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Removing Door Handle???

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
Just bumping this because I have a huge problem reinstalling my rear door handle. I already finished my front doors, so i know the way its "supposed" to work.

So you know how you insert your handle back in the door, and slide it to front to slip the fork into the bracket. Then you have to pull the handle out (open) to fit your little nub piece back in before you lock it down. The problem is whenever I pull that handle out to set my nub in place, a spring pops off from inside the door. I can see the spring and put it back. But it pops off every time I pull the handle out far enough to get the nub in place.

Is that cable that goes into the handle adjustable? Can it snap into that holder in various positions to adjust the tension? Even if I do that, I dont see how that spring is going to let it open anyway.

Then once the spring pops off, the door handle never sits flush like it should??



This is the spring that pops off every time I try and put it all back together.





Pulling on the rod cable (in handle) pulls that bracket upwards. Thus, the spring falls out of its slot.

This is killin me, and I'll be spending another 8 hours after work trying to figure it out. I will take the chance of doing my other rear door, just so i can compare the positioning of the spring and misc parts. I did unscrew the nub lockdown until it fell out by accident, but have it all reassembled. Even if that was wrong, it shouldn't be effecting this spring part.
 
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plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Location
Motor City
Car(s)
MKVI GTI
Plac, did you ever get this solved?

I pulled off my door skin to try to pull a small dent out of the door, and now the handle will no longer retract all the way. I have no idea how to even get the spring back on the lever...let alone how it stays on there. Can you provide any advice? How do I get the spring back on the lever?
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
Plac, did you ever get this solved?

I pulled off my door skin to try to pull a small dent out of the door, and now the handle will no longer retract all the way. I have no idea how to even get the spring back on the lever...let alone how it stays on there. Can you provide any advice? How do I get the spring back on the lever?

HA.... no.. i didnt. I brought it to the dealer and they gave it back fixed. Glad I wasnt crazy..

every time the spring pops off you have to take off the outer door skin again to put it back on. you simply lift it on.
 

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Location
Motor City
Car(s)
MKVI GTI
So the whole door skin has to come off again. Awesome. I have to take my car to the dealer for service...maybe I'll just mention is them and see if they'll fix it. "Honestly, the handle just stopped retracting all the way..." :)
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
So the whole door skin has to come off again. Awesome. I have to take my car to the dealer for service...maybe I'll just mention is them and see if they'll fix it. "Honestly, the handle just stopped retracting all the way..." :)

i paid the dealer $300 to fix my 2 rear doors. Plus my rental fees for a day...
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
Just what I'm afraid of...looks like I'll be DIYing the bitch.

good luck. I spent 48 hours on it and gave up. If you figure out how to pull the handle without popping the spring off during the final step, you will be the master of all creation.

it might have been related to the position I put the lock chuck back in when it fell out. I dont see how, but it might of.
 

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Location
Motor City
Car(s)
MKVI GTI
Well, I'll make it my personal challenge to figure it out. I'll let you know when I do.

What I don't get is how so many people remove their door handles and don't run into this issue. Do those people just life with wobbly door handles?
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
Well, I'll make it my personal challenge to figure it out. I'll let you know when I do.

What I don't get is how so many people remove their door handles and don't run into this issue. Do those people just life with wobbly door handles?

just to confirm you are on the same page as me..

do you hook up the spring before putting the outer skin back on?

does the problem come when you try to pull out the handle so you can insert the lock cover nub?
 

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Location
Motor City
Car(s)
MKVI GTI
just to confirm you are on the same page as me..

do you hook up the spring before putting the outer skin back on?

does the problem come when you try to pull out the handle so you can insert the lock cover nub?

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. I was running low on time yesterday, so I had to get my door skin back on quick. I got it back on and realized that the handle wasn't retracting all the way...so I played with it for five minutes, figured out what the problem was (thanks to your shots) and poked at it with the door skin on for a few minutes and gave up due to lack of time. I'm going to dedicate a full day to figuring it out this time, and at least now I know exactly what I'm working on. After looking at it though, my guess would be that it either pops off when inserting the lock cylinder or when pulling the cable to attach to the handle. I'll find out for sure this weekend.

I also found a bentley manual online that shows using a special tool dedicated to getting the spring back on the lever. My concern is that you actually need that tool to get the spring back on...then it's dealer time. I dunno, we'll see. I foresee a lot of pain and heartache with this project thats probably just going to end in a dealer visit anyway. But if I retreat, at least I know I gave it my all.
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. I was running low on time yesterday, so I had to get my door skin back on quick. I got it back on and realized that the handle wasn't retracting all the way...so I played with it for five minutes, figured out what the problem was (thanks to your shots) and poked at it with the door skin on for a few minutes and gave up due to lack of time. I'm going to dedicate a full day to figuring it out this time, and at least now I know exactly what I'm working on. After looking at it though, my guess would be that it either pops off when inserting the lock cylinder or when pulling the cable to attach to the handle. I'll find out for sure this weekend.

I also found a bentley manual online that shows using a special tool dedicated to getting the spring back on the lever. My concern is that you actually need that tool to get the spring back on...then it's dealer time. I dunno, we'll see. I foresee a lot of pain and heartache with this project thats probably just going to end in a dealer visit anyway. But if I retreat, at least I know I gave it my all.


no, you dont need that tool.. you need it if you DONT take your outer skin off.. but you have tons of room to put the spring back on if you take off the outer skin.

hmmmmmm UNLESS... that is how the dealer fixed it.. i have no idea.
 

PetrolHead

When's the next track day
Location
Motor City
Car(s)
MKVI GTI
no, you dont need that tool.. you need it if you DONT take your outer skin off.. but you have tons of room to put the spring back on if you take off the outer skin.

hmmmmmm UNLESS... that is how the dealer fixed it.. i have no idea.

EXACTLY my concern. I haven't played around with it enough to know how it acts when putting the outer skin back on. It could be the act of reinstalling the skin that knocks it off...it's hard to say. Perhaps there's something to having the skin on that makes it easier to install, thus that tool comes in. Thing is, if you need to do it with the outer skin on, you need that tool. I picked at it with everything I have, screwdrivers, long allen wrenches, coat hangers, BBQ skewers (a moment of desperation) , and nothing would work. It needs to be a very long, strong, thin tool with a hook at the end to make it happen. The fact that they actually make a tool dedicated to this job concerns me that the outer door skin has to be on in order to install the spring. I'll keep you posted with my progress.
 

plac

GTI Master
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
EXACTLY my concern. I haven't played around with it enough to know how it acts when putting the outer skin back on. It could be the act of reinstalling the skin that knocks it off...it's hard to say. Perhaps there's something to having the skin on that makes it easier to install, thus that tool comes in. Thing is, if you need to do it with the outer skin on, you need that tool. I picked at it with everything I have, screwdrivers, long allen wrenches, coat hangers, BBQ skewers (a moment of desperation) , and nothing would work. It needs to be a very long, strong, thin tool with a hook at the end to make it happen. The fact that they actually make a tool dedicated to this job concerns me that the outer door skin has to be on in order to install the spring. I'll keep you posted with my progress.

no. thats not what knocks it off. pulling the handle is what knocks it off.
 
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