885ks driver door handle replacement experience

[gongwer@tiac.net (Scott Gongwer)]

I ran into some unusual problems fixing the classic 
"broken door handle" problem with the drivers-side handle
on my Audi 885ks.  I took the old handle off to find the 
classic underlying problem of a broken split-lever around
the lock cylinder.  I  had previously gone to Clair Audi
in Dedham MA and purchased a standard replacement handle "kit" for
84-88 5ks cars.  The kit came with an impressive number of
little parts so I felt well-prepared for the repair job.

First, I took off the old handle, brought it in the house,
and laid it beside the replacement kit.  I notice two things right off.

1. The new kit replaces the nylon ball connector to the lock
cyliner with a brass one.  This looked like a reasonable improvement,
probably based on reported failures of the old style connector.

2. The door-jam connector (the small cast piece with two side-by-side
holes) was smooth bore where the old one was tapped for the screws.  I
later found, by experimentation, and looking at the screws, that the two
screws you put in thru the door jam are self-tapping screws that cut new
theads in the cast holes as you screw them in.  This is important to know
since you cannot restart the screwing-in process in such a scheme.

Next, sitting at the kitchen table, I built my new handle from the parts
provided, took the old lock cylinder out of the old handle and put it in
the new handle.  I was ready to go.

I spent the next hour struggling to get the new handle on.  Not with the
nylon connectors.  They are difficult, but eventually you get them snapped
on. (Don't switch them around or nothing will work. Reach in the hole in the
door with your hands and push-pull them to determine their use.)  The problem
I had was attaching the small (forward) part of the plastic handle casing to
the car.  After some struggle I took the handle off again, took it in the
house and found that the old handle and kit handle are different sizes and 
shapes.  The kit handle is too long, by about 1/4 inch, and, is not molded with
a recessed area to allows the round metal nib, with the threads for the
attachment
screw, to sit inside the handle. Result, after some study, I determined that the
kit handle is not usable for 84-885ks cars.  I even tried modifying and
bending the
handle but it is hopeless.  After studing the problem for a while, I discovered
another solution

There is another small screw way down in the guts of the mechanical trigger 
mechanism that allows you to remove the entire mechanism from the platic
shell handle.  
After doing this to old and new handles. I could install the new kit
mechanism into the
old plastic handle shell.  Result, I got the new hybrid handle onto the car
in 10
minutes, put in the door-jam screws, and was done.

Important to note:  When you have the handle on the car, using only the
small-end 
screw, and before you put in the door-jam screws, hold the handle on
manually and 
TEST the latch and lock mechanisms.  If you get it wrong, you won't have a
second
chance.

Also important to note that the kit does not come with the little rubber gaskets
that mate the handle to the door body.  Take them off the old handle and don't
loose them.

My conclustion is that Audi should stop selling the current kit and find one
that
works.  The handle kit package says "Made in Italy", so it's definitely an after
market thing.  I suspect that the italian company is trying to make one
handle for
several cars, including Volkswagons, and in so doing makes a handle that fits 
nothing.  You can try to get a used handle from a legal chop shop, but the web
reports say that most handles get removed quickly from junked cars since Audi
has had such a problem with this on the 84-88 5ks's.  In my case, it was also
January in New England and I didn't want to spend hours in the cold, in a field,
taking apart junked Audi's.

The chrome strip can also be transferred from the new kit to the old handle,
making for a nice appearance on the completed job.  Good luck with your version
of this task.

Scott Gongwer (gongwer@tiac.net)