Door handle carrier. - HELP!!!

[snik]

Originally Posted by Overboost

Right rear just like yours. I actually had to lay down on the floor and look up the void on the inner side of the door with a flashlight. Then I reached my hand up there and felt it and mumbled under my breath "frickin amateur"...

Tilted the top of the carrier under the lip and it went right in.

I think you might be on to something here.


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[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by snik;

Mine is cracked at the hinge around the axle. Not sure how I could even fix it.


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That is the exact way they almost always break and it's easy and basically free to fix.

I wrote an exact how to with video and photos you can try to find its difficult to find with the app

Here is some helpful preventative measures when using a new carrier:

www.xoutpost.com/1123434-post260

[Awntchi]

Originally Posted by snik

I didn't notice they were different lengths. I can't recall which was longer now. I had swapped to the original cable. But later swapped back to the one the new carrier came with.

I didn't get that, were they different lengths? If the cable is shorter and you (by some miracle) do get the screw lined up and the cable hooked then the door handle will never go into a "resting" position. It will be strained and stick out a lot from its resting position.

[snik]

Originally Posted by Awntchi

I didn't get that, were they different lengths? If the cable is shorter and you (by some miracle) do get the screw lined up and the cable hooked then the door handle will never go into a "resting" position. It will be strained and stick out a lot from its resting position.

That was a typo. I DID notice they were different lengths. I did some swapping around, but I dont recall which is in there now. I would have to look what's on the broken carrier.

It is sticking out, but it was doing that before I hooked the cable. So it seems something else is amiss.


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[sgrice]

I realize that this thread is 2 years old and snik has undoubtedly figured something out by now. But just in case someone comes across this posting when they have a problem getting the door handle carrier fitted properly, I wanted to add my recent experience working on my son's e53 rear door handle carrier.

Same as snik and some other postings I found, we had trouble aligning the hex bolt. Tightening the front philips screw caused the rear part of the door handle to become misaligned.

Eventually we figured out it was because the bowden cable was pressing against the door lock/latch actuator. If we removed the bowden cable the door handle carrier fit perfectly and all the screw holes aligned nicely. Put the bowden cable back into the door handle carrier and things were shifted a few millimeters out of alignment. The solution was to remove the 3 torx-30 bolts that hold the door lock actuator in place. With the door lock actuator out of the way, the door handle carrier with bowden cable was easy to position. Then the door lock actuator was replaced, and the 3 T-30 bolts tightened up.

Just looking at a number of postings, this (door lock actuator hampering the proper seating of the door handle carrier) seems to be a bigger problem with the rear door. Certainly, I have done a front door handle carrier without having to do anything with the door lock actuator. Others have also stated that for the rear the door lock rod will hamper removing the door handle carrier - it has been recommended to pop the door lock rod out of the actuator to allow the door handle carrier to be removed/installed.

So when doing the rear door handle carrier, my strong advice is to start by unbolting the door lock/latch actuator and letting it drop down inside the door frame a few inches. This will allow you to much more easily remove the door handle carrier (gets the door lock rod out of the way), and prevents any problem getting the door handle carrier fitted properly where all the bolts line up.

Hope that helps someone in the future.

[andrewwynn]

Always remove the actuator. You can change it without but it's 5x as difficult front and 10x more difficult rear!

[omodos]

Morning all and sorry to hijack post, ok had my driver side door handle carrier replaced 2 weeks ago usual bit broke, all ok, but on close inspection i have the issue posted here at the the part of the trim that covers the key hole, it doesn't sit flush against the seal.....is there any easy way to pop this part of the trim off ? and tightening that bolt shown in pic will pull the part closer and flush to the panel? If not and i have to rip open the whole door then gonna use a touch of silicon sealant in areas as we are looking at 1-2mm gap....

cheers

[omodos]

Originally Posted by wpoll

To add to what the others have said, you have to get the retaining bolt partially installed, so the end of the thread is sitting flush with the outer side of the new carrier (flush with the end of the plastic retainer sleeve). Then press the lock carrier into place and hold it hard against the door seal while turning the retaining screw.

What some folk don't realise is that the carrier hole is threaded too and so you need to "set" the distance between the two parts before winding in the retaining screw; once they are both engaged in the threads no amount of tightening will alter the distance between them. That's why the lock carrier ends up not sitting flush.

Mr.Wpoll long time no speak, and a late happy nu year, ok being pedantinc as usual but the steps you mention here do i need to rip the inner door cards off?

Or can i just remove the black plug on the innerside of the door to get to the allen key bolt and adjust that?....got a 1-2 mm gap on the part of the trim that fits over the door lock after having the door carrier replaced...

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by omodos

Mr.Wpoll long time no speak, and a late happy nu year, ok being pedantinc as usual but the steps you mention here do i need to rip the inner door cards off?

Or can i just remove the black plug on the innerside of the door to get to the allen key bolt and adjust that?....got a 1-2 mm gap on the part of the trim that fits over the door lock after having the door carrier replaced...

Pretty easy to sort - you just need to remove the small black door plug, loosen off the allen key (bolt), seat the lock cover tight against the seal then tighten the allen key bolt. There's a bit of a trick to it - it's not your normal bolted on part set-up...

[omodos]

Originally Posted by wpoll

Pretty easy to sort - you just need to remove the small black door plug, loosen off the allen key (bolt), seat the lock cover tight against the seal then tighten the allen key bolt. There's a bit of a trick to it - it's not your normal bolted on part set-up...

Wpoll tad confused, in what is in essence a duplicate post that you kindly replied to you told me below, i am hoping I can do above though, loosen the allen key screw push down on the 'thumb keyhole' part of handle and get it flush then tighten the allen key screw at same time...


Here is the message that has just been posted:
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There is a bit of a trick to fitting the lock cover assembly - it needs to be seated tightly prior to tightening up the allen key. If the cover is loose when the allen is tightened, it will stay loose. At this point, simply tightening the allen key (bolt) won't pull the lock cover in tighter.
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