Outside Door handle again

[Bunky1267]

I have a 1994 and the passenger side outside door handle rod keeps coming out of the latch when the kids try and open the door while it's locked,

I have read about a plastic clip to put on the rod but none of my dealers seem to know anything about it, is there a part number or something ??

[jarl]

I had the same problem on my Trans Sport last week... it looks like the rubber stop underneath the handle had deteriorated, allowing the handle to "close too much", the consequence of which being that the end of the rod actuating the lever on the lock is sitting halfway out of the hole in the rest position. Is the affected door handle sitting lower than the other one?

[Scottls]

If you read my opening post in 'New APVer in it for the long haul...' I wrote what worked for me to fix that same problem.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul....php?t=1011644

I'll also add that if you put a 1/4" spacer just below the knot on that rod, it will make it much easier to open the door too. What I used for a spacer was a blue wire-nut (sold at any auto part store) cut about half way down so that it is hard to slip on and will not slip off when the inside handle is pulled.

The reason I am Jerry-rigging this rather than bending up the guide that was bent dent down (allowing the rod to come out of place when the inside handle is pulled) is because bending that lever back and forth will only break it off after a while. This might not be a permanent fix either but it will last longer than weakening that leaver even more by bending it back and forth.

Since my APV was stolen and the driver-side window broken, I will need to replace the window as soon as I get it back from the transmission shop. While I'm in that door I'll see if I can take a snapshot to better illustrate what I did on both front doors, and post it on here within the next day or two.

[Scottls]

Here's an illustration because I wasn't able to take a decent picture of what I did.

[RolandMD]

This worked like a charm for me.
1) Remove the inside door panel so that you can access the door handle from inside of the door. (You shouldn't have to remove the door handle...YEA!)
2) Detach the actuating rod that goes from the handle to the lever (from the handle). It may be attached via a metal clip that you will have to slide forward to release the rod, or it may be a plastic insert (usually replacement handles) that will let you use a straight screwdriver to pry the rod out.
3) Once the rod is out, find a nut that you can slide over the bottom of the rod, but not go over the flanged part of the rod. This nut is to take used to take up the extra space between the flanged part of the rod and the lever (much like the wire nut in the above illustration).
4) You will notice that the lever not only has a hole in the top of it (where the rod slips through), but also in the front, the same size as the hole in the top. You are going make a 90 degree bend the bottom of the rod so that when it goes through the top hole (coming down from the handle), it will then go through the hole in the side.
5) Orient the rod to match the way it would be when it is installed so you can see which way to make the bend so that when it is installed, the factory bend at the top and the bend you are going to make will go where they are supposed to.
6) Using a pair if locking pliers, grip the rod just above where you would make the bend. Using another pair (or channel locks), make the 90 degree bend in the rod.
7) Reinsert the bottom of the rod (the end that you just bent) into the top hole of the lever (keep the nut that you pushed on above the lever), and as you raise the rod to the handle, the end of the rod with the bend that you just made will come through the hold in the side of the lever.
8) Push a clip (you can find one at the local hardware store) onto the bottom end of the rod to keep it from coming out.
9) Push the top end of the rod back into place and if needed, slide the clip back into position.

Done! The rod will not come out, and with the nut that you installed, you will not have to pull the outside handle as far to open the door. This worked great for me! Hope it helps.