XTREME KARTS XF
05-01-2010, 03:13 PM
Hi Guys, Gals, and Peeps,
Do you own an XD,XE.XF or an XG ute and the door handles have a load of slack in them before they actually open? and then your mate then goes to open the door and suddenly you hear a snap?
Well what I am going to do, is show you how to fix that problem all together so it never breaks again! :D.
Well to give you an insight of the problem, what normally happens is either the rod on the black door handle itself has either snaped or the plated gold looking retainer has bent by previous owners to try and remove some slack in the handle.
There are a few things you can do to fix this so it never happens again, if its just the retainer thats bent then the repair is easy. If its the black rod on the Handle itself thats broken then there is a couple of options you can go for. You may have to purchase a new door handle from Ford depending on how broken it is, but you can shorten the broken rod by 5mm and then weld it back together, or you can take the easy option, and just purchase a new door handle, and run a bolt straight through the handle and into the gold retainer, being careful you don't damage the lip that holds the retainer in place when drilling, which is probably the way to go instead of welding the rod back together. The only reason you run a bolt through the retainer is purely so that the spring doesn't loose its tension ever again.
Here is a list of tools you are going to need:
Flat Bladed Screw Driver
1 Very long Phillips Screw Driver with a No. 2 Tip
Long Nosed Pliers
7mm Spanner
8mm Socket, 1/4 drive along with an Extension and Ratchet
A 1/4 drive Speed Brace if you have one
Either a 11/64 or an 4mm Drill Bit
A Cordless Drill, or a Compressed Air Drill, something that you can drill with
A Vice
WD40
1x 1 inch long, 4mm Cap Screw, an M4 Nylock Nut, 2 Washers, a short one to go on the outside of the door handle, and a larger one that will sit on the inside of the door under neath the nut, or at least some sort of screw thats 1 inch, don't use mushroom headed or bladed screws because they will just be a pain....
And last but not least a good mate to help you out :)
Now if your shortening the Rod then you will need the following extra:
Oxy/acetylene Welder and a bronze welding rod, low heat is a MUST
Here is how it's done:
1. Remove Door Trim, Window Handle and the plastic bit that goes over the Side Mirror.
2. Partly remove Plastic Door Weather Covering and the remove the Door Handle. To remove the door handle you will either need an 8mm socket or that long Phillips Screw Driver, and possibly a shorter one to remove the other screw, or you can just use the speed brace and have the screws off in seconds! Note that you may need to drill a hole big enough to access the screw/bolt on the screw that sits towards the rear of the vehicle, if you already have a pre-cut hole to access that screw/bolt then thats one less thing to do.
3. Inspect your Door Handle and pop it in to your Vice, don't do it up tight.
4. This is where you determine what the repair is that is needed, here is what you need to do if its just the retainer thats bent:
4a. Remove the Gold Retainer, springs, washers, so that the Door Handle is bare
4b. There is a pre-drilled hole in the middle of the handle where the retainer sits, and its a lip, get your good friend to help put back pressure on that handle so that when you start drilling, your door handle doesn't fall through the vice. Start Drilling, but drill VERY careful so you don't damage this lip, because this lip holds our gold retainer in place!
4c. Once you have drilled all the way through, clean the hole up a bit like a good quality person, then put the retaining spring back in place first, then run your new bolt through the handle, make sure you put your small washer on the weather side of the door handle, along with the bolt head itself!, then the gold retainer goes back on, then the bigger washer goes on next, then screw the nylock lock, don't screw it up tight just yet. Note that if you got a cap screw like we did you are going to need your good friend again to screw the cap screw in with some long nose pliers while your holding the door handle and spanner.
Test drive the handle in your hand, tighten up the nut then test it again until you feel you've got the correct tension. Last thing you do before it goes back on the door, drown the handle with lubricant, your can of WD40 will do the trick.
The finished Result should resemble this:
Picture
4d. Now re-install in the reverse order you took it apart
5. This is what to do if you opt to weld the rod back into place, again, you can just purchase a new door handle from Ford and simply follow step 4.
5a. If your welding the rod you need to cut it about 3mm then re weld it by overlapping it.
5b. When you weld use VERY low heat and bronze tack weld it, if you don't have access to one you local Panel Beater, or an Engineering Worskshop, or even a mate who has a welder will do just fine. Tell them to bronze tack weld it with VERY low heat.
5c. If your worried you can't weld, don't do it, because chances are you'll ruin the whole thing, and again, just get a new door handle :).
Hopefully this will help some people, please note that if I have written anything that should be corrected, don't be afraid to do so! I am always open to opinions or even better ways to rectify the problem. Just send me a PM.
