A2 Door Handle Swapping
Are some of the doors on your 1987 VW getting hard to open? The level of the door handle is pulled all the way but the door doesn't open unless you wiggle it around some. Well you are in luck, swapping door handles is really easy to do, plus I'll show you how to swap the locks over so you don't have to add another key to the key chain.
Just a few basic hand tools are needed, a couple of phillips screw drivers and a small flat blade screw driver.
Please note that your car may vary from my car, so some things will be a little different, but over all, it is the same for any given VW
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With a small screw driver, remove the trim on the door handle. Most new door handles come with new trim so if you mess it up, not a major deal.
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| Once you have the trim removed you will see one of the screws that holds the handle in place. Remove it.
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With the door open, you will see the second screw that holds the door handle in place, simply remove it now.
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| Carefully pull the handle out of the door. You may have to jiggle a little but it should pull out pretty easy.
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Now lets remove the old lock asm from the handle so we don't have to add a new key to our pocket. This screw holds the "carrier" in place. The carrier is what flips the lever up or down on the door latch to lock or unlock the door. Put the key into the keyhole then remove the screw.
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| Now remove the carrier. Be careful that the spring doesn't go shooting off and landing in the dog's waterbowl. Note how the spring is placed, this is very important. The spring is what make the key snap back to the center position when you are done locking or unlocking a door. Pull the spring off.
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Turn the key and gently pull and the barrel should pull right out of the handle. Please do not spray WD-40 on your barrel. WD-40 is really a bad product for this because it will wash away any lube that is there, then dry up and leave nothing... making for a hard to use lock. Zep 2000 is a great product though.
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| Toss the old handle into the trash, put the lock asm into the new handle. Make sure the seal washer is still with the lock. It is the little round clear-ish plastic ring. Better yet, get a new one, part number 111 837 227 B.
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Replace the spring. Again, don't let it go flying off and killing some field mouse, unless said mouse is pooping in your dog's food.
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| Put the carrier back on and tigthen the screw. This stuff is really easy isn't it?
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Now give it a test spin. Make sure the key turns freely and returns to center when you let go of the key. If not, double check how you have the spring set up and if needed, remove the lock asm again and lube with Zep 2000.
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| All systems are go. If your old plastic door handle seals are cracking real bad, replace them when you do all this. The part numbers are 191 837 209 for the small one and the larger one is 191 837 211. Put the handle back into the door, tighen the 2 screws down and snap your trim back. Done. |
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The rear doors are the same thing, just without the lock asm in them. While you can get used handles cheap, I would suggest getting new ones, they don't cost that much.
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