[SILVY968]

My passenger door is getting more and more difficult to open from the outside.

Inside in no problem. It is the outside activation mechanism.



I had my PM look at it last year and they said that the adjusting rod was adjusted as long as it could be and that a new handle was the next step.



I am not opposed to getting a new handle except that it means painting the piece, which I am not too crazy about.



Is there an assembly of pieces inside the door handle that could be replaced instead of the whole door handle?

Any DIY postings about this or and personal experience?[SIZE=1]

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[Anchorman]

My experience - based on several incidents, most of which included dismantling the interior door panel, disconnecting the handle from the internal links, and then having the fun of reassembly - has ended up fixing this exact problem while replacing absolutely nothing. Removal of dirt/gunk/accumulated crud in the exterior handle mechanism - along with a good cleaning and lubrication of the lock mechanism (and this really was the key) - has solved the problem. Getting the lock mechanism off the door requires removing two large allen-head bolts that are in place with Lock-Tite. However, once they're out, the lock comes off and a good bath in a degreaser/cleaner, followed by aggressive lubrication with a graphite material, resulted in my passenger door becoming so easy to open that I decided to tackle the driver's door.

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[SILVY968]

The word "difficult" may have been the wrong word choice. The door handle finger trigger is easy to press, the problem is that when the trigger is squeezed all the way in, the latch release mechanism in the door does not move far enough to unlock the door.

Was this your problem that cleaning fixed?

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[Etnier]

I had a similar experience as Anchorman, except that in my case it was the handle which was sticking and which responded to service. The little black pull lever would get stuck up against the larger handle and wouldn't move.



I removed the single cheesehead bolt which holds the rear end of the handle to the body, just inside the door, and by doing so was able to pull the working end of the handle out from the body enough to spray the bejeezus out of the mechanism, using WD-40, while exercising the mechanism. This cleared things up very nicely. If it's your handle that's sticking, not the lock, I'd start here.



BE CAREFUL torquing the cheesehead bolt back into place: it's going into pot metal, I think, and you can strip the threads easily.



ON EDIT Silvy- we crossposted. Looks like you're having the symptoms I was experiencing. Again: loosening just the trailing end of the handle to lubricate might well fix your problem.

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[SILVY968]

Today I pulled the interior door panel off and dug into the door handle.

Not easy to get to the linkage, but I was able to see that the transfer mechanism that translates the trigger to the linkage has enough play in it that the linkage can not push down far enough to undo the latch.

Cleaning and lubrication did not help at all.



Getting into the car through the pass. door will get old really fast.



I have put out an APB to the bone yards for a driver's door handle mechanism as well as an e-mail to Jeff @ Sunset for the correct items, as new part is probably a better idea than old.



When I hear the phrase " it takes a whole lot of patience to attach the ball and sockets back together" I start to think, what else could my PM do to justify having them go nuts for an hour instead of me?

Sway bar bushings, new rear tires, corner balance and door handle...sounds pretty good from where I stand...outside of my car.

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[Anchorman]

I have all of the possible new parts for the passenger side handle repair. I had also thought they would be necessary - but, as I've indicated, my handle now works very well with nothing having been replaced. I also thought about taking the car to my OPC to get the interior linkages reattached - but stubborness won out, and I managed to find a way. Again - cleaning and lubing the spring mechanism inside the handle, and the lock mechanism on the door, was the complete answer to my problem. And, before I did that, the door could not be opened from the outside.

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[SILVY968]

Anchorman,



I wish I could say the same. Can you send me a PM with all of the part numbers. It might save Jeff some time looking them up?

I will reverse them for the driver's side.

I need all of the parts that wear down and allow the trigger to not move the linkage rod down far enough to trip the door latch. I have a new linkage rod already. What else rubs and wears down? The trigger piece and the linkage rod look like that is it.

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[Anchorman]

I'll do that - and more, if you're interested. I'm so convinced that my door is permanently fixed that I'll sell you the parts I have, at cost. They're at my office, so tomorrow I'll post the part numbers and descriptions. I also have copies of the relevant pages from the manual, if those are of interest.

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[SILVY968]

[quote name='Anchorman' date='Apr 16 2006, 03:54 PM']I'll do that - and more, if you're interested.  I'm so convinced that my door is permanently fixed that I'll sell you the parts I have, at cost.  They're at my office, so tomorrow I'll post the part numbers and descriptions.  I also have copies of the relevant pages from the manual, if those are of interest.

[right][post="19286"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



My problem is the driver's door handle. Will parts inside flip over to the other side? I'd appreciate the list. If they flip over to the driver, I'll take them.

Thx



P.S. How to you disassemble the door latch mechanism for cleaning?

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[Anchorman]

I know that the lever does not "flip over" - they are left and right (although with just a little change in construction, they could easily have been made universal). As for the rest, I'm not sure. As for the door latch - there are two cheesehead bolts that hold it in place. They are secured with Loctite, so removing them is not easy. I stripped the head of one when the bolt was part out. After trying wrenches, vise-grips, and anything else, I ended up cutting the bolt so that now it acts as a locating stud. The other bolt was able to be removed. Once the latch mechanism was off the car, I soaked it in solvent, lubed it well, reinstalled, and - wow, what a difference. Possibly you could achieve a similar result while it's still on the car - it's certainly worth a try.

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