The drivers side, rear door's handle came off in my had at work today. after carful inspection of the other door i noticed it is missing 2 screws. does anyone know what size these screws are? should home depot have them? i don't like having an exposed hole where my door handle should be. also, any suggestions on how to make the door actually open with this handle again? i can't figure out how to align the mechanism...

-ross

It's a good bet the screws are still in the bottom of your door.

It's sort of difficult to explain in writing how the handles work, but it should be fairly obvious once you get the door panel off and roll the window up so you can get in there and get a look at it. Consider using some thread adhesive on the screws when you put it back in so they don't back out on you again.

If you ever get loose handles that rattle on you when you close the door, now you'll know what to do so you can avoid this problem before the screws fall out completely.

I can't tell you exactly what screws to get, but if you carry the handle to a hardware store, just get two to fit.

To replace the handle, you'll need to remove the interior door panel. Once you put the handle back in place, you will see the holes that line up. You'll probably even be able to retrieve the original screws from the bottom of the door. On the back of the handle, you'll see what looks like a little bracket sticking out with two arms. Those arms cradle a little barrel that screws onto a vertical post that operates the latch. That barrel screws up or down on the post to adjust, and has a little spring to return it to the normal position. On the rear door, you will probably need to maneuver the handle into position: once it's screwed down, there won't be enough room to get the vertical rod into position. All clear now?
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'81 GLT 245 @ 259K; '83 DL 175K