Replacing the door handle - hard?

[Fanwheel]

The passenger door handle on my newly acquired baby seems to be a non-original from a black car, and as you can see below, badly painted over to match my Moondust (think she must have had a minor prang in its previous life since the door mirror is from a blue car, also bodged to silver)



I found a replacement one in the right colour easily enough on ebay:

o

My question for you expert folks is - is swapping these over a feasible job for a complete novice like me with only basic tools? Are there any awkward clips or swearing involved? Id like to have a go myself if I can, but if it's beyond me I'll wait till she goes in to get some minor dents sorted in the next year - guess the bodyshop may have the door cards off for that anyway.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ian G]

In short - its a bit of a pain in the ass.

The handle itself is only held in with three screws but one of them also holds the lock, which is behind a protective cover, which is behind the rods for the handle and latch, which are behind the window, which is under the door skin.

I normally strip them completely down so I'm not sure what you could leave in place and still do it - I would think you might get away with removing the window but leaving the frame in place. Or if not the frame is only four bolts and one nut.

As far as tools are concerned -

PZ2 and T30 screwdrivers
13mm socket and handle
8mm 1/4 drive on an extension bar if you want the mirror out of the way.
Small pry bar or flat screwdriver for the rods and to ease the handle out.

Have you already bought that one on Ebay? Mine come with free phone support you see :lol:

 

[quest63]

I found it a royal pain in the arse just stripping my doors without any thought of putting it back together because I was breaking it.

If a mechanic and basically Puma expert IanG says its a bit of a pain in the arse you'll probably lose the will to live doing it.

 

[myweepuma]

If a mechanic and basically Puma expert IanG says its a bit of a pain in the arse you'll probably lose the will to live doing it.[/quote]

:funny: :funny: :funny:

 

[Lord B]

I had a quick try on the millennium, expecting them to be as easy as the Volvo ones, after a few mins, just decided that for a couple of quid, wasn't worth the effort.
If it wasn't holidays, and wanting millenium gone by this week, I would have removed section of inner door, to see better

 

[Fanwheel]

Thanks all, and Ian for the detailed description. Sounds like a real faff and doubt either my skills (or patience) are up to the job! Ian yeah I'd already bought the part so I'll save it till she goes to the bodyshop in the future and leave it to the pro's. But I will keep an eye on your eBay site - looks great and I'm bound to need other parts at some point.