Can't open sliding door from inside or out!

Colorado_Al

Well-known member
Our sliding door was getting hard to open from the out side. The handle was very hard to pull. Eventually I just stopped using it and would open it from the inside.
Today I went to open it from the inside and I think I broke the hinge. It was harder to pull than usual and I gave it a bit of force and now it moves without any force at all. Likewise the outside handle. Very easy to move, like it is no longer connected the the mechanism or something. However the door won't open at all now.
Now that I think of it, the inside door handle was not in the unlocked position when I went to open it today. Like it did not get unlocked with the rest of the doors. Is that possible that the door would not unlock with the rest? Like it is stuck in a locked mode?
I'm going to pull the plastic and see what I can find.

I did find this thread:
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16718&highlight=side+door
Which should help me repair the inside handle, but it does not address the fact that the door is stuck in the locked position.

Anyone have any ideas for me?
Thanks!
 

Colorado_Al

Well-known member
I pulled the interior door handle and the interior door panel.
Interior door handle broken at hinge. Unfortunately, not repairable with the method above.
It turns out that the lock/open mechanism was bent out towards the outside handle, I guess from so much pulling on that handle when it was hard to open. I bent the mechanism back towards the inside of the vehicle and now it unlocks and locks fine and the exterior handle works easily. Now I need to order a replacement interior handle.
Looks like we will just be reversing our regular procedure for a while. Open only from the outside, not the inside. I have left the inside handle off so that I can operate it with a screwdriver for the time being.
Anyhow, interior handle part number:
Dodge 5132049aa
MB 9017601361

We'll see how long it takes to get one with X-mas this week.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Thanks for the part #'s. My bailing wire fix had to be revisited last week, and I think it's time to order a new handle. It still works, but I had to add some more superglue, and the handle no longer returns to "closed" position on it's own, so I have to remember to push it in flat before trying to lock the knob. It lasted a year and a half, not bad for a bailing wire fix.
 

Colorado_Al

Well-known member
Thanks to Christopher's Dodge World in Golden, CO and $28.50 (and some re-bending of the lock mechanism) I have a working sliding door handle (both inside and out)!

Thanks & Happy New Year!
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
My new interior handle came last week, 2 minute installation and $25 and I can open my door from inside without any problems again.
The bailing wire fix lasted 1.5 years.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Ha Ha! New handle only lasted 1 week before snapping at the hinge!
I tossed my bailing wire repaired handle, so now I have to fab something to make this one work.
I think I'm going to make some sort of metal brace to span the weak spot in the design.
And I'm going to totally remove the door mechanisms to clean and grease them. However, when exposed, the lever the handle actuates is easily moved with one finger...
 

treechunk

New member
It's funny, after all the stuff that I've read on this forum, the thing that really made me "get it" that I can fix pretty much anything on my van is this thread. Time to fix the inside door handle.
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
Ha Ha! New handle only lasted 1 week before snapping at the hinge!

And I'm going to totally remove the door mechanisms to clean and grease them. However, when exposed, the lever the handle actuates is easily moved with one finger...
Remember the cable.
 

Turbo John

New member
I pulled the interior door handle and the interior door panel.
Interior door handle broken at hinge. Unfortunately, not repairable with the method above.
It turns out that the lock/open mechanism was bent out towards the outside handle, I guess from so much pulling on that handle when it was hard to open. I bent the mechanism back towards the inside of the vehicle and now it unlocks and locks fine and the exterior handle works easily. Now I need to order a replacement interior handle.
Looks like we will just be reversing our regular procedure for a while. Open only from the outside, not the inside. I have left the inside handle off so that I can operate it with a screwdriver for the time being.
Anyhow, interior handle part number:
Dodge 5132049aa
MB 9017601361

We'll see how long it takes to get one with X-mas this week.
does the sprinter door open from the inside? Mine will not.....just the outside
 

