I recently broke the handle on my driver side door handle, snapped right off - thanks Mazda. Anyways, I am looking at alternatives and it seems that I can either replace them with the stock plastic piece or the aluminum piece. The obvious choice is aluminum due to durability and strength, but I have read that the handle can be hard to open over time and you have to grease the joints? Do any other options exist, and if not where are you guys getting your replacement pieces?

Thanks for your help & input.

-B

 

i believe the aluminum ones are now being sold on ebay never had an issue with them getting tight over time which is probably why the stocker broke usually as people force the handle. iv had mine 2 years not getting tight i did grease the hinge at install but not that long either. one of the best things i did as soon as i got the car. hell i was able to sell my stockersto pay for em cause i changed before they broke...

z

 

I say stock, and not just because I held a GB where I sold over 150 of them

New stock ones will last you another 15+ years, and they look phenomenal. Nice and smooth with zero wear or scratches.

The metal ones are ok, but you can tell they're not OEM. We've had a few cars at the shop with them and I'm not a fan. different material, different feel. A bit like kissing your sister, maybe ?

 

well if you can tell ok but the only reason i can tell on mine is the slight scratches on the handle housing from 15yrs of wear the handle is BA. can we at least go with your friends sister? cause im cool with that

z

 

I got metal ones and absolutely love it (from rx7doorhandles.com). I think it looks 100% stock, and no one has ever even noticed until they grab it.

 

IMHO, the stock handle is plenty durable if you keep the internals lubricated. I use lithium spray grease.

 

Not too worried about aesthetics as I have the FEED covers. And I dont have a sister, so I can use one of your guys sisters?

 

 

have stock handles still, they where stiff when I bought the car, a little lithium grease and they are doing great.

 

Bryan
Last month I just got brand new OEM door handles for $75 ea + shipping
PM for the place

 

I have the aluminum handle on my drivers side, and it does look stock, but because my handles are so old, the paint started fading off and the new handle had more gloss then the rest of the handle did and it looked kinda weird. I ended up buy some carbon fiber overlays for both door handles and now everything looks perfect

 

is there a DIY write up on replacing the door handles? I searched and no luck.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/door-handle-replacement-pics-887880/

 

how is it touching the aluminum handles with the sun beating on them? lol just curious, how do you replace them?

 

The heat of the sun does not affect how hot the handle is, unless it's bare metal. Mine is painted, so the paint seems to absorb the heat. I took mine apart myself for the first time, and it wasn't too bad. The first step is to remove the plastic part from behind the door handle on the inside of the car, and the rest should be pretty easy to figure out. Getting things back together should be easy, since you can just remove the passengers side door handle assy temporarily to see how it was put together.

 

I can confirm that. My body shop painted mine and they don't get hot like they used to bare. Even on the hottest of days they are still touchable.

 

awesome thnks guys, mine already came painted, appreciate the help