My exterior door handle on the drivers-side is always a bear after heavy rain... the recent hurricanes have made it worse... It was frozen shut today at work and I swear I almost broke it or DID break it when it did open. It is still hard to open and the front-most side comes out first and the whole assembly tends to stick out a bit.

Anyone else have a problem with this? It has always been an issue with the car since I first saw rain but it was never this bad. I may call Malloy and see how much a replacement will be as this one is nicked pretty bad as is. I was also thinking of giving WD40 a shot before I gave up.

Thanks,
~Kris

 

mine felt like that just before it broke. give the wd40 a shot it might help, but you might want to start shopping for one as it will break soon.

 

Replacement is around $140.

It's best to just replace it, I replaced mine about 2 years ago when it broke. If it's currently still working, you can try to open it up and grease the mechanisms but don't use WD-40. WD-40 is not a lubricant.

 

Ditto. Mine snapped a month or so ago, just haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

 

When mine broke (JB Weld still holding after 2 months) I found that if you replace the teflon washer on the handle pivot and use white lith grease, it works like new. The design is known for binding on the pivot points due to the X to Y movement. If you have taken it apart, you will see what I mean.

 

My passenger side one is getting a little bad. I always bitch at people and tell them to be easy on it. I might just get the FEED handles though.

 

There is a write up on how to fix this, though it is a temporary solution. Granted, this temporary solution has worked great for me for about 2 years now. Mahjik is right about replacing it and the WD-40. I'll see if I can find that link.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/door-handle-assy-321429/

This is what I did a few months ago, and still when other FD owners try to open my door they think they just broke it cause its so easy to move. I can still take pics if necessary.

 

Funny enough, just last night I removed my passenger door handle assy to lubricate it since it was binding and becoming a PITA. I remoiled the various parts of the assembly, and the handle acutation is smooth as silk but it doesn't hook the latch and actually open anymore - oh well, time to take it apart some more.

 

mine broke i just bought a new one easy way to fix it

 

i got a few exterior door handles let me know

thanx
mike

 

Kris, this is a common problem with FDs, and some FCs tend to have door handle problems as well (both of my brother's door handles are broken now). Anways, your best bet is to replace it. Check on ebay and post on the For Sale section.

 

Alright, thanks guys...

I'll try taking it a part just for the sake of education, and hopefully to form a temp. fix.

I'm gonna PM rotoboy on his selection -- if they last maybe 2-3 years and they are at a good price thats all that matters. I have full intentions of taking this car off the road in 2-3 years and rebuilding it from the ground up with all new items that take on 'wear' and clean up anything else. Stuff like this was to be on the list as I want it to be a totally 'new' car when I'm done. (smell and all )

Thanks a lot for all the info, gotta love RX7club and the mass source of information it hold!

~Kris

EDIT: Also, I cant find much info on the FEED handles, what is differant about them from the stock Mazda ones? Are they just CF? Are the internals in them any better or are they just like the OEM peice.

EDIT2: The FEED handles seem no better than the OEM versions only more expensive and with that CF look. Eh, I think I'll stick to stock for now.

Thanks.

 

Kris, this guy has a few for sale.
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=352855

 

Just wanted to add to this thread.

Did the exterior door handle repair with JB weld a month ago. My break was the back third of the eyelet on the hinge next to the metal actuator linkage, PM me if you want updates about how long my exterior door handle fix has lasted.

Jb weld was selected over super crazy glue, other adhesives and epoxy because the door handle material appears to be fiberglass embeded abs plastic.

Here is my preventive maintenance tip you may wish to do right away and check every 40,000 miles. Over time the flange on the metal linkage actuator bends upward. Bend this back down with a pliers. and you may wish to polyurethane a (or a removable adhesive, not silicon, wrong properties) the door handle to the metal linkage with a 1/8" bead then put the spring back on after it cures. the idea is to disperse the load.

It appears that the bent flange will eventually allow the handle to twist and break.

With my break, I repaired it as suggested in this thread. Jb welded the eye back together keeping the eye clear so I could slip in the hinge pin later. I held it together with my hand for 20 minutes. Then I cleaned and roughed up the area between the bent flanges on the metal actuator and the handle contact area then in one step jb welded the metal to the handle and in the assembled position, put the pin in and screwed in the pin retainers leaving the spring off then waited 24 hours. then I lubricated it and finished up.

I also repaired the door handle light. went to a hobby shop and found lights 10 for $10 Miniatronics Corp. 14 volt 80mA 5.5mm Dia. Model 18-028-10. Solder, shrink tube and some pliable goo in the shrink tube. share some extras with another.

tried fixing the key flap, came to the conclusion that the best material was metal but since that would block the light, I'm leaving it open.

Hope this helps and you guys can apply $200 to have have your front bumpers painted.

 

Disassemble it, clean it, and lubricate. Or wait for it to break, really that's the choice.

Dave

 

Yea I have since replaced it, I then totally disassembled the old handle to learn more about them... my passenger one is awesome and solid however even my new/used driver handle is loose at times... I'm going to take it apart again as I know it needs lube already.

~Kris

 

I broke mine last week too. It is a common problem.

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I am new to the FD world...
As you can imagine, I also have the same issue as everyone else with my driver's side handle.
Unfortunately I didn't find this post before hand, and I spent an annoying two hours messing with the assembly, figuring out how it works and tried to repair it. I probably actually did fix it right...mine just had a bent tab, but the mechanism was so stiff that after opening the door a couple times, it slipped back off, likely at the expense of the plastic in the handle (haven't looked yet).
So my question is - when you guys are taking the assembly all the way out to lubricate it, are you removing the rods at the handle...or are you pulling the whole thing out with the door latch part?

 

Rods at the handle. Just remove the big spring that makes the handle retract and you'll be fine. I also used JBWeld to make everything a solid piece so it'll never do it again.

 

Thanks, I will take it apart today and maybe take some pictures.

 

Well, I have removed the handle, and figured out how it works. At first I thought the linkage was too loose to even have a chance to fix it. However I bent the tabs to "hug" the plastic piece of the handle so tightly that it literally had to be "popped" in. Now, there there is no free play in the linkage at all, just like the pasenger side.
So far it is working, and I have lubed up the moving parts...but I have no idea how long it will last like this, but maybe people should try this before buying a new handle or JB welding.
Anyway, I have attached a picture of the assembly to give someone new to this problem a visual picture of what it looks like on the back side of the handle assembly. However, I should have taken a picture of everthing once it is apart, but forgot (I will if I ever have to dissasemble this again).

 

The bottom screw in the pic holds the thing together as well as holds the spring in. Take that spring out and the metal will not bend anymore. Nor will it be supper hard to actuate. The only down side is the handle will feel a little loose when installed on the car. But since it'll never break again, I think its worth it.

 

Didn't need to...just lubed the moving points, and bent the tabs back where they should be and my handle is just like new and feels right (and it is an original handle - plus my car has 163K)...
If it breaks (bends) again, I can spend another 20 minutes for the whole process I did, plus for preventive maintainance I can simply lube everything occasionally which requires maybe 3 minutes.

 

i had this problem about a month ago....and after taking my handle apart...i was able to bend the metal tab back to grab the plastic handle again...however...i'm having the same problem that was stated above..."the handle acutation is smooth as silk but it doesn't hook the latch and actually open anymore" ...when i pull the handle upward it doesn't seem to grab the latch and the door will not open...i've taken it apart again but cannot figure out where the problem lies....does anyone have any ideas how this can be fixed??