Why in the blue **** do they angle upward? I've noticed this on 3 different trucks I've put them on. The stock handles sit perfectly parallel to the floor, the dorman ones angle up 20* or so. Just to **** me off?

On my other trucks it wasn't as big of a deal, on my '95 bronco I cannot open the door from the inside. I used to be able to if I pulled the handle until it hit the door panel and jiggled it a little.

Cable is new, everything is clean and lubed, I'm sure with a stock flat handle it would work like a charm. What the ****?

I pulled the door panel last night, loosened the bolts and shifted the lever to try and help, made it worse now I can't open the door from the inside at all.

 

This is the bull**** of which I speak!



You ****ed me dorman, you really ****ed me. You come here with the appearance of help, then you just turn around and **** me.

Passenger's side old handle :

 

Looks like a passenger side handle

 

Nope. Pulled it off and it's a Dorman 77178 which is what Rockauto shows as well as Autozone where I bought it, unless both of their listings for left/right are mixed up the same way.

 

try it on the passenger side and see if it works any better. sorry I am unable to see pics while I am at work.

 

The Dorman website, dormanproducts.com shows the 77178 as being the left handle as you said.

However, over the years I have found problems where all the parts stores had something wrong, and when I looked at the parts manufacturer's website, THEY had it wrong. The wrong info they had was passed on to all the retailers, so that's how they showed it too. I don't know if that is the problem here or not.

If the linkage mounting surface in the door that the handle mounts to is not a vertical surface, then the handle itself needs to have an angle built into it to have the handle end up horizontal, which could make it angle the wrong way if they were swapped left-right.

I'd go out and look at mine, but the hour is late

 

Ford's part number (from when I bought mine )

E7TZ-1522601-A

 

I pulled the passenger's (original Ford) handle off and there is no way the handles would work on the other sides. It would be upside down. It's definitely not a passenger side handle. I did compare the angle though, and the Ford one has a very slight angle, while the dorman has quite a bit more.

I have a theory on that, and it's to save the handles from breaking. I think they designed it to hit the door panel just when the door releases. That way you don't crank on it hard and break it off when you bottom out on the latch.

Fine on a truck where everything is new and tight, but if your latch and parts have some wear on them it's just not enough travel...

I guess I'll see if I can bend the tab on the inner mechanism that holds the (new) cable and take some of the slack out. It does look stupid though, not being straight like the other side.

 

Going by the stealership after work to look at an OE one they have.

 

Bronco graveyard has steel ones (left side sold out ) not sure how well they fit though since I don't have any.

Inside Door Handle, Right 1980-96 Black Metal

Door Handle, Inside Left 1980-96 Black Metal OUT OF STOCK

 

Picked up an OE one at the dealer for $16. It doesn't angle up like the dorman one. Ill snap a pic later today...

 

Put the new handle on without pulling the door panel and it sat nice and straight. Door still didn't open

Pulled the panel off again to have a look and the bolt holes were ripped out. I didn't catch it before because everything seemed tight and I never pulled the bracket off to look. Drilled out a piece of flat steel and used it on the backside to sandwich the door metal in between it and the bracket. Works like new now!

I did put the dorman handle back on just to verify : it does work to open the door but still sits at the stupid angle. Put the Ford one back on and I'll throw the dorman in the toolbox for a spare I guess.

 

yea I had to reinforce that same area so my driver door would open correctly.

 

Man I tell ya what, it opens like a brand new door now! Must have been barely hanging on before. Now I just have about 100 more things to fix and I'll be set.

 

isn't that the truth. if I recall when I fixed my door I just used some really large washers to spread the load and sandwich the pot metal they have in there. Passenger door is fine of course.