Drivers door handle removal

[biomed32uk]

I need to get the entire drivers door handle out of Maisie (2dr), the current one is badly worn, the actual lock plunger has a groove worn through it from the striker and the handle must have about 1/2" of up down movement in it as the handle/pivot pin must be worn.

So a handle complete purchased from ebay, stripped and cleaned. Drilled out the handle, turned a bush up and pressed that in, that will be fitted back with a new pivot pin.

A new lock plunger as well to be fitted to it, had to turn up the piece where the remote unlocking rod joins on as that's effectively riveted to the plunger.

All rebuilt, nice new handle and I will just swap the lock barrel over from the old one, easy...

I was blowing the door full of wax at the weekend and see the lock assy is looped round the window channel. the workshop manual says to remove the window channel, does this have to happen or can it be coaxed out with less taking everything apart.

Any thoughts gratefully received on this one, Geoff

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

No Im afraid that the door top has to come off to get the lock out, its not that big a job as long as the studs under the quarter light dont sheer off. They are fiddly to get at and I have found a 7/16 box spanner works best. My Dad tried once to just remove the back section of the door top, but the screws sheered and it turned into a bigger job than taking out the whole thing.

[andy.pointeer]

I change locks on both my doors and did remove the whole window frame when doing the drivers door. When the passanger side was done I only removed the window frame at the back of the door (lockside) I removed the bracket that hold the side frame to the top frame. Still had to move window up and down to get frame and lock out.

[Tudge]

I replaced all the lock barrels in my two door some time ago. I managed to get both front door handle assemblies out (and back in) without removing the window channels - just unbolted them and slid them up & across. It did take ALOT of wiggling and bad language though, so I would remove the channels if I were doing it again. Only reason I didn't was because my window channel wouldn't come out!

[biomed32uk]

Thanks all for the replies. I think general consensus is that the window frame has to come off.

The car has been apart in the last few years when it was rebuilt, so hopefully everything will come undone without any drama.

If any of the nut/bolts are tight I will coax them out with normal methods. May get chance to have a bash at it over the weekend.

[Tudge]

It only took me a couple of hours to replace all the barrels in my car, and I am not very experienced in mechanics at all, it shouldn't too long of a job!

Oh, if/when you do, any chance of a pic of the window frame? The reason I couldn't get mine out was that it seemed like a block of metal had been welded to the frame while it was in the door - the frame was too big for the whole it comes out of! But I may have been wrong, so would be great if I could see what the frames are supposed to look like.

[biomed32uk]

Well I did the job this afternoon, everything came undone OK. The two nuts under the quarter light are fiddly to say the least.

I couldn't find a 7/16 box spanner, the studs are quite long and my small quarter drive set just on the limits of socket depth.

However there's room to get a 1/2 drive deep socket with a universal joint on up there. Feed a 12" extension bar into the hole by the bottom of the window winder, clip it together in the door and the the ratchet on coming out of the hole. Works well.

It's still quite an awkward fiddly job and needed the wife a couple of times to hold things while releasing the window, and putting it back together, feeding the frame in and getting the glass back into the lift mechanism.

Its the first job on the car that the swear box got well used for, had the neighbors been home they may have learnt some new words.

The handle itself is a fiddle to get out, and back in, requiring some maneuvering and twisting while feeding it through the hole. Took the opportunity to sort the escutcheon plate out which was loose with a rather ineffective spring clip that broke anyway when I attempted to remove it. Carefully put a 5mm thread on the spigot and secured back with a nut, bedding the plate down on a bead of silicon, blob of red loctite on the nut.

I forgot to take a picture of the frame, but there's nothing on it other than the plates that have the holes tapped into them for the fixing screws,these are on the back of the channel on the opening edge of the door to take the three screws, and do make the channel wider at these points, I had to spring it inwards to get it out, and the windows has to be uppermost so you can do this I found.

It's back together and works, door not springing open now. Door still takes some effort to shut, the frame seems to be closing in too soon above the quarter light. The quarter light holes are quite big in the door, think I need to loosen the two awkward nuts and encourage that end of the frame outwards a bit and lock it up, and get the best fit I can.

Probably be much easier next time I have to do it, another Minor learning job.

[Tudge]

Good work! So I wasn't the only one who ended up swearing... hehehe