Door Wont Open FIX !

[Eeza]

Ok Here’s the problem, You find the door (Driver or Passenger) increasingly difficult to open with the handle until it finally gives up the ghost.  I know it’s a very common problem as I have read about this in numerous areas on the //WWW.

I removed and replace the lock half a dozen times and adjusted bits and bobs all to no avail until that is I put my meagre engineering skills into gear and devised a fix that so far has resolved the issue for me on my 93 RX7

The problem is the door handle itself is made of reasonable grade ABS plastic,  but when you consider the abuse it gets its not surprising the thing wears a little over time.  The mechanism that connects the door pull to the actuating rod is also prone to wear but this is easily resolved by hammering the rivet that is the fulcrum for the latch lever a little tighter.  This removes any excess play.

Where the metal mechanism joins the plastic latch there are two small 45 degree  returns that effectively hold the two pieces together (Plastic Latch and metal actuator) What I did was to take the handle off the car and remove all of the lock innards onto my work bench. Its easy to disassemble as there are only 4 small screws and one larger one that holds the pivot spring in place to remove.  Slide the rod out of the plastic handle and you are ready to go

Then very carefully position the two pieces together as they would appear if installed (Plastic Latch and metal actuator) and drill a small hole in the plastic handle between the two metal returns (1.5-2mm drill size) until you are just marking the metal on the latch actuator, remove the plastic handle and complete the task by drilling the hole through the metal.  When you assemble the lock back together pinch up the 45 degree metal returns as tight as you dare and then carefully snap the 50p drill you used so that the shank of the bit can be inserted through the plastic handle and then the metal actuator.  Its gonna be a tight fit so you should not need to bond it in place.

I did this and the door opens better than it ever has, cost me nothing but 15mins work once I had worked out how it could be done.

I will post pictures if anyone’s interested, I also replaced the bulb in the lock at the same time so it looks a bit trick now at night when I blip the alarm the keyhole flashes…

Or you could try here: http://www.jt-imports.com/Mazda_FD_JDM_Parts.htm for cheaper handles from the good old US of A or maybe even these mint looking Carbon fibre jobbies : http://www.jt-imports.com/FEED_FD_Parts_List.htm

Me I am gonna take mine off again and rub them down and paint them black to better match the colour of the car as they are looking a bit tired.  

Anyone know where I can get a nice two or three 52mm gauge A Pillar pod from, I don’t mind paying good money but don’t like the ones here : http://hometown.aol.com/flyrx7/Rx7-Gauge-Pod.html even though they do look excellent quality.

I am NOT going to get a nasty universal one as they do nothing for the interior of the car.  

PS I used to have a WRX and thought that was a hard ride,  my car doesn’t have seats more like a spinal board,  but its all worth it for the noise the Kakimoto Can makes on WOT .. Heaven…..


:wave

[clive]

Thanks for that info, should help a few people:)

[yonner]

cheers for that m8 mines ha decided to piss of as well as everythign els i was thinking about the carbon look 1ns chris boid has