Inside door handle fix, '91 164B.

[dennism]

A 164 left front door-opening lever recently sold on eBay for $190+ !! They are hard to find.

I have fitted a left rear handle in the left front position. It is working well.

Take both a front and a rear handle and put them together, and you'll see the difference - it isn't much!

You'll find the rear "fork" is wider than the front one, and the extra width is on the bottom of the fork. Otherwise, the levers are the same. In trying to fit rear to front, I decided not to trim the rear unit, so as to keep the fork part as strong as possible. Sooooo -

Take out the foam filler from the armrest, and the broken handle. Notice carefully how the return spring fits, and how the handle comes out of the armrest.

Very carefully, trim the inside of the armrest so that the rear handle will just go through into position. Take your time, and don't overdo it. I used a Dremel tool, with a fine metal burr.

Caution! Don't trim away the spot where the rubber "rest" button touches. DAMHIKT!

Then the rear lever can be put into the armrest in exactly the same way as the original one came out. Install the spring and tighten the screws.

This will make the fork of the lever set about 1/8 inch lower than the original. With the Dremel, trim the hole where the fork goes into the door about 1/8 inch lower. Check with the armrest in tight(but not screwed down) and the pull rod hooked-up to be sure the fork doesn't scrape on the lower edge of the hole when you pull on the lever.

When you have clearance, replace the armrest sealing foam,hook up the pull rod, and re-install the armrest.

I haven't checked the right hand levers to see if perhaps they are the same, but I suspect they are.

[Alfisto Steve]

I am running out of good rear handles and have two cars with broken R/R handles now not the forks but end of handle.

As for front handles if fork broken off my repair of bolting on a steel fork seems to be a better way to go.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/164-...ndle-inop.html

[iecoupe]

Thanks! Good to know!

Tom

[dennism]

The front handle I took out was broken in the front, not at the fork.

When I get to it, I'm going to see if a good friend of mine can TIG weld it, there's lots of room for some extra metal inside the ribs, to strengthen it.

I'll let you know if it works.

[aralfa8589]

Thanks Dennis-
I'm waiting for my Dremel to charge as we speak.