Door handle problem

[z34_nut]

well as some of you know i had both of my door handles break on my after work one day.

 

well i put new ones on last night (it took over a week to get here thanks to a holiday) but the passengers side wont dis-engage because the door is stuck in the locked position.

 

what happened is when i first baught the car over two years ago the passengers side wouldn't open from the outside.

 

it was the adjusting screw that broke, so i fixed it and it worked up untill the door handle broke last week.

 

now on my new handles i couldn't adjust the handle to it would just snap into the new handle, i scrwed it all the way down, and i still had to put up on it just a tad, btu i didn't think it was a major concern.

 

now when ally went to get in the car last night, she couldn't get in (thank you auto locks) and the lock wont disengage because it thinks the door handle is being pulled.

 

so any suggestions on how to fix this problem before i dremmel the new handle out?

[grandprixgtp_91]

i would try from the inside of the car, locking and unlocking it manually and trying to open it from the inside while slaming your body into the door. it sometimes works.

 

Jake

[z34_nut]

i would try from the inside of the car, locking and unlocking it manually and trying to open it from the inside while slaming your body into the door. it sometimes works.

 

Jake

 

well i attempeted that, but i also tryed to drill out hte top so the handle would sit a little further back, that didn't work so it looks like dremela nd buying yet another door handle.

[cutlsp]

damn my 89 the driver's door won't open either i hope its not the same problem is it is i'm screwed

[supreme_style21]

I'm a little confused.

 

How did you have your new handle adjusted? The handle itself or the lock was previously broken?

 

 

Try using the key in the outside lock. My pass. door is getting tempermental and the key always releases the lock.

 

In my old '89, I had to apply pressure to the door, right in the area I highlighted:

[Darkness]

I bet this is the same thing happening with mine, my lock will not disengage after putting on the new handle. I have thought about drilling a small hole in the door handle so I can reach in there with a big nail or welding rod or something and lifting the lever in there to see if I can get it unlocked.

 

Let me know if you find anything, and I'll let you know how my experiment goes tonight. Worst case scenario, I have to buy another door handle, which only cost me about $30 shipped.

[Darkness]

Well. crap. Didn't happen last night. By the time I got out of work it was snowing so damn hard I could barely see my way home. Going to attempt it tonight, weather permitting.

[Darkness]

Ok, since it warmed up into the mid 30s, I wandered out into the parking lot at work with my trusty wire coat hanger. I used my pliers to make a piece about 10 inches long or so, made a loop for my finger at one end and a hook at the other end. I popped the cover off of the inside of the doorjam on the passenger side to take a look at the setup, bent the wire a little bit and went to work on the driver side.

 

Basically, what I did was slide the wire down through the gaps in the door handle where the lever part pivots. Then, I fished around until I got the wire to snag that little bent bar that goes from the handle to the door mechanism. Then, I just pulled up. Oh, by the way, I had my window down and reached in to hit the power lock and to use the inside door handle to open the door.

 

After a few tries, I snagged the correct thingy and the door unlocked and popped right open. Now I just have to make sure everything is cleaned, lubed and adjusted properly before I ever lock the car again. I have to tug on the handle harder than I want to, and the rod going to the handle doesn't want to return all the way to the start position after opening, which I think was my problem in the first place.

 

Good luck!

[z34_nut]

thanks for the info! i will be sure to try this tonight, i'll let you know how it goes later.