Exterior door trim, door handle removal/replacement (1 Viewer)

[albert110]

Hi all,
Finally done with body work and am ready to paint the doors & rest of the body. Trouble is, it looks like 1) I can't remove the exterior door handles without messing with a vinyl tab that I'm positive would break if I tried bending it and 2) the chrome trim on the base of the door looks to be held on with similarly weathered vinyl tabs and 3) the chrome surrounding the rest of the windows looks to be crimped into place and not intended to be removed at all.
Am I off base in assuming how difficult it is to remove these pieces? If not, is the plastic still available if I do break a few tabs and such? Is there an SST for removal/installation of the chrome surround?
Thanks in advance, my search abilities weren't turning up much info.

 

[87CRUSR]

1. You should be able to remove exterior handles without breaking any tabs. I dont recall specifically what tabs are in question.
2. Chrome trim at base of door? Which part is that? Door glass channel?
3. Correct

 

[albert110]

Thanks for the insight. The plastic that has me confused is the bit that serves as a bushing between the door handle lever and the arm that extends down toward the release mechanism. Doesn’t seem like there’s enough clearance to compress it and pop it out, and I don’t see an easy way aside from that place to disconnect the handle from everything else... I’ll keep at it.

 

[FJACS]

You don’t want to remove the white nylon clip from the handle - you want to remove the linkage from the nylon clip. Gently spread the clip open and wiggle the linkage free.

 

[albert110]

Thank you, that does the trick!

 

[gregnash]

Yup.. and you can then adjust the insert by threading it up and down the rod to change how much travel the handle has before the catch releases... (yes all technical terms..LOL)