am I better off replacing the door?

I'm a proud owner of an '86 Chevy Astro van that still runs great. But the driver's side outside door handle no longer functions (it got brittle, cracked and basically fell off). I'm not sure whether the latch mechanism inside the door is working properly (though I can open the door from the inside). Am getting sick of entering the van from the passenger side door. Any idea on whether the handle/latch mechanism can be repaired and, if so, about how much this would run? (I'm not mechanical at all, and have no tools) What about replacing the whole door? Would that be cheaper? The Kelley Blue Book value on the vehicle is less than $500 so I'm looking for a cheap fix. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks,

W.D.

Reply to
W.D.
Loading thread data ...

I would find the proper door handle on E-bay (i found the one for my truck) and buy it. While you are waiting for UPS to drop it off at your door, I would visit your local Auto Body Repair shop and ask them if they would install it for you and for how much. They will have much more experience with installing door handles than your local auto repair shop. It is not the easiest part to replace, unless, of course, all of your fingers have double joints!

Reply to
Bob Truck

...or he might call around to the local recycling yards in his area... might be easier than eBay

Reply to
Mike McAuley

Replaced a similar handle on my 88 S-10 today. Took 25 minutes, and that is in the Minnesota cold slowing down my dexterity. Granted, this is the 6th or 7th I have replaced, so I am getting pretty good at it. Piss poor design. I've replaced my drivers handle twice in 2004. Go to your local parts store and get the handle. It'll cost $10-15 tops. If you don't have one, get the window crank removal tool ($4-5 tops). The only other tools you need are a phillips screwdriver and a ratchet, extention, and socket set. I think it's a 7/16 socket you need, but I didn't pay much attention when doing it today. It is also handy to have a tool that helps remove the door panel, it is basically a glorified screwdriver with a "U" shaped end that you stick in behind the door panel to pop the plastic tabs out. You can buy new tabs, $4-5 tops. Take off window crank, take off arm rest, remove door panel. If you have a plastic trim piece above the door panel, remove that too (prior to trying to get the door panel off). Pull down the padding and remove the old handle, then put the new one in. The only tricky part is that you have to fish your hand in the door to get the metal rod out and then back in the new one. There is a plastic tab that wraps around the metal rod that needs to be pried up if it is still there. The new handle will have a new plastic piece so don't worry about it. Note, depending on the new handle, you do have to take that plastic piece off the handle and reverse it to make it work (they are universal, some need it on one side, some on the other side). This is elementary stuff, nothing to be threatened by.

Big Chris

W.D. wrote:

Reply to
Big Chris

Thanks for the detailed instructions, Chris, and thanks to everyone else for their suggestions. There are tons of these handles on ebay for around $7 a pop (plus shipping). I'm just not sure if that's all that's broken. I think the local body shop route is my best bet -- I don't mind paying someone to save me the time, frustration and scraped knuckles. Like I say, I'm not the mechanical type ;-)

W.D.

ps - Chris, if you were in Atlanta I'd pay you a case of good beer (or your drink of choice) to do it for me!

Reply to
W.D.

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.