Xoutpost.com - Broken Outside Door Handle Fix

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Quote:

Originally Posted by TiminIndy (Post 1053903)

I have my parts and am about to attempt this repair. I plan to leave the battery hooked up and will leave air bag connected and tie it up as some have. Does anyone know how to make it so my interior lights don't stay on the entire time I have my door open? I don't see a button in the door jam that tells the car that the door is open.

Curious to see how the install went? Did it fit well?

It's my turn to order...

Nice write up here! I just did this job and created a DIY video to help those about to tackle the job:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge7-...BoZOPEauRHskow

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiminIndy (Post 1053428)

I ordered the one for $25.90 & free shipping from Import Parts Depot (Amazon = KOOLMAN). It arrived today (2 days later), but I ordered the trim clips and handle gaskets from another seller and they aren't here yet. That's OK - I won't have the time to do it until next week.

I'll be the guinea pig on this carrier and will report back on how it holds up.

All I can say is - you told me so! I was able to get the aftermarket carrier on, but it was extremely difficult to get the left, 'keyed' part of the exterior handle to fit into the carrier. I finally got it on there, but marred the right side of the handle some when trying to get it to lock in. Then, I was unable to get the set screw to lineup and fit into the lock piece (tried on and off for hours).

I went to the dealer and got OEM for $153 + tax, brought it home and it installed simply within 5 minutes - a perfect fit. Now I need to return the aftermarket POS. I could have got OEM a lot cheaper online, but since I had the door apart, I had to get it same day.

Tip from another video that was useful:

Put about 3 pieces of painter's tape under the exterior lock piece to protect the door when trying to fit the handle on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiminIndy (Post 1055933)

Had the same problem trying to install the set screw into the lock piece using an aftermarket carrier. With the plastic trim cap installed over the pot metal lock piece, there's no way the pieces align - the angle of the screw is off relative to the drilling in the lock piece.

The lock piece needs to slide IN AND OVER toward the front of the vehicle to lock it in place. You can push it in far enough, but it won't slide over with the trim cap installed. Sliding it over changes the angle just enough to install the screw.

Two things help here for anyone wanting to use an aftermarket carrier.

1. Remove the plastic trim cover from the lock piece and re-install it onto the lock piece AFTER the set screw is aligned and grabs a few threads.

2. I used a swiss file and cleaned up a couple of spots in the carrier slide that receives the lock piece. There was flashing left from the casting that was still pretty rough.

Also bought a set of 6" long 3/8in metric allen bits from Harbor Freight. I'm not normally a fan of cheap tools, but these are decent quality and worked great to install the set screw through the tiny angled slot in the door.

I bought a set of the T handle allen wrenches from HF also. For $12, not bad at all!

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_24104.jpg

Hi Guys. Also suffering here (6 hours and counting trying to replace the carrier). I managed to do it, or so I thought, (getting the allen screw lined up was a real pig) however when testing the lock it appears that the tension of the cable isnt sufficient enough to open the door.

On the cable the plastic sleeve has two notches. I clipped it in using the top notch pretty easily with a bit of pressure but the cable is too slack. I've therefore tried clipping it in on the second notch and havent been able to do it. I looked at the notch after around 30 minutes of trying and can see that the sleeve is actually fatter at that point, which is the reason why i'm struggling.

The car has been in an unusable state now for a full week and it's driving me crazy. Any ideas on how I can retain the tension and will it be taut enough if I do get it in the second notch (i'll have a go at filing it a bit). If anyone has had the same problem I'd be interested to hear how they resolved it.

BTW I am using an after market part rather than BMW original one, not that it should matter too much. I've attached a Jpeg so people can see what i'm referring to.

Hello monkeytennis,

I ended up re-using the cable from the old carrier which was OEM. Try removing it from the old carrier and install it into the new one.

In my case, I just couldn't snap the end locking piece into place.

I thought that was one option but didnt want to venture down that avenue just yet as it took me 4 hours to get the allen screw lined up and into the lock. A simple design flaw, an extra couple of mm on the screw would have helped.

Use the BMW part like everyone has recommended. Then everything lines up and works perfectly.

Swapped the cable over and all seems to be good. For anyone using non-genuine parts i'd suggest that it's wise to do so as it can save further frustration.

Thanks for the replies.