'86 exterior door handle removal

[grege635]

As part of ongoing upkeep on my '86 635csi, I wanted to change out the decaying plastic surround on the passenger side exterior door handle. I found the information posted here in the Forums invaluable but spread over several posts and thought I could combine the info add some helpful insights and techniques - so here are some pics, steps, and advice on working on the door handles on an '86 635csi.


In this case, I was not replacing the clock cylinders - I was just replacing the exterior handle surround on the passenger side. This info is applicable but I never got into the complete disassembly of the lock tumbler. Also, as you can see from the pics, this car has the nylon actuator mechanisms attached to the tumbler housing, so that also will affect whether or not this post is applicable to you're car. Removing mirror adjustment switch complicates things on drivers side a bit. Finally, I do not know if this mechanism was worked on previously. I do suspect some body work was done to that side. Info here is based on the door handle mechanism as I found it installed.

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Disassembly:
FIrst of all - elevate the car. Any amount at all will help....otherwise you're neck will get hammered looking up into the door at the lock mechanism. (sidebar plug here - check out Quickjack.com. Great accessory if you can't afford or don't want a full lift).


Door Panel Removal:


Remove the door pull handle: Pop out the blank for the mirror switch. Remove the two phillips screws behind the blank - one angles in towards the front of the door (the shorter of the two screws), one goes straight into the door. Raise the storage compartment lid then rotate the top of the handle down and in. There are two tabs in the bottom of the handle that will disengage with slight outward pressure.


Remove the inner door opener handle surround: There are two ears on top and bottom edges which will disengage as you push the surround towards the rear of the door and pull out on the rear edge of the surround.


Remove the door panels:

lower (map pocket) panel - use putty knife or similar to pop out the nylon retainers along bottom and rear edge; support the rear of the panel and remove 4 screws along top (2 under the now removed pull handle and two under the storage compartment lid); swing rear of panel into car to release tab at front edge. BE SURE TO SUPPORT THE REAR OF THE PANEL SO THAT THE TAB AT FRONT DOESN'T CARRY THE FALLING WEIGHT OF THE PANEL.


middle panel - pop out nylon retainers front and rear and it will come off


top panel ('window ledge') - remove screws at front and rear ends (note that the front screw has a large washer on it); remove the manual lock knob; pull panel out of track along window sill, working from front to rear.


Now you can access the lock/door handle mechanism...and it looks like a real challenge - until you figure out the weird 'bar' at the top isn't riveted on and the nylon levers don't need to come off the tumbler housing.


The key to working on the components is knowing how the unit is designed to work. The tumbler assembly (tumbler, housing, lock heater switch and nylon levers ) inserts through the door from the inside into the socket in the exterior door handle. Inserted at 90 degrees from vertical then rotated CC to vertical the assembly will cam-lock into the exterior handle. The handle is still loose in the door opening at this point. The C clip is then installed to wedge between the tumbler housing and the door skin, pulling the exterior tight to the door.


TIP #1 - TAKE PICTURES BEFORE STARTING DISASSEMBLY


Handle removal:


Remove the actuator arm (bolted to the rear door handle arm; It loops over the tumbler assembly to actuate the opener/release mechanism) by removing the bolt on the rear handle arm next to the tumbler. Hard to see until removed but the top end of the actuator arm has a yoke which fits over a pin and the bottom of the handle arm is slotted so it has some adjustment - MARK THE LOCATION of the bolt head in relation to the slot before removing the bolt. Also remove the bolt holding the front of the handle


Remove the bar/counter-weight. (TIP #2 - 'opening' the handle from outside provides more room to work with the counter weight - use a none-metalic wedge extrerior side to hold it open.) Each end of the bar has a clip which slips over the arms of the handle - the front one slips over in a vertical direction, the rear one in horizontal with the clips to the outside of the door. There is a slight nipple on each of the door handle arms that captures the clips. You may have to slightly raise the clip to release it from the nipple, but mine slipped off easily without prying. Remember the orientation when you take it off (the pictures you took will help...).

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Disconnect the rod that drops vertically from the outer nylon lever and attaches to the rest of the lock/unlock mechanism. At the lower end, the rod just pops out of a nylon bushing in a metal arm - leave it attached to the nylon arm on the tumbler assembly.

Using a long screwdriver, knock the U-shaped retainer towards the rear of the door. Keep an eye on it - it may go anywhere and disappear. At this point, the whole handle will be loose in the door. From inside, rotate the entire tumbler assembly clockwise 90 degrees (note this position for reassembly) and it will disengage from the exterior handle and can be pulled to the inside.


The exterior handle is now loose and can be worked out through the openings and the surround/gasket can now be replaced.


Reinstallation:

Reinsert the handle with new gasket into the door opening. I had to make a minor cut in the gasket (genuine part) to allow it to fit onto the handle. TIP #3 - During installation of the handle mechanism make sure the gasket doesn't shift out of position.


