Loose door Handles (1 Viewer)

[ODOverland]

So I am in the process of base-lining my first 100 series. As I am working around vehicle I have noticed something with the door handles, but not sure if this is normal or not. The part of the door handle that you pull on has a lot of play in them. They all open fine but if I hold the door handle I can move it up and down quite a bit more than I would think. Seems like there should maybe be rubber or something in the rear of each handle to hold it tighter. Just always heard about build quality in these and I do see it, but after 24 years things tend to deteriorate. Just checking if that's normal or if I need to replace something. The clear coat has failed on all of them and was going to paint them.. but if they are bad then no point. Are these serviceable? Want to get this as close to factory fresh as I can. Thank you!

 

[choyota]

So I am in the process of base-lining my first 100 series. As I am working around vehicle I have noticed something with the door handles, but not sure if this is normal or not. The part of the door handle that you pull on has a lot of play in them. They all open fine but if I hold the door handle I can move it up and down quite a bit more than I would think. Seems like there should maybe be rubber or something in the rear of each handle to hold it tighter. Just always heard about build quality in these and I do see it, but after 24 years things tend to deteriorate. Just checking if that's normal or if I need to replace something. The clear coat has failed on all of them and was going to paint them.. but if they are bad then no point. Are these serviceable? Want to get this as close to factory fresh as I can. Thank you!

Gotta open the interior door panel and peel back a little bit of the clear protective covering to access the bolts to your loose door handle. Plenty of resources here and YouTube for opening up the interior door panel.

 

[ODOverland]

The main body of the handle that bolts onto the door from interior is tight. The part I am concerned about is just the handle (moving section). I can move it up and down loosely. In my mind it seems there should be some sort of rubber in the 1/8" gap where the handle sets in the handle surround. Just feels like a place for water to get in as well. Just have no reference if this is just how they are or if something is wrong. Its the first one I have owned and I don't have any locals that own one to check theirs.

 

[SteveH]

My '99 (322K) has pretty sloppy handles (all 4) - especially when the handle portion is pulled away from its resting location to open the door. I've decided to ignore it.

 

[magikaram]

I've replaced a passenger door handle after the body was loose on the OEM handle. New one is more firm and tighter while the OEM was loose like you say.

New one is chrome, while all OEM handles are paint-matched black to the car. Going to go with new ones all around since the paint is chipping on the older handles, and the chrome one looks a bit better on the car for now.

 

[Hayesthebuilder]

I have wondered about this exact thing. Really bugs me. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

[James Bentley]

So I am in the process of base-lining my first 100 series. As I am working around vehicle I have noticed something with the door handles, but not sure if this is normal or not. The part of the door handle that you pull on has a lot of play in them. They all open fine but if I hold the door handle I can move it up and down quite a bit more than I would think. Seems like there should maybe be rubber or something in the rear of each handle to hold it tighter. Just always heard about build quality in these and I do see it, but after 24 years things tend to deteriorate. Just checking if that's normal or if I need to replace something. The clear coat has failed on all of them and was going to paint them.. but if they are bad then no point. Are these serviceable? Want to get this as close to factory fresh as I can. Thank you!

my 2004 LX does this too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[ODOverland]

Ok well I guess its normal so mine aren't doing something completely different then others. Wish this wasn't the case or at very least they were serviceable. Really would like to get a new set anyway so I can paint them since the clear is flaky. Haven't found any yet.. PartSouq is out of them.

 

[magikaram]

I obtained mine from RockAuto - so you can get chrome ones from them, though to paint them, you may need to do a bit more prep or remove the chrome.