DB9 door handle

[Simpo Two]

Another trick of the DB9 is to develop wobbly door handles. I know they're hinged on a single pin which eventually drops down so the top part of the handle comes loose.

Mine did this. I paid my friendly local garage to fix it a few months ago, and they did. Bit it's gone wobbly again.

Rather than take it back I thought I'd have a go myself, and maybe try to make a more permanent job of it. However I have no idea how to take the door apart. Is there an idiot-proof guide anywhere please? (It's not the FAQs)

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I believe Aston1936 has a video of taking the door cards off....

Kev

[Phuketpaul]

It's very easy...

Two Allen bolts either end of the long internal door pull.

4 small T20? Screws along the bottom of the door.

1 T20 under the speaker grille at the front.

1 more T20 under the velcroed cover at the outside end of the top roll.

Pull the door car away at the bottom, disconnect the electrical connections and lift the door card off.

To remove out of the way you will need to disconnect the cable from the internal handle, again 2 small screws and lift off.

[Simpo Two]

kevin_cambs_uk said:

I believe Aston1936 has a video of taking the door cards off....

Can't seem to find it...search his site for door handle and I get: https://aston1936.com/?s=door+handle

Phuketpaul said:

1 more T20 under the velcroed cover at the outside end of the top roll

I found this https://db9s.com/illuminated-doorhandles/ though it doesn't seem to show the pivot for the handle.

Might go back to the garage and ask them to fix it properly!

[Calinours]

Have a go yourself Simpo, there’s nothing more satisfying than sorting a problem yourself. You get intimate with your car and doing it again in future presents no concern.

Just do your research and take your time. There’s no downside.

[Simpo Two]

Calinours said:

Have a go yourself Simpo, there’s nothing more satisfying than sorting a problem yourself. You get intimate with your car and doing it again in future presents no concern.

Just do your research and take your time. There’s no downside.

Well TBH there is - little clips that snap and then stuff doesn't go back together... I can do it, I build model ships, but I need to find and solve all the pitfalls before starting.

'Never get into something without knowing how to get out of it'

[Simpo Two]

I had a plan to drop it into the place that fixed it a few months ago and watch while they did it, so I'd be able to do it myself when it goes wrong again the next time. However they write:

'I suspect if it only lasts this long, a new handle assembly would make more sense, the part is worn allowing the locating pin to drop out after use. The door card has a cover that had been glued on previously so we had to re glue that last time which will require time to set before shutting the door etc too.'

Nobody has mentioned glue before, so it sounds like somebody's been in before and broken the clips, but do we think a new handle assembly is really needed? From the diagram the pin just looks like an L-shaped piece of thick wire to me; surely it can be bent over at the top or have something glued/soldered it to it to stop it falling down?

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

.....The door card has a cover that had been glued on previously so we had to re glue that last time which will require time to set before shutting the door etc too.'

Nobody has mentioned glue before, so it sounds like somebody's been in before and broken the clips

Difficult to diagnose without seeing what they're seeing, but as well as the door card there is a plastic "water shedder" that is stuck onto the door inner panel to keep the wet away from the door trim - the inside of a door is designated as a "wet" area. The shedder is usually stuck on with a mastic-type material that will stand several careful removals and reapplications, but will eventually stop sticking. I hope that's what they're referring to and not that someone has glued the door trim on rather than simply replacing the (inevitably) broken clips

Simpo Two said:

but do we think a new handle assembly is really needed? From the diagram the pin just looks like an L-shaped piece of thick wire to me; surely it can be bent over at the top or have something glued/soldered it to it to stop it falling down?

From pictures I found it looks like you're right - the pivot pin is an 'L'-shape. I'm guessing that AML have to be able to take the handles apart, or at least easily assemble them on the line, as the actual handle arm would need to be painted in the AML small parts paint to match the car. There also appears to be a couple of translucent plastic parts - I'm not sure from the pictures I found if these are just washers to stop the handle arm rubbing on the main handle body, or if they are "top hat" shaped and actually form bushes inside the arm that act as bearings on the pin.

