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Broken Exterior Door Handle Replacement

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I've yet to have the need to replace my own but I know it's coming and many of you have already had to go through this. I had the chance to replace the passenger side handle for a customer this week and since I got a Digi cam for Christmas I've been going crazy taking pictures.

This first picture is going to be of the broken door handle completely removed.
1. Key cylinder, back side
2. Door lock linkage locking clip
3. Broken section of handle
4. Locking clip for linkage from handle to latch
5. Bolt hole accessed from outside the door shell
6. Bolt hole accessed from inside the door shell (hard to see, future pictures are better)
 

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First you'll want to raise the window to the full up position. Do this before you attempt to pull the door panel because once you remove the door panel, you'll have to unplug the window switch connector or the window crank.

For those of us (poor bastards) with manual windows you'll have to remove the crank handle. You'll need a pick in the shape of a hook. If you press inward on the door panel at the crank you'll be able to see the crank retainer. It's in the shape of a "U" so rotate the handle so that the open end of the U is not the side you work with. Just put the hook pick through the _ section of the "l_l" and pull it. To keep from losing this clip, after removing the window crank handle put the clip back in to it. This will stay there and won't need to be removed for the install.

There's 6 screws that hold the door panel to the door shell. In addition to the screws there will also be plastic trim panel retainers.

One screw is in the door pull area under a screw cover. On higher line vehicles you will find that the screws will have covers on them in other places as well. The pic below is of my RS so screws are exposed.

After removing the screws, you'll have to disengage the plastic trim panel retaining clips. Do this by pulling the door panel straight off of the door. Wedge your fingers under the bottom lip of the door panel and start to pry it away from the door shell. Do not use an up, down, or side to side motion. Pull it straight off. If you break a plastic trim panel retainer the replacement part number is MB608104 and you'll pay about $2.00 each.

p.s. I've added a drawing at the end of this article as another method to remove the clip for the window crank.
 

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Next you'll have to fight some really nasty dust shield. The dust shield is nice to have because it keeps the backside of the door panel dry and keeps out dust. The stuff is black and really gooey. It will get all over you and everything around you so be prepared for a mess. I was fortunate with this install in that someone had already been in there and cut the shield off and didn't put it back on. You may be able to heat the goop up using a blow dryer. This will make it loosen up but don't use too much heat because then it will start to run.
 

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If you've got a factory alarm on the car then you'll have to remove a switch that goes on the back side of the key cylinder. The switch looks like this below, pics a lil fuzzy but you'll be able to figure it out once you get in there.

You'll need to pry this off using a small flat blade screw driver.
 

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This next picture will be of the handle out of the car so I can show you a better shot of what you're gonna work with. The lime green linkage clip holds the linkage to the handle. To dis-engage this rotate the clip in a clockwise motion. The clip is going to be pretty difficult given the room you're working in. After you get the clip loose pull the link out of the clip.

In this picture you will see the bolt hole to the left of the clip and above the key cyliner. This particular design has a bolt that goes in to it. But I've been told that some designs may have a stud sticking out of the handle and instead of removing a bolt, you'll remove just a nut. Regardless, it will probably be a 10mm nut or bolt.

The fitment will be really tight. You'll need to use a 10mm 1/4 inch drive socket and ratchet. If you can't fit that in there you'll need to use a 10mm wrench and once you get it to turn, use just the 10mm socket and no ratchet.
 

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Now you'll want to remove the other bolt or nut that holds the handle to the door shell.
 

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After you remove that the door handle will be considerably more loose and easier to deal with the last linkage. This one is responsible for actuating the latch itself to open the door. The pic below shows you how to get at it.
 

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Now scroll back up to the first picture and look at item number 4. That's the same latch. The way it is designed is that the top section folds down and latches in to the bottom section. You can fit a small flat-blade screwdriver in to the handle opening and disengage the hooking sections.
 

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After you undo the last linkage then you can remove the handle by pulling the bottom section away from the door, the rear section away from the door and tilting the handle like in the picture below.
 

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Now you'll need to remove the key cylinder and transfer it to the new handle. You can use a flatblade screwdriver again and pry the key cylinder retaining spring/clip like I did in the picture below.
 

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I think you'll have to pry loose the key cylinder retaining clip in order to slide the key cylinder but it's no big deal.

After you've transferred over the key cylinder to the new handle and slipped the cylinder retaining clip back in to place you're almost ready to reinstall it. But first I recomend cleaning the opening from any dirt and road grime. It's fine lines like these that are real hard to clean in to so just clean it up with nothing in the way.

Note the area in this picture that is circled. The bolt or stud goes through it that you removed first. You may need to push this piece away from the outside of the door in order to get the new handle to fit flush. I had quite a time getting it to be flush against the door shell.
 

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Now you'll want to start reinstalling the handle. Just look at the picture of removing the handle and reinstall it in the opposite order. Once you get it partially in there you'll want to get the linkage in place and latch it. Push the link in and then press against section of the loatch in to the loewr section.
 

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Pretty much everything from there on out is the reverse procedure of the install. About the only extra pointeers I can give you is to make sure that the push pins on the door panel are not bend out of shape prior to popping them in to place, make sure they are started in to the holes before pushing against the door panel, and most importantly make sure that the door works before putting the door panel on.
Good luck and happy tuning.
Doug
 
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