Door Handle repair postponed.

[Album56 0]

Finally got round to repairing the drivers door handle with a repair kit purchased from our buddy on this forum the other day. I found removing the door card was easier than I thought once I worked out how to split the inside closing handle to expose the 2 screws. The dampproof membrane was intact & fixed on the bottom & sides with a black mastic type substance & a clear sticky substance at the top. Then the problem started, I couldnt budge the big screw/bolt that holds the outside handle. The handle had been replaced about 9 years ago by the dealer last time it broke & they obviously didnt put any grease on the threads & tightened it within an inch of its life. It will not budge after WD40 etc & now the slot has started to mangle even with a perfect driver. I'm going to drill it out next week & have a new screw & washers on order at the dealers, so have put it all back for the moment.

One thing if anyone can tell me, where is the plug & how much of the membrane do you have the pull off to unhook the wires please.

Mick

[Walesy 0]

You were turning the bolt the right way were you? IIRC its a reverse thread so needs to be undone clockwise.

[yeti 0]

x2 - left hand thread on that... i made this mistake and almost damaged the door skin thrying to remove the bolt by doing it up! :eek:

[Jim 2]

Yep - reverse thread. I was fighting with that bolt for a while before I hit the search.. good old VW like to throw the occasional little curveball in there some times to keep C ownership interesting!

[Album56 0]

Thanks guys, that would explain it. I did see when looking on Vagcat for the part number afterwards that one bolt was listed as left hand thread but dismissed it as being nonsensical. Well as I say there is a new bolt + washers coming next week so armed with the new info I should only have to struggle getting the pin out & fitting the new part now. Strange that the quite detailed instructions on how to remove/replace the door handle that I printed out from the CCA website didnt mention this anomally.

Mick :salute:

[Supercharged 2]

Yep - made the same mistake a few years ago!

 

The bolt has a little arrow on it to denote it's a reverse thread - driver side only I think

[Jim Bowen 1]

word!

[VR6 0]

I even managed to break a screwdriver I was that convinced that VW wouldn't reverse thread a door handle screw :lol:

[Album56 0]

Praying for fine weather produced predictable rain/wind, keen to get on with this now, anybody got any advice on how to preserve the membrane whilst trying to release plug/wires from door please.

Mick

[VR6 0]

It's easy enough - just peel the membrane away from the area you need and it should stick back ok unless it's old/manky/wet. Even then, some strategic duct tape usually does the trick.

[GaVR6in 0]

Glad I read this thr5ead now as I will be doing the exact same job very soon great info lads.

[Album56 0]

Thanks again guys, this forum is a godsend, doesnt look like I'll be doing this today its still raining quite hard in sunny Bournemouth. Looks like its the bottom lefthand corner of the membrane to reveal the plug but I understand the wires are held by 2 clips to keep them clear of the window so I may need to peal back membrane more to unclip the wires.

Mick

[misscarnage 0]

Think I pulled mine about a third of the way up.

Simple job. Only problem I had was that I was missing the screw that holds the handle itself on to the door, took a while to find one just right, short stubby little thing.

And yes this site is a godsend, I was waiting weeks to get someone to do it for me, looked up a section on here and decided to do it myself instead. All done in about 30 mins!

[Album56 0]

Got it done this afternoon, the plug/wires are behind the bottom right hand corner of the membrane, fiddly trying to unclip the wires, I found it useful to unclip the small plastic inspection plate, also fiddly to get the door handle off unless you know how, the other end of the handle has a kind of hooked end which means you have to pull the lock end out almost at right angles to the door to unhook it. Fitting the repair kit wasnt easy, had several attempts to remove the pin, finally pushed it in the opposite direction when trying to get the screw to grip & then managed to pull it out. Fitting the new part again was tricky trying to hold the end of the spring out of the way while manouvering the new part into position but eventually did it.

The membrane did stick back ok & putting the wiring clip back was fiddly again & then putting door card back getting the lock pin thro the hole in the top where the little plastic knob screws on was made easier with some tape to guide it thro the hole. Everything else was a doddle after that.

The door now opens again, What a relief. Thanks to everyone for your useful pointers.

Mick :clap: