I pulled on the inside handle really fast one day, and ever since Iam having a hard time opening the door. I have to lift up and pull and its getting more difficult to do even that.

How do I get the plastic cover off to see whats going on, or does the entire door panel have to come off?

TIA

ap

 

You'll probably only have to remove the plastic trim under the handle to see what's going on in there. The little solid plug under the lift lever is what you have to remove to get to the screw. I've found that using a sewing needle is the best tool to jimmy the plug out with. I use a needle and a sharp bent pick. The needle to stab and lift, and the pick to "hold what 'ya got". Getting the plug out can be the most tedious part of the job. Once you get the screw out, lift up on the handle and corkscrew the plastic cover off around the metal handle.

From the way you describe having to pull up and out to make it work, I'll bet one side of the plastic towers which anchor the handle hinge have snapped. If that's the case, look at it close and you can probably see a way to re-secure it with a few small screws and maybe a small "L" bracket. I bought myself another year once by doing this. Inevitably though, you'll need a replacement. Ebay! On my 98 XJ8, the left rear door handle mechanism will swap forward - pretty sure the '03 will too. If no one ever rides in the back, that's also an option I guess.

You may also have a stretched cable, or the barrel catch on the end is just hanging on by a few threads. I replaced my cable once, but I hear that you can take it to a bicycle repair shop and have a new barrel clamped on. Can't confirm that myself though - but it sounds logical. Good luck.

 

+1 hardest part is getting the plug out. There are lots of threads on removing the door card/panel, as well as repairs to the latch cables.

 

A thought just occurred to me. I've never tried pulling that plug out with a piece of duct tape... bet that'll work! If not by itself, it could sure help with the extraction/lifting it out part. Wifey has the Jag today or I'd give it a try.

 

Thanks All,

I used a stanley knife to pry it out, had to go slow so not to snap the blade.

The plastic lower inside part of the assembly is broke off.

New assembly is 189 OUCH!!! at Jaguar.

 

From dealer? Try eBay or your local junk yard.

 

This isn't written by me, but really useful




mzs_biteme
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Door handle link replacement c/w pics...FAQ
So my door handle link snapped... For over a week I had to roll down the driver side windows to let myself out... Talk about embarrassing....

So I ordered a new link/door handle assembly from eBay for $80...

I also went to Harbor Freight Tools to get this:



Very handy for removing trim.

Here is what I did (pic):

RED arrows first:
- remove the screw in the door handle cup, and remove the cup by pulling on the door handle and working the cup out.
- remove the screw under the arm rest

GREEN arrows:
- use a nylon pry bar to pop out the two fasteners holding the faux-wood trim, and then SLIDE is to the LEFT. Don't try to pull towards you or it will snap.

PURPLE circles:
- use the pry bar again on the pin fasteners.



This is why you wanna slide the faux-wood insert and not pull it:




Anyways, To remove the door trim itself, first PULL the bottom part out to where you can see all the side and bottom fasteners out, and the trim itself is about 2" from the door, then LIFT the trim UP.

Here is what you'll see:



Disconnect the speaker wire, and the yellow connector for the door/windows switches. You can leave the door light wire on as it's long enough for you to put the trim on the floor without the need for disconnecting it.

The door lock assembly and the links.





Was able to squeeze my camera in the door frame pointing towards the lever that the link connects to:



Getting ready for this project I had problems finding good (any) pics that would help me visualize what I was about to get myself into. Hopefully this will help others that may run into this issue...

Thanks

Mike
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Wow! Never seen that thread before. That's all you could ever want to know about door guts. Awesome!

 

Awesome!! Thanks

 

This works like a charm! Stick a piece of sticky tape on the plug, and use a needle to stick and wedge it up, pull on tape.

Duck tape wins again! I bet I've spent 20-30 mins before just trying to get that thing out.

 

I wonder if I could get that piece in photo 3 out without taking off the panel. I ordered the part shown, but not the cable. My cable is still connected and seems to work fine. The plastic holding the door handle is trashed.

 

Update:

Just got the plastic piece that was broke, didn't have to remove door panel, replaced the part, all works fine. $24 vs $198 for entire assembly. Thanks to ebay.

 

The plug has a slot on the edge. Insert a small flat blade screwdriver of the same width into this slot and just pop the plug out. Easy and no damage.

Graham

 

Just did the same thing today, though I did pull the door all the way apart just to see what else might be needed. Passenger side door was really hurting for the clips on the panel, and turns out, also missing the piece that the screw in the door handle screws into. Not like THAT was needed for rigidity or anything...

 

Just to add a bit to this, here's the video version of most of those pictures from above:

 

Awesome thread as this going down in my vehicle real soon !