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Broken interior door handle plastic fix - 1995LX

3K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  zzyzzx 
#1 ·
I was replacing the door speakers on my 1995LX when I ran into an issue whereby the plastic part where the door handle meets the door panel (specifically the hard plastic inside the softer door handle) was brittle, and crumbled. This is the pastic part that holds the interior door handle to the door itself. Actually I could still pull the door closed, but then I was pulling on the whole door panel, which presumably was very bad for the door panel in the long run. I did not feel like going to the junkyard to get another door panel because this looked like the type of thing where they are all going to be broken, or will break shortly even if I find a good one. So I figured I would just take the OE screw, size it, then take a guess at what size to use as a replacement, then get a longer one, and use a big fender washer to hold it in. My first guess was a #12 wood screw, which as too small. On a return trip to the hardware store, I talked to a different person who pointed out that the OE screw wasn't a wood screw, but looked like a sheet metal screw with the point lopped off. So I broke out my caliper and figured out that the OE screw is really a M6 screw. Once I knew that, I just had to get one the right length. The OE one was 40mm, and my first guess when I bought the #12 screw was 3", so I bought a M6-80 sheet metal screw and it worked. Having said that, I have already ordered another one that is only 70mm long to try for the other side, since this is the type of thing where I do not want to too long as well (might interfere with the window). The 80mm went in fine and looked like it had 20mm to spare, and then (and this is the part that I didn't take into account earlier) you end up compressing the soft door handle so it went in a few mm farther than that. That is why my next attempt will be with a 70mm long screw. That and I have no idea if for my purposes if both screws should be the same length.

This picture shows the fender washers (use larger ones for the front hole), the OE screw (lower left) and the replacement screw still inside the packaging (you will most likely have to mail order your metric sheet metal screws):



This is the door handle with the repair. On the other side I will need to do both, and will update this thread when that is complete.

 
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