lower" metal tab on the pivot are that engages the outside plastic handle was bent. It had worn away a small bit of the plastic but after re-bending the metal tabs it engaged the plastic handle very well.
Yeah, both handles not working meant my lovely wife had to climb through the hatch for her dumb husband on several occasions. To make sure nobody else has to endure such torture here goes.
To make things clearer for others that might find this thread in the future (should have taken pictures, oh well):
1. Remove the plastic trim piece inside the car which is behind the door handle.
2. Unbolt the 2 10mm bolts.
3. Disconnect the two rods. The smaller "upper" rod is for the locking mechanism. The larger "lower" rod is for the latching mechanism. Both are held in by plastic tabs which have open areas that can be twisted to free the rods. Once the rods are free, the whole handle assembly should flop down and only held to the door by the wires for the lock cylinder.
4. Unscrew the large screw which is the pivot point for the latching mechanism. There is a spring beneath this large screw which returns the door latch down. Don't loose it.
5. Now move the pivot arm of the latch mechanism out of the way. The wiring for the lock and the lock light is the last thing holding the handle onto the door. It is held in by two screws and a round metal tab. The tab is a PITA so be careful not to bend it. Lastly undo the plastic tab holding on the electric lock sensor to the back of the lock cylinder. Be careful it is brittle and breaks easily (ask how I know).
6. There is a large pin which is the pivot for the door handle. It is held in by 1 bearing on each side. Unscrew the two screws for each bearing and slide the pin out. Now the metal pivot arm should be free to slide out. Now the handle and metal pivot arm which actuates the large rod should both be free. You will see the "hidden lower metal tab" which is pulled on by the plastic handle is bent. Bend it back to 90 degrees. Some of the plastic on the handle will be worn. I guess it could be filled in with epoxy but I didn't.
7. Clean the pivot, return spring, etc and grease/lube them.
8. Reassemble. Everything should be tight and much smoother. At least my two handles were. Only took 1 hour for both handles.
Regards,
Justin Wade
02-03-03, 02:43 AM
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Same thing happened to my drivers side so I took it apart and where the metal prongs clasp around the actual handle it was stripped back. The handle actually chipped away. So I tried to use some JB Weld to build the handle back up so the prongs would hold but that broke like a week later. So then I took it apart again and drilled a hole through the metal piece and ran a bolt with a nut through it and it works just like new. It's insane what a dealership wants for a new one.
