Re: Wanted: final word on door handles!

[Luis Marques <marques@ti.com>]

I for one agree with you, Todd.  I had a rear door handle break on my
4kq (surprise! - not).  I replaced it with one from a junk yard and that
lasted only 6 months.  Didn't bother fixing it until the other rear door
handle began to break.  Then I bought two new door handles for like $30
ea. and really disassembled and cleaned the door jamb mechanism and
luber it really well.  I figure that should last for at least 5 more
years, maybe 10 if I keep the locks clean and lubbed.  I did the plastic
gaskets as well and they look as good as new :)  IMHO, used handles have
already fatigued and given up must of their useful life.  If you use
them, you will be making another trip to the junk  yard fairly soon.  Am
I the only one to notice that most of the door handles in junked Audis
are missing?

About opening doors that won't open with either the outside or inside
handles, a friend of mine had a new (back in 1990) Jetta when they were
like the #1 car being stolen in Atlanta.  Anyway, the thieves opened the
car in about 2 seconds.  Forget about the Armor Door plates and all
that.  They used bolt cutters to cut the handle in half (where you grab
it), then gave it a quarter of a turn and the door was open.  They
trashed the dash and took the radio and a bunch of CDs.  All this only a
block away from a police station while he was making a report about a
break-in the night before!  True story.

Luis Marques
'87 4kcsq



Todd Joseph <todd@ConnActivity.ConnActivity.com> wrote:
> 
> Not sure everyone will agree with me, but for the $$, I would pull
> them all and put in new ones.  Be sure to swap the locking mechanisms
> in the fronts so they still match the ignition.
> 
> As for the driver's side rear, pry the handle off from the outside
> (use a wood shim to protect the metal on the door).  Once pried off,
> pull on the cable/rod to open the door -- at least that's what I did
> on my old '86 5000CSTQ.
> 
> While you have all the doors apart, I would check for any impending
> cable/pulley problems with the window regulators and repair as needed
> with bicycle brake cables.  Also, on the drivers side inspect the
> wiring harness to make sure it is not rubbing or in danger of creating
> a short where the door opens.
> 
> Good luck.
>