Judging from the number of missing sliding door handle assemblies at the junkyards, can I assume that this thing wears out?

My sliding side door ('89) will not open unless I yank on the handle fairly sharply. From the amount of apparent "lost motion", it appears to be either a worn handle or something worn in the latch -- the door does not seem to be jammed, and it always opens, but pulling slowly or gently on the handle doesn't yield a "click" of latch release.

Anybody have any experience with this problem?

Regards,
Al S.

 

the actual handle could be worn out. this happened to my 92. the replacement only costed $5.00 from the dealer. pull of the handle and look at the teath in side of the handle, if they look ok it may be the latch or the handle assembly itself.

regards, mike

 

Mines been like that for a couple years now and I dont mind it. Then again, I don't lock the darn rustbucket either. I had to replace the sliding hinge but it made no difference in the door handle. I'm just gonna wait till it don't work and then junk the van! good luck.

 

 

I tore into it today.

I'd picked up an outside handle assy from a 'yard van, one that seems quite a bit "tighter" at the pivot than mine, but replacing mine made no change: I still had to jerk on the handle to open the door.

Looking further, I found out that the rod that runs to the rear latch is supposed to be routed through a white nylon guide that's located pretty close to the center of the door. Mine wasn't, so the rod tended to deflect instead of pushing straight to the rear. Putting the rod back in the guide completely fixed it. I'm so giddy with the easy way the sliding door opens from the outside now, that I opened and closed it several times today, "just because". Giggled every time Two years I've lived with this, and just because I thought it'd be a real chore to repair.

The white nylon guide is not hard to spot. After removing the window surround and then the door panel, it's in the center of the door, is about 1.25" round, with a screwdriver slot in the center to remove. You can reach your hand in from the left and feel if the rod is in the guide's "arms". I have no idea how mine got out, because it seems to be a really good design. Perhaps someone was into it before I got the van.

To remove the guide, merely use a No. 3 flat edge screwdriver and rotate it counterclockwise about 30 degrees, then pull it out. To reinstall it correctly, hold the rod with your left hand and pull it toward you, insert the guide in the hole with your right hand, making certain to get the rod between the guide's "arms", then use the screwdriver to rotate the guide into position. Works pretty well.

Regards,
Al S.