A lot depends on where the "play" is in your handle assembly:

• It could be that the pin has worn an oval top or bottom in the body, so it's the main body that needs fixing.
• It could be that the hole in the arm has worn oval
• It could be that the translucent plastic parts are actually bushes (without seeing one, this would be my guess), and one or both of yours are shot so the arm is now loose on and maybe in contact with the pin. (see also below)

If you knew the answer to the above it might help with a potential fix. If you've got a worn handle arm then you could replace it with a part off an auction site (the arm in my pictures is on sale for £45 on fleabay - you'd just need to get it painted. Or Scuderia have new ones for just over £46 and, from the pictures, it looks like they come with bushes). Or if you knew someone with a small lathe the arm could be drilled and bushed. Similarly, if the body is worn then that could be drilled and bushed. If it's the actual plastic bushes and the pin does run on them, then it's be a case of trying to find replacement bushes, maybe off a scrap handle (see £45 item above - it comes with the pin and bushes). I wouldn't recommend replacing plastic bushes designed to act as a bearing with a metal like brass, but something like acetal (POM) would work.

Or you could bite the bullet and buy a replacement handle assembly. There may be others on here who've stripped a handle down and know the answers to my questions.

I don't think drilling out both body and arm and making an oversized pin would be a good idea, as then you'd have the aluminium arm rubbing on a steel pin - not a recipe for a long and rattle-free life.

[Simpo Two]

LTP said:

A lot depends on where the "play" is in your handle assembly:

• It could be that the pin has worn an oval top or bottom in the body, so it's the main body that needs fixing.
• It could be that the hole in the arm has worn oval
• It could be that the translucent plastic parts are actually bushes (without seeing one, this would be my guess), and one or both of yours are shot so the arm is now loose on and maybe in contact with the pin. (see also below)

Or you could bite the bullet and buy a replacement handle assembly. There may be others on here who've stripped a handle down and know the answers to my questions.

I don't think drilling out both body and arm and making an oversized pin would be a good idea, as then you'd have the aluminium arm rubbing on a steel pin - not a recipe for a long and rattle-free life.

Well that is a thorough answer, thank you

Two things. First, the car has only done 20.5K miles, so the door handle hasn't seen as much action as you might expect for a 2007 car. Second, it seems like a definite wobble/not wobble thing, rather than a progressive enlargement of a bush etc. The top side of the handle wobbles just as if the top of the pin has come out of something. It happened quite quickly.

I can't say I'm keen I'm buying a new handle and getting it sprayed; the car has already spent 25% of its life with me off the road for one reason or another. Currently coming up to another two weeks off the road waiting for the tail light to come back from repair so I've been stuck at home for a fortnight and lack of transport is getting annoying.

[AdamV12V]

Simpo Two said:

Well that is a thorough answer, thank you

Two things. First, the car has only done 20.5K miles, so the door handle hasn't seen as much action as you might expect for a 2007 car. Second, it seems like a definite wobble/not wobble thing, rather than a progressive enlargement of a bush etc. The top side of the handle wobbles just as if the top of the pin has come out of something. It happened quite quickly.

I can't say I'm keen I'm buying a new handle and getting it sprayed; the car has already spent 25% of its life with me off the road for one reason or another. Currently coming up to another two weeks off the road waiting for the tail light to come back from repair so I've been stuck at home for a fortnight and lack of transport is getting annoying.

Might be worth paying £2.65 for a new pin then and have a go at taking it all apart. A new pin may end up being more snug than just pushing the old one back into position. Could be a cheap fix for a pretty annoying problem.

https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/en-gb/part-finder...

[LTP]

Simpo Two said:

Second, it seems like a definite wobble/not wobble thing, rather than a progressive enlargement of a bush etc. The top side of the handle wobbles just as if the top of the pin has come out of something. It happened quite quickly.

Interestingly I did see a picture where the top "L" of the pin was at the bottom, which seemed like a potential recipe for the pin falling under gravity. If it was a case of "tight one day, loose the next" then it's possible the pin has come out of the top of the handle body - to my shame I didn't consider that as a possibility.

Fix could be tapping it back home and securing it by some means (glue? wire?) or maybe taking the pin out and fitting it so the 'L' is at the top - as long as the handle body design allows this. Ideally the pin should be tight enough in the body so that the arm rotates on the pin and not the pin in the body. Especially if there are plastic bushes in the arm