Darnitall!! I pulld to hard and broke the front exterior door handle on my 2004 Super Duty F250! Tell me....have any of you replaced this assembly before. What does it entail?...inner door panel removal, etc etc..???

Any and all tips are appreciated.

Cheers! (After all, it is St.Paddys Day!)

Glofish

 

BUMP..........

 

You still have this problem almost a year later??
Well to replace the handle, you are going to have to remove the inner door panel to gain access to everything that is hooked up to the handle.

 

Yes, its nearly completely gone now...just have a little portion remaining, enough to grab with two fingers and slide my hand underneath to open. I have the new handle and have a procedure from an aftermarket vendor on how to r/r the inner door panel.... are there any tips, tricks or "watch outs" i should be aware of when replaceing the handle/lock???

 

Remove the inner panel, remove screws and it lifts up I think. (use a flashlight to see what is holding panel when you carefully pry it out say 1/4 inch at some point to be sure) There will be some wires to switches that need to be unplugged do it. Once panel is off peel back the vapor barrier far enough to see the back side of the handle. If it like most Fords you will need a 11mm socket or/and wrench and extension to get to the 2 nuts that hold the handle. Before you loosen them though follow the handle rod down to the door latch. There is a plastic release there that holds the rod and you can release it by pulling the edge toward the front of the door with your finger. It is pretty tough and you should be pulling on the edge toward the outter door panel. The lock will pop out of the handle by pushing the spring clip out of the way. (look at you new door handle it should have the wire spring in it) With this done remove the 2 bolts and carefully remove the old handle and rod. Swap the latch rod to the new handle and carefully put it back in the door. Push the lock in as you get handle started will make life easier. (it will just pop in with wire in place) Its made to only go in one way. Once in install nuts tighten but not overtighten (might break) and put thing back together in reverse of how they came apart. One thing I forgot is the top cover I think over the mirror inside, it pops straight off. Be careful and look carefully at what you are doing and you should be OK. There may be a rubber plug or screw cover in the panel that you need to remove to gain access so don't force or things will break. Just remember when you have all screws out of door panel it will move slightly away from door. If it won't move hunt more screws. Good luck.