Ive had my first peek inside the door of my 91 xj40. I have to lift the door handle right up to open the door and even then its barely doing it. From reading I was expecting the problem to be high up near the handle, but looking at the mechanism and how it moves the play is in the levers cams and joins that transfer the handle movement to unlocking or opening the door. All the wear in these adds up to play at the top, the handle. Ill have to take it out I suppose and try and take the play out, can you do this without removing the window?

 

Hi mickvic,

You can definitely remove the exterior handle without removing the window. I repaired a couple of handles on our '88 and have had all four handles out on our '93 to replace the rubber gaskets, and have never had to mess with the windows.

I've never had to adjust the rods but I know some of our members have. As I recall, the rods have threaded ends that provide for adjustment in the plastic threaded fittings, but you do have to disconnect their other ends in order to rotate them. It's probably a bit of a "daisy chain" puzzle.

Hopefully someone who's done it will be along shortly to advise you.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi mickvic,
I was in my doors on my 92 when I first got it because the front outer handles had become disconnected. As I recall (from 8 years ago) it was a very simple fix and I am pretty sure Don is right. Also, "As it happens...." yesterday I bought a set of doors off of a 96, one of which I already removed the trim from. I just went to check as I believe the set up is the same (hence my purchase). The glass just needs to be all the way up. The connectors are plastic and could be most of your problem. I remember I used some that I had left over from a Previous Chrysler . Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Well got the handle out pretty straight forward , have to disconnect the lock link but this just pulls out of its connector at the handle. Remove the two nuts securing the bracket holding the door handle from the inside. Wangle that bracket out. Manouver the door handle out partially from the outside, the handle actuating link is still connected you can twist the handle so it comes apart from this link.

Support the handle still has a couple of wires on it. The link well you can get at it and start turning it but dont make the same mistake i did and screw it in, unscrew it to lengthen it.

If you door handle is only just engaging at the top of its travel, (like mine was) unscrew the handle 1/4 inch. '

Put everything back together, handle should now engage half way up its travel.

Finicky job take care dont force anything hard, should all work ok.

Cheers, Mick

 

One thing I did find when I was in my 94 was the plastic retainer for the lock rod is very fragile and as far as I can tell NLA. AS it stands I cant unlock my car with the keys and for the most part isn't a problem as I have spare remotes and I keep the batteries fresh.

 

AND another thing...taking the handle out and the rubber gasket sealing the handle to body pretty much fell apart. I also noticed moisture getting in the bottom of the door. I was lucky enough to source a new gasket which went in after a bit of manipulation (its reasonably elastic where it counts) and removal and replacement of the door handle spring. I recommend replacing this gasket as its breakdown will let water into your doors.

 

As far as that plastic clip goes, I was able to use a metal one of the same design which was scavenged from the same position in a 70's Chrysler door. just FYI.

 

make that unscrew the link 1/8 inch. to start.

 

I have never dealt with door handles yet, is there anything i should know before digging into them? and what is the best way to adjust them, I have two issues.

1. front door to get it to open i have to pull up on handle and push the door in and it releases and opens.

2. my rear door it opens fine from the inside but when I go to use the outside door handle it won't open and it looks like its trying to pull down on the lock

so for these fixes what would be the best way to go about it? and any parts i should order or find before i dig in?

 

Hi ImJeorge,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums! It's great to have you with us. Can you please tell us the year and model of your Jaguar?

The earlier XJ40s had problems with exterior door handles that broke. They could often be repaired by clever owners. Jaguar recognized the problem and issued an "improved" design to help reduce the number of breakages.

On the later XJ40s, the problem is often misalignment of the linkage rods inside the door, or broken plastic rod connectors.

Let us know your year and model and we'll try to help.

Also, since we're a friendly group, please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum and post an introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.

Cheers,

Don

 

My bad, its an 1988 vanden plas

 

Hi Justin,

Regarding your door handles, it is likely that the linkage rods inside the door need to be adjusted. There is a lot of info on that in this forum and at the Jag-Lovers forum.

But it is also possible that one or both handles are broken. You can often tell by checking to see if handle bar is parallel with its surround or housing. If the gap between the handle and housing is not parallel, the handle is probably broken and needs to either be replaced or repaired. There is a lot of info at Jag-Lovers about repairing the handles, and salvaged ones are usually available on eBay, but you want to be sure you buy the newer, "improved" design, not the original ones from '87-'89 that will just break again.

I can't recall on the '88 how the driver's door lock is constructed, but on our '93 I was able to swap the tumbler discs from our original handle to a good salvaged handle so I could use the original key.

If you will start a separate thread about your no-start condition, we'll be happy to try to help you with that also.

Cheers,

Don