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95 YJ Interior Door Handle Replacement

21K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  1320yj 
#1 ·
95 Wrangler Rio Grande

Interior door handle snapped off! I got a replacement part, but something tells me I will need to be walked through the process of repairing. How hard of a job is this? Does the interior panel have to come off, and if so, how do you do this?

Also if the panel has to come off to hook up new handle, how does it sit flush on the outside of the panel? Does that happen when you screw it down?

Does anyone have details (pics would be great) on:
- Removing the panel
- Installing new handle/lock

THANKS!
 
#2 ·
Firstly, Full or half doors? The screw is the only thing holding the handle to the door. There are metal rods connecting the outside paddle handle to this running through the inside of the door. The rods connect to plastic pins that go into holes on the backside of the interior handle. If it is a full door, you'll have two rods, and the half door has one depending if you have locks or not (my half doors don't lock).

You have to take the screw out and mess around with the linkage to get the new handle on. It's a pain and takes some patience. It took me the better part of an hour to replace mine (the mounting screw was rusted in).

Best advise is use wd40 if the bolt looks rough and be gentle. Once the handle is loose you'll see white plastic clips that hold the rods to the black handle lever (backside of the handle). I took the white plastic "pin" out of the black plastic level arm with some finesse and a screwdriver. From there I replaced the handle and then, with some more finesse, put the white pins back in the black level arm for the handle.

Hopefully I explained it good enough for you to follow. Just be patient and you'll get it. It's a very tight spot to work.
 
#6 ·
Anyone know of any inner door handles that are metal? This will be the third time the passenger side needs replacing due to plastic braking. Could be partially cause I don't have bushings for my doors. And thoughts? Anyone ever make their own?
 
#7 ·
The little white clips that attach the end of the rod to the handle are sold by themselves. You can find them in the parts store in the Help section. I forget what they sell as (maybe a GM door part) but they are sold in a blister pack of 4 for about 5 bucks.

Make sure your rods are not binding up. Those nylon sleeves help too.

Sent from my rotary phone using JeepForum
 
#10 ·
I wish I could find these too!!! I just bought new plastic crap cheap ones and man do they suck!! The thing was brand new and it broke!!! I had to drill parts of it out and use screws to reinforce it. Someone has to make something better than these. I may try and take my Cherokee ones off as they are metal and see if they can be modified to fit.
 
#11 ·
You shouldn't need to pull on the interior levers that hard to open the door. Look into re-greasing the latch mechanism so it opens easier. There are some spots in there that are metal on metal and can get filled with some grime.

The mechanism is the latch at the door pin/striker. You'll need to remove the vinyl interior panel, then get into the latch mechanism. If I recall, there is an access plate screwed onto the door. I'm going from memory, sorry.

I've been there snapping the junk plastic handles. Check to make sure that the latch operates easily and the rods aren't catching each other or something else.

I used grease and some narrow stcks to get it worked into the latch. Remember that WD-40 isn't a lubricant. Also make sure that the latch and the pin are lined up right and not off centered. This will also make opening the door harder - thus causing you to pull the lever with too much force.

Knock on wood, my current interior handles are a few years old now. Before I re-lubed the latch, I was destroying them on a weekly basis.
 
#13 ·
You shouldn't need to pull on the interior levers that hard to open the door. Look into re-greasing the latch mechanism so it opens easier. There are some spots in there that are metal on metal and can get filled with some grime.

The mechanism is the latch at the door pin/striker. You'll need to remove the vinyl interior panel, then get into the latch mechanism. If I recall, there is an access plate screwed onto the door. I'm going from memory, sorry.

I've been there snapping the junk plastic handles. Check to make sure that the latch operates easily and the rods aren't catching each other or something else.

I used grease and some narrow stcks to get it worked into the latch. Remember that WD-40 isn't a lubricant. Also make sure that the latch and the pin are lined up right and not off centered. This will also make opening the door harder - thus causing you to pull the lever with too much force.

Knock on wood, my current interior handles are a few years old now. Before I re-lubed the latch, I was destroying them on a weekly basis.
Well once my bushings for my door hinges get here I'm hoping my door line up perfect. I had got some from eBay once but they didn't fit
 
#16 ·
Best solution (I think)

First time I replaced the interior door handle took me 4 hours. Second time 15 minutes. Here's how I did it:
1) remove screw holding interior door handle mechanism onto the door.
2) pull outside door handle open and stuff a rag under it to hold the door latch open. This moves the latch rod forward at least 1 inch and gives you more finger room.
3) pull the inside latch mechanism out and tilt it downward so that you can remove the top retainer with your fingers. You may be able to push a long skinny object between the clip and the rod to pop the clip loose. I used a long small screw driver while I pulled on the clip with my finger. Remove the top clip first because that allows you to pull the mechanism out even farther to remove the bottom clip.

4) on the new door handle remove the top plastic retainer clip to get it out of the way. Do this by pinching the bottom of the clip with pliers to make it small enough to pull the retainer clip out of the mechanism. This gives you another inch of finger room.

5) you can now use your fingers and hold your mouth just right while you maneuver the bottom rod into the bottom clip of the new door latch. I used needle nose pliers to clamp the clip in place on the rod after I finagled the rod downward into the latch.

6) put the top plastic clip back into the mechanism by just pressing it into the hole it came out of.

7) tilt the mechanism downward while you place the top rod into the clip. Push the clip onto the rod with your fingers.

Note: removing the inside door panel is no benefit. (At least on my '93 it was no help. I removed it the first time, it was a waste of time.) The mechanism with the red colored clips goes on the driver's side - green clips, passenger side. I don't know if it matters but the first time I bought the cheapest door latch handle I could find. This time I bought the most expensive one I could find. I hope it doesn't break.
 
#19 ·
EASY 5 MINUTE WAY to change interior door handle

Found this by accident, then I felt dumb for all the time I wasted. You will too, but its ok cause now we all know.

1. Unscrew the screw in the interior door handle bezel.
2. Pull out the bezel just enough to get a small screw driver in the bottom and top
3. Look for the 2 plastic pieces making a "V" on the top and bottom. They secure a plastic dowel, that runs through the handle and the lock rocker piece, to the outer bezel. Gently push the plastic sides of the V until the dowel is released.
4. Now separate the outer bezel from the handle and lock piece and you have tons of room to disconnect the old handle and lock from the metal rods.
5. Replace with the new ones, or in my case they were fine, the bezel is what broke around the screw, and replace the bezel.
6. Gently pull on the new handle until the plastic dowel seats back into the top and bottom V pieces.
7. Replace the screw after pushing the bezel properly back into the door panel.
8. Celebrate if you are doing this for the first time, because I just saved you 1-4 hours of frustration.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_PRD0zTgHFlWWRrcy13SnJXaktuR1Y3VG5yRHFSTkp3enlv

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_PRD0zTgHFlV1hIaGZNMl9TeldCcGFLaV9LS19aZlBqbXgw

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_PRD0zTgHFlandFWTVIZnNIZWloUzF1ZnJYd3RYRGs5a1V3

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_PRD0zTgHFlYTRIOXJIX2E4c1cxaFh5ek8tLWFCbllLbUNv
 
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