Do you own an XD,XE.XF or an XG ute and the door handles have a load of slack in them before they actually open? and then your mate then goes to open the door and suddenly you hear a snap?
Well what I am going to do, is show you how to fix that problem all together so it never breaks again! :D.
Well to give you an insight of the problem, what normally happens is either the rod on the black door handle itself has either snaped or the plated gold looking retainer has bent by previous owners to try and remove some slack in the handle.
There are a few things you can do to fix this so it never happens again, if its just the retainer thats bent then the repair is easy. If its the black rod on the Handle itself thats broken then there is a couple of options you can go for. You may have to purchase a new door handle from Ford depending on how broken it is, but you can shorten the broken rod by 5mm and then weld it back together, or you can take the easy option, and just purchase a new door handle, and run a bolt straight through the handle and into the gold retainer, being careful you don't damage the lip that holds the retainer in place when drilling, which is probably the way to go instead of welding the rod back together. The only reason you run a bolt through the retainer is purely so that the spring doesn't loose its tension ever again.
Here is a list of tools you are going to need:
Flat Bladed Screw Driver
1 Very long Phillips Screw Driver with a No. 2 Tip
Long Nosed Pliers
7mm Spanner
8mm Socket, 1/4 drive along with an Extension and Ratchet
A 1/4 drive Speed Brace if you have one
Either a 11/64 or an 4mm Drill Bit
A Cordless Drill, or a Compressed Air Drill, something that you can drill with
A Vice
WD40
1x 1 inch long, 4mm Cap Screw, an M4 Nylock Nut, 2 Washers, a short one to go on the outside of the door handle, and a larger one that will sit on the inside of the door under neath the nut, or at least some sort of screw thats 1 inch, don't use mushroom headed or bladed screws because they will just be a pain....
And last but not least a good mate to help you out :)
Now if your shortening the Rod then you will need the following extra:
Oxy/acetylene Welder and a bronze welding rod, low heat is a MUST
Here is how it's done:
1. Remove Door Trim, Window Handle and the plastic bit that goes over the Side Mirror.
2. Partly remove Plastic Door Weather Covering and the remove the Door Handle. To remove the door handle you will either need an 8mm socket or that long Phillips Screw Driver, and possibly a shorter one to remove the other screw, or you can just use the speed brace and have the screws off in seconds! Note that you may need to drill a hole big enough to access the screw/bolt on the screw that sits towards the rear of the vehicle, if you already have a pre-cut hole to access that screw/bolt then thats one less thing to do.
3. Inspect your Door Handle and pop it in to your Vice, don't do it up tight.
4. This is where you determine what the repair is that is needed, here is what you need to do if its just the retainer thats bent:
4a. Remove the Gold Retainer, springs, washers, so that the Door Handle is bare
4b. There is a pre-drilled hole in the middle of the handle where the retainer sits, and its a lip, get your good friend to help put back pressure on that handle so that when you start drilling, your door handle doesn't fall through the vice. Start Drilling, but drill VERY careful so you don't damage this lip, because this lip holds our gold retainer in place!
4c. Once you have drilled all the way through, clean the hole up a bit like a good quality person, then put the retaining spring back in place first, then run your new bolt through the handle, make sure you put your small washer on the weather side of the door handle, along with the bolt head itself!, then the gold retainer goes back on, then the bigger washer goes on next, then screw the nylock lock, don't screw it up tight just yet. Note that if you got a cap screw like we did you are going to need your good friend again to screw the cap screw in with some long nose pliers while your holding the door handle and spanner.
Test drive the handle in your hand, tighten up the nut then test it again until you feel you've got the correct tension. Last thing you do before it goes back on the door, drown the handle with lubricant, your can of WD40 will do the trick.
The finished Result should resemble this:
Picture
4d. Now re-install in the reverse order you took it apart
5. This is what to do if you opt to weld the rod back into place, again, you can just purchase a new door handle from Ford and simply follow step 4.
5a. If your welding the rod you need to cut it about 3mm then re weld it by overlapping it.
5b. When you weld use VERY low heat and bronze tack weld it, if you don't have access to one you local Panel Beater, or an Engineering Worskshop, or even a mate who has a welder will do just fine. Tell them to bronze tack weld it with VERY low heat.
5c. If your worried you can't weld, don't do it, because chances are you'll ruin the whole thing, and again, just get a new door handle :).
Hopefully this will help some people, please note that if I have written anything that should be corrected, don't be afraid to do so! I am always open to opinions or even better ways to rectify the problem. Just send me a PM.