4 door rear handle removal ?

[LobbyLudd]

Sure this has been covered before but still a bit unclear. Please , before I decide to actually start the job (Floppy door handle) , do you need to remove glass and framing prior to extracting from a 4 door the rear door handle assembly unit ? I recall someone saying you could do it on the rear door without removing glass etc. ?
My workshop manual only shows the front door assembly (in section Body - R5) then refers to the requirement to follow section Body-R4 (removal/replacement of door glass)
No mention of rear doors on 4 door saloon in this BMC manual ? The page is marked at the bottom issue 2 54936 would there be a later one detailing the rear door I was wondering?

Thanks for any advice.

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I did mine without removing the frame, though I did have to undo the securing bolts, so it could be levered to one side -- carefully.
Do-able but very fiddly, though not quite as time consuming as completely stripping the door out to do it, I did my drivers door handle after acquiring one at the National this year. I bought it Saturday, drove home, changed the handle that evening and fitted a few other parts I'd found / bought, then returned on Sunday with it done and working.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[ManyMinors]

It should be perfectly possible to remove the rear handle without removing the window frame. Funnily enough I've just done mine. The front ones are a different matter and the frame does have to be removed first!

On the rear doors, removal of the interior trim panel should reveal some larger screws which secure the lock mechanism. You need to undo these as well as the handle screws. I'm sure you realize that you have to remove the escutcheon before the handle itself. Fixing the return spring to cure the floppy handle is a pain. I secured mine with a small screw and washer having drilled a hole in the handle first.

[LobbyLudd]

Thank you gentlemen - did finally manage to access a later manual page (issue 3, that then includes 4door) and would lead anyone working on the rear door (like me) that you follow exactly the same procedure as the front doors . I.e "after removing the glass assembly" Could not really see why.

[LobbyLudd]

It should be perfectly possible to remove the rear handle without removing the window frame. Funnily enough I've just done mine. The front ones are a different matter and the frame does have to be removed first!

On the rear doors, removal of the interior trim panel should reveal some larger screws which secure the lock mechanism. You need to undo these as well as the handle screws. I'm sure you realize that you have to remove the escutcheon before the handle itself. Fixing the return spring to cure the floppy handle is a pain. I secured mine with a small screw and washer having drilled a hole in the handle first.

Just to re visit this thread - Finally, finally, got around to doing this annoying floppy handle thing and much easier than I expected
Thanks Many Minors followed exactly as per your method including the easy fix of securing the popped out 'tail' of the spring with a very small self tap screw.
When removing the lock mechanism 2 large holding screws the lock mechanism drops down a little just enough to allow easy free removal of the door handle unit. An extremely easy job in the end and definately not necessary to remove window frame and glass just for removal of rear door handles on the 4 door!