Exterior door handle removal?

[Enjay]

I've had a bit of a look around but I can't find anything.  Is there a thread (or other info) anywhere that explains how to get the exterior door handles off and separate them from the lock mechanism (and then reverse the process)?

I assume that it's reasonably straight forward (I'm assuming a couple or so bolts inside the door and some sort of rod or electrical connection) but it doesn't hurt to have some info beforehand.

Thanks

[Call the midlife!]

I've had a bit of a look around but I can't find anything.  Is there a thread (or other info) anywhere that explains how to get the exterior door handles off and separate them from the lock mechanism (and then reverse the process)?

I assume that it's reasonably straight forward (I'm assuming a couple or so bolts inside the door and some sort of rod or electrical connection) but it doesn't hurt to have some info beforehand.

Thanks

https://youtu.be/6dORT0iyym4
Don't thank me, it's not the best tutorial but gives you an idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Enjay]

I appreciate the link.  It looks reasonably straight forward.

Does anyone know if the locking mechanism is just bolted on to the handle of if there is some sort of bonding or anti-tamper mechanism etc?

[Carolyn]

Nothing like that- just a 6 mm machine screw (10 mm head).

[Enjay]

Perfect, thanks.

[Enjay]

I changed my door handles today, as reported in the "what have you done today" thread.  The help in this thread made a difference.  Thanks again.

[StuC]

I changed my door handles today, as reported in the "what have you done today" thread.  The help in this thread made a difference.  Thanks again.

With your learning how about a nice 'how to' for ROC? Especially if there were tricky bits to watch out for.

[Enjay]

I'd be happy to write something out but I didn't take any pictures, mostly because the fiddly stuff was all inside the door where it would have been very difficult to point a camera to get a clear enough picture to show what was going on (similar difficulties in the video above).

I should have taken pictures of things when they were out on the bench but I didn't.  I'm not sure how much use text on its own would be.  I still have the yellow handles but without the locks on them, it's less meaningful because one of the clips/rods attaches on to there as does the security bracket.  If I can find some decent third party pics taken by someone, I'll do it.

[StuC]

I'd be happy to write something out but I didn't take any pictures, mostly because the fiddly stuff was all inside the door where it would have been very difficult to point a camera to get a clear enough picture to show what was going on (similar difficulties in the video above).

I should have taken pictures of things when they were out on the bench but I didn't.  I'm not sure how much use text on its own would be.  I still have the yellow handles but without the locks on them, it's less meaningful because one of the clips/rods attaches on to there as does the security bracket.  If I can find some decent third party pics taken by someone, I'll do it.

Looks like you'll have a busy time taking them out again then to write the how to!!!
<runs>

[Enjay]

 (:< > 

Next time I have the panels off (there's bound to be a next time) I'll see if I can get good enough pics to illustrate *something*.  I've just spent 15 minutes or so image searching but not come up with anything particularly useful.

One thing worth giving people a "heads up" about is that the forward bolt on both sides was tricky.  It's easy enough to reach but I think this one might suffer from age more than the rest.  There are 3 knurled nuts embedded/bonded into the handle body but with all 4 handles I worked with, there was some cracking around the socket that the forward one goes into.  If the bolt is stuck/rusted in place (from door condensation?), you are just as likely to turn the nut in its seat as you are to turn the bolt and this could easily crack the case.  One of the ones I was taking off cracked quite badly, the other got a slight crack in it and even the two that I bought had similar small cracks (repaired with epoxy glue).  The metal bracket on the door that this bolt goes through is also quite flimsy and bendable if you are applying a bit of pressure.  So, exercise care and caution when working with this one.

Other than that, the mechanics of doing it are pretty simple, it's really just the lack of room that makes it tricky:

Front bolt - accessible through one of the bigger holes in the door inner panel.
Rear bolt - accessible through a small hole towards the rear of the door inner panel (may have a black round sticker over it).

There is a third bolt which is more interesting.  It's in the "middle" (but towards the rear - not quite as far back as the rear bolt).  It has a thread on both sides of the head (it looks a bit like a headless bolt with a nut half way along).  This is because the bolt goes into one of the bonded nuts (as described above) to hold the lock barrel in place and then a second nut goes on the bit of thread still sticking out to attach the anti-tamper security bracket.  So, the security bracket nut comes off first.  Once the bracket is out of the way (fiddly, but no real trick to it), you have access to the half-way along bolt head.  Both the rear bolt and this fancy bolt hold the lock barrel on to the handle assembly.  I don't think the lock needs to come off before removing the handle (I did it - it was easy once the other bits were off) but I'm pretty sure the security bracket does because things would just be too bulky and in the way of the connection rods if it isn't detached.  The security bracket is a bit weird and looks a bit like an afterthought.  I wonder if it was fitted to cars in all markets?  I don't see it on the exploded diagram of the door that I have and I don't *think* it's in the above video either.  UK cars have more security features than imports (alarm etc) so maybe this is part of the security package too?

Anyway, other than that, there are two little plastic clips that need to be pushed off and swivelled back.  One is on the handle, the other on the lock.  These hold two rods in place (one for the handle operation, the other for the lock).  Once the clips are swivelled out of the way, the rods can be pushed out of their seats.

After that, it's a case of wiggling and pushing the handle out through the outer face of the door.


So, it's basically, undo front bolt, undo back bolt, undo middle nut (on middle bolt), remove anti-tamper bracket, undo middle bolt (if you're taking the lock off).  The two plastic rod clips can be pushed off at any time in the above sequence and the rods pushed out of their seats.  Once that's all done, wiggle the handle out of its hole.

Once I had done one, I had a clearer picture of how it all goes together.  As a result, putting it back wasn't particularly problematic (refitting is a reversal of removal as they say), other than lack of room making it fiddly (mostly for getting the security bracket on again).  The second one was also much easier to do than the first.  Fortunately, I did the one that was still connected correctly first before I found the badly connected one in the second door.  If it had been the other way around, I may have been a bit more lost.


The only tools I needed (other than those to take the door trim panels off) was a 10mm socket (a long one is best, especially for the rear bolt) and my fingers to push the clips off.  A lamp and a swear bucket may also be useful.


I realise the above is not a comprehensive tutorial.  If I manage to get useful pictures, I'll do one and post it in a more suitable place.