Install the counter weight: The weight goes back on the handle arms on the interior side of the arms - given the way the clips are oriented it seems like you'd want to put it on the door skin side of the arms but I tried that and it seemed to interfere with the handle operation since the weight hit the door skin. Slide the horizontal clip onto the rear arm with the forward end raised abov the front arm. Once the rear clip is in place, slide the front end down onto the front arm. Make sure the clips engage the nipples on the arm so that it doesn't fall off.


Install the bolt in the front of the door handle to stabilize it.


Pre-position the U clip: Getting that clip in place was the task I was dreading....how to get that clip in place and seated. I'd already started working on new curses for the event....but they weren't needed! Why? BIG TIP #4 - use a strong magnet on the outside of the door to hold the clip in place on the inside while you get the tumbler in place. To protect the paint, I put some masking tape on the outside of the door just to the rear of the handle directly opposite where the clip would have to be placed on the inside to get it started onto the tumbler assemble. I then put a strong magnet on top of the tape (computer hard drive magnets work very well - small and STRONG - find a techy). Place the clip on the inside and aligned to the tumjbler assembly opening as closely as possible - the magnet will hold it in place.


Install the tumbler assembly: Insert the tumbler assembly through the door into the exterior handle with its axis 90 degrees CW off vertical. Once inserted fully, rotate CC back to vertical. Make sure the tumbler assemble has fully engaged and will not pull out of the handle. Check to see that the C clip is still aligned to the tumbler housing. The exterior handle will still be loose. (I found that I could not get the clip far enough to the rear of the door to allow the tumbler assembly to seat into the door handle - the front edge of the clip arms were interfering....so I modified the clip. TIP #5 - to get the clip to slide a bit further to the rear, back into the door seam, I ground down the rear edge of the clip a bit - doesn't take much so don't over do it - you need that lip to lever the clip onto the tumbler housing.)




Set the U clip in place: Check the outer door gasket alignment. Then, using a long screwdriver or narrow lever, force the clip forward onto the tumbler housing by prying or twisting on the back edge of the clip. Correct the alignment by prying on the upper or lower corner of the clip. I found that I needed to bend to very tips of the C clip up slightly to get the clip to slide into the correct slot on the housing. Not sure what was up with that, but the clip kept hitting the housing and would not slide into the correct groove and the handle was still loose. The clip is spring steel so does not bend easily. Put just the very tip in a vice to bend them up slightly more. I found that the clip went on without much force once aligned and the door handle was tight to the door - if the handle isn't solid, the clip isn't installed correctly.


Reconnect the lower end of the locking mechanism rod.


Reinstall the actuator arm making sure it is returned to its original position.


WITH THE DOOR OPEN, test the handle to make sure it functions as it should.


Test the locking system with the door open, then close the door and try again. If you're really paranoid, leave a window down.....


Replace the door panels, starting with the top one, then the pull handle and the interior handle surround.
Stand back, admire the new gasket, make sure there are no fasteners or parts lying around.......then go for a drive!

[emccallum]

Greg,
Thank you for the timely post. I have two gaskets that I was getting ready to install and have been searching for some instructions. All the best.

[grege635]

I'd be interested in hearing how it goes...

[emccallum]

Me too!

[emccallum]

Oh my goodness that was fun! Greg, I owe you a case of beer. No way I could have done that without your write up. It is a very difficult procedure to explain in words. Explaining how the tumbler releases was the key. I will add a couple of things that may help someone else. My latch rod is a little different, I dont have the nylon piece on the tumbler.

-- I had to remove the lock micro switch attached to the bottom of the tumbler (it just has a metal clip that holds it on the bracket) in order to rotate the tumbler enough to release it.
-- The large clip that holds the tumbler does not go between the door skin and the tumbler. Look closely at how it works, the tumbler slides on its bracket and that really helps installing it back together. Had I realized that in the beginning I may not have had to remove the lock microswitch!
-- I also had to release some of the wires from their clips to get enough freedom to rotate the parts.
-- There is only one clip on the counterweight that is removed. I removed the one at the tumbler and the counterweight just slid towards the back of the door to remove it.

Mine could be a little different. It is an 87. Thanks again.

[grege635]

Glad the post helped! the difference in mechanisms is what had me confused at first...different posts, different pics and procedures. I still don't know for sure but I think mechanisms differed even within same year.

[grege635]

emccallum - thinking more about your experience. So, what you are saying is the U clip comes off with the tumbler assembly? That makes sense - as long as the cams/ramps on the assembly catch the ones in the handle socket, it would lock down when that assembly is rotated into place. Why didn't I think of that! (I'm NOT going to disassemble my door again just to verify - aI'll let someone else do that!)

[emccallum]

Yes, if you blow up my picture (before taking it apart) and look closely at the U clip you can see the zinc plated holder between the clip and the door skin. That may have been why it was so hard to get the clip in.

Also, I left the top part of the door card attached as removing it didn't seem to give me much more room, and from your good description I felt I knew what I wasn't able to see!