Door Handle Assembly

[joefrantz]

I took my door handles apart to clean & lube them. I didn't find any similar threads, so I thought I'd post a few pictures.

It's pretty simple.

The first pic shows the left door handle after disassembly and cleaning. I was surprised at the amount of gunk that came out of it. I'd say about a half cubic inch of oil and graphite soaked dust,
about the texture of play dough.

The stud with the hex nut in the middle and the machine screw at the upper left are the only two fasteners that hold it together.

Notice the lock cylinder with the springs and pins removed. A lot of care is needed with these. The key needs to be inserted to get the cylinder out of the handle. When the key comes out of the cylinder, the pins and springs become very loose. Remove the key slowly and guide the pins out. You need to keep track of the pin locations and make sure they get back in the same slots. The pin locations are what "keys" the lock.



The trigger assembly is just these two parts, held together buy a pin. The pin is a nice smooth fit -- not much effort needed to remove it (with a small punch) or tapit back in.



Next I pre-assembled the lock spring onto the handle. This is the spring that centers the key when you twist and release it. No problem here either. Just set it in place, engage one pin, and use a punch on the other pin to tighten the coil. I added a little grease as well.






The next step is the only tricky part. The actuator rod and spring need to be pre-assembled in the trigger mechanism and the whole assembly slid into the opening in the cylinder housing. The trigger/cylinder joint is dove-tailed, and you can't insert it from the side.



Notice the small dovetail to the left of the actuaor rod. The double ended stud holds the trigger mechanism in place. I also used a small amount of grease on the rod, spring and trigger pivot. Anti seize on the stud.



After replacing the springs and pins in the lock, insert the key.
It holds everything together, and also tells you if you got it right. The pins must be retracted for the lock to go into the handle.
I also lubed the lock internally with graphite lock fluid.





The last piece to go on is the lock actuator at the end of the barrel. It only goes on one way, over the small square boss. The machine screww holds it and the lock cylinder in place.



As a final step, I buffed out the small scratches with a soft buff and white compound. It takes out most of the swirls, ring marks etc.

Joe

[Jays72T]

Thanks for the great write up, I need to do this.

[slodave]

Are you building a real gold plated Porsche? I've never seen gold door handles before! Thanks for the write up.

Dave

[joefrantz]

Originally posted by slodave
Are you building a real gold plated Porsche? I've never seen gold door handles before! Thanks for the write up.

Dave

LOL -- wait 'til you see the wheels.

The color is distorted because the pics were done without flash under incandescent light. Plus, I think the red shop rags fool the digi-cam a bit.

They're definitely plain 'ol silver chrome.

Joe

[pope]

Great write up. Helped me immensely. Would like to add a few things.

I could not get the trigger pin out and was too afraid to bang on it with force seeing as you can get the assembly pretty clean with it in.

I put lithium grease on all moving parts except the lock itself where I put silicone grease so it won't get messy.

For some reason, which I failed to find, the lock cylinder and the actuator were a bit loose inside the handle. This left a small crack (red arrow) big enough for the spring end to fit through and mess up the smooth operation of the key.



A little bend on the spring end in question (as in the picture) will fix this problem perfectly.

[hursty]

Originally Posted by pope

Great write up. Helped me immensely. Would like to add a few things.

I could not get the trigger pin out and was too afraid to bang on it with force seeing as you can get the assembly pretty clean with it in.

I put lithium grease on all moving parts except the lock itself where I put silicone grease so it won't get messy.

For some reason, which I failed to find, the lock cylinder and the actuator were a bit loose inside the handle. This left a small crack (red arrow) big enough for the spring end to fit through and mess up the smooth operation of the key.



A little bend on the spring end in question (as in the picture) will fix this problem perfectly.

excellent photo's and explanations, mine was sticking on the first lock when trying to open from out side so had to open from inside (most annoying )but cleaned out with wd40 for now but will follow your advice now i know,ta

[RWebb]

Nice writeup

re: gunk & graphite, lithium grease, silicone grease -- I keep hearing that one should only use a Teflon spray - it is said to not accumulate gunk

but maybe that is only inside the lock cylinder - there used to be an auto locksmith that posted here - maybe he or another locksmith will chime in

[joetiii]

Is this assembly cleaning for the trigger style handles similar to the older style push button door handles of 69 era?

[enjefriy]

Impressive illustration. A full descriptive instruction that'll help alot for sure

[SEE YA]

Question is there a certain position that the lock actuator fits onto the key barrel.
I refitted mine,when I go to open or lock the door it does not work it just turns around and clicks sometimes?
I may have missed something?
Any help welcome please.

[OsoMoore]

Excellent illustrations. It may be worth noting that, if you don't want to reposition the pins (nasty work), just leave the key in the lock for the entire operation.

[88911coupe]

Is there some info on how to get it out in the first place?

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by 88911coupe

Is there some info on how to get it out in the first place?

How to remove the handle assembly? There is some brief info in the 101 Projects book. Basically you need to take off the inner door panel and plastic liner, and then reach in with a small wrench. Its a pain, and you need a tiny wrench and some patience. But it isn't that complicated once the door panels are off. I disassembled, cleaned, fixed, and reassembled in one evening.