Door Handle replacement with pics
02-22-12, 09:19 AM
#28
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Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Just did this today. My lefthand side exterior door handle broke, so ordered aluminium ones.
One of the easiest fixes ever! Driver's door is a bit more difficult if you don't want to take off the doorcard, due to the wire for the lock-light. I didn't bother, so had to replace the handle with the cover dangling.
All in all, replacing the two door handles took me around 30 - 40 minutes, including putting on my shoes and a thick coat, as it was close to freezing outside, then getting my tools....
Tools needed:
- 10mm ratchet
- thin flathead screwdriver
- "crosshead" screwdriver (sorry, don't know the English word for it)
Started out with this, might look familiar to most of us FD drivers
Pop off the cover to expose 2 10mm bolts
Remove those so you can pop off the outside of the cover.
On this pic (top view) you can see one thin rod going into the door, that rod is connected to the lock barrell.
On the bottom of the cover (not visible on the pic) is a thick rod, which is connected to the handle.
Getting the rods off the connectors is pretty easy. Put a long thin flathead screwdriver against the curved edge of the plastic connector, and carefully push it off the rod, then the rod pops out of the connector.
Do that for both the thin and the thick rod.
Pic below is the connector of the thick rod, should make it slightly clearer how to get it off the rod.
Remove the four small screws off the caps of the axle, which holds the doorhandle, and remove the big screw, which holds the sprung end of the handle joint.
You can then slide out the axle out of the two arms of the door handle (to one side, as one end is thinner)
Wiggle the metal handle joint off the plastic door handle. After that you can take out the plastic door handle, and replace it with the aluminium one.
Refit everything in reverse order, and you can open your doors again without breaking the handles, or having to open the door through the car
One of the easiest fixes ever! Driver's door is a bit more difficult if you don't want to take off the doorcard, due to the wire for the lock-light. I didn't bother, so had to replace the handle with the cover dangling.
All in all, replacing the two door handles took me around 30 - 40 minutes, including putting on my shoes and a thick coat, as it was close to freezing outside, then getting my tools....
Tools needed:
- 10mm ratchet
- thin flathead screwdriver
- "crosshead" screwdriver (sorry, don't know the English word for it)
Started out with this, might look familiar to most of us FD drivers
Pop off the cover to expose 2 10mm bolts
Remove those so you can pop off the outside of the cover.
On this pic (top view) you can see one thin rod going into the door, that rod is connected to the lock barrell.
On the bottom of the cover (not visible on the pic) is a thick rod, which is connected to the handle.
Getting the rods off the connectors is pretty easy. Put a long thin flathead screwdriver against the curved edge of the plastic connector, and carefully push it off the rod, then the rod pops out of the connector.
Do that for both the thin and the thick rod.
Pic below is the connector of the thick rod, should make it slightly clearer how to get it off the rod.
Remove the four small screws off the caps of the axle, which holds the doorhandle, and remove the big screw, which holds the sprung end of the handle joint.
You can then slide out the axle out of the two arms of the door handle (to one side, as one end is thinner)
Wiggle the metal handle joint off the plastic door handle. After that you can take out the plastic door handle, and replace it with the aluminium one.
Refit everything in reverse order, and you can open your doors again without breaking the handles, or having to open the door through the car
02-22-12, 10:24 AM
#29
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Excellent write-up, be careful with the plastic rod hooks. You are better off using just your fingers to slide it off the rod and then just pull the rod out. Another note is if your door keyhole light doesn't work, replacing the cable will solve the issue BUT I THINK they only come with new door handles.
