Need help with a broken car door handle

scott spencer

Member
Messages
953
Location
Rochester, NY
Right after work last night I was trying to help my lab partner open his frozen car door in the parking lot..... I ended up pulling the handle off from his '99 Camry LE!
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Picture us after a 12 hour shift while it's snowing and blowing ice in the middle of the worst storm we've seen this year.....the cars were covered in ice, then along comes the "cavalry" to rip his door off! :doh: :bang: Talk about a "Kodak Moment"! :rolleyes:

I need some advice....the part that came off is a plastic flap that looks like it was originally glued to the edge of a metal handle. It appears to glue to the thin edge of the metal so there's not a lot of glueing surface there. Can anyone recommend the best glue for mating these two parts back together?
 
Hi Scott :wave:,
Tired and cold are not my favorites. :( Sorry!
Don't know about the glue thing so no advice there however if the answer doesn't turn up for reglueing it may be in line to go to "pick a part". We have several on my side of town. Basically it is the auto junk yard connection. It may be easier and work better to buy new/used part off a wrecked vehicle:dunno:. Good luck, get rest and warm up!:D
Shaz :)
 
Gluing it might work, but I would want to see you do so in a nice heated garage, or you could very well be just wasting you time and glue.

A new/used part is certainly the best way to go, but replacing it will be a bit of a bear, as you will have to remove the inside of the door and possibly the widow as well, not a huge problem, if you are inside a heated garage, but if you are inside a heated garage, I'd try the glue first! :wave:

Good luck!
 
Scott,

The car is a very common model, call the local "pick a part" as shaz suggested, then get your tools and head out for education at that local bone yard. Be sure to bring a battery source (I use the ones from some of my cordless tools) as the cars electrical will more than likely be dead. I have had to cut the wires going to electric windows in order to get things out of the way when fishing for parts. Last year my sons 98 Chevy was broken into, busted out his rear passenger window (wing section), the local glass shop wanted 400.00 to fix. :eek: My son received his first lesson in basic car repair, ended up costing 45.00 total, plus I threw some steaks on the Weber after the chore was complete and we had a nice lunch together. :D
One other tip when you are pulling your part, grab any clips, screws, plastic trim coveres, ect as you go after your part, they can come in real handy and save possible headaches.

Heather
 
Scott,

The car is a very common model, call the local "pick a part" as shaz suggested, then get your tools and head out for education at that local bone yard. Be sure to bring a battery source (I use the ones from some of my cordless tools) as the cars electrical will more than likely be dead. I have had to cut the wires going to electric windows in order to get things out of the way when fishing for parts. Last year my sons 98 Chevy was broken into, busted out his rear passenger window (wing section), the local glass shop wanted 400.00 to fix. :eek: My son received his first lesson in basic car repair, ended up costing 45.00 total, plus I threw some steaks on the Weber after the chore was complete and we had a nice lunch together. :D
One other tip when you are pulling your part, grab any clips, screws, plastic trim coveres, ect as you go after your part, they can come in real handy and save possible headaches.

Heather

Hi Scott :wave:,
This information Heather is sharing is great stuff! :thumb: Pay attention!:D

Good luck with a warm fuzzy place to work!:dunno:
Shaz :)
 
It turns out the entire handle was all plastic, not plastic on metal as I thought, but regardless, he was unable to get the epoxy to hold it. I found a new handle on Ebay for ~ $18 shipped and snagged it while he was on vacation. I'm color matching it for him, and he's going to get his mechanic to install it. Not happy he's got spend $25-$50 to fix it, but am pleased I was able to find a new one pretty easily. He feels bad that I bought the part but it was a therapeutic purchase for me! (he even wanted to reimburse me for the glue! ...he's a good egg)

Thanks for all the tips!
 
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