Colorado_Al

Well-known member
While I had the interior handle removed, I bent the mechanism back towards the inside of the vehicle. Too many attempts to force it open from outside had bent the mechanism.
Then I coated the entire assembly with a liberal spray of WD-40. Then I installed the new interior door handle. Now every thing is working smoothly. In fact better than it has since I have owned the vehicle.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
I took everything out, cleaned mechanism with WD-40 (which is NOT a lubricant, btw), then put a dab of Phil's grease (cycling product) on the sliding parts, and sprayed a good dose of silicon lube on everything. I ran a dribble down the cabe, too, but it was moving freely before. There is a slight "catch" even with cable disconnected right as the mechanism begins to engage. Several attempts to locate source came up empty. There are probably burrs or grooves from wear somewhere in the many sliding and pivoting points. The key lock mechanism still doesn't fit well on it's actuator, it look like the plastic needs to be 1/8" shorter, or the mechanism needs to be shimmed in toward the van a bit; but that throws off other things and may cause more kinking in the mechanism. Sometimes when I go to lock my slider with the key, the plastic hooks slide off the metal tab on the mechanism. Perhaps fabricating a little piece that slides over the metal tab and extends it 1/8" would be the answer. If I knew how to braze I'd just add a piece.
I fabricated a solid plastic piece to fit over the weak spot; 1.25x1.25x2" from an extra piece of synthetic deck railing I had left over. Many angle cuts, let-ins, groove to fit over actuator arm; it's not a simple square cut to make it fit. I also had to cut away parts of the handle and the base to accomodate the solid piece (pics coming). All cuts are hidden when installed. I stared at the handle for about an hour trying to figure out an easy way to reinforce it with metal, but nothing revealed itself. I am planning on securing my brace with polyurethane glue. I would bed it with JB weld, but I'm note sure that the JB would stick to the plastic.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
NOTE: solid block no matter how sculpted will not work as a repair/reinforcement. There is not enough clearance.
I ended up using some angled steel (pieces cut out of a Simpson truss support) screwed to the handle base with pins going through both metal sides and the latch arm to prevent movement. JB weld used as both glue and filler. Pics soon. Not as pretty as the solid block, but again all hidden and should be a lifetime fix, unlike the bailing wire fix I described in the write-ups section.

If I had a benchtop CNC machine, I'd pattern the plastic handle and then mill a copy out of billet aluminum.
 

220629

Well-known member
I took everything out, cleaned mechanism with WD-40 (which is NOT a lubricant, btw), ...
WD-40 is a light lubricant and very benign when it comes to plastics and most electronics. For interior applications it helps for a long time. Out in the elements like under the vehicle, it's hardly a lubricant. That said, we can agree to disagree. :thumbup: :hugs:

... unlike the bailing wire fix I described in the write-ups section.
I think you sell your original repair method short. A cleaned, non-oily (no WD-40:tongue:) baling wire fix locked in with JB Weld for stiffness would make a fine permenant repair (as I stated in your original thread about the baling wire repair). FWIW.

If I had a benchtop CNC machine, I'd pattern the plastic handle and then mill a copy out of billet aluminum.
Billet aluminum???? You need to contact Jim Riordan. Maybe he can squeeze some production time between Turbo Resonator replacement runs. :bounce: vic
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
I think the whole handle and base would need to be billet, because the "hinge" is just 3/32" thick plastic rings. A billet handle would snap the flimsy plastic hinge rings on the base the first time it met resistance.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Much time spent staring and fabricating. Discovered that solid block would not work because of clearance when installed. The end solution required staying very near the outline of the handle arm, you have about 3mm tolerance for it to function. The JB weld set up nicely, I probably could have added a little more, using the added metal braces as the form. The handle arm is now very stiff, no flex under moderate force.

Here's the final solution:
 

Attachments

Turbo John

New member
Much time spent staring and fabricating. Discovered that solid block would not work because of clearance when installed. The end solution required staying very near the outline of the handle arm, you have about 3mm tolerance for it to function. The JB weld set up nicely, I probably could have added a little more, using the added metal braces as the form. The handle arm is now very stiff, no flex under moderate force.

Here's the final solution:
Great info.........so mine wont open from the inside....removed the latch and the upper tang is bent forward

Whats interesting all the years I have this..purchased new....I never tried to open it from the inside....maybe once in 9 years !

How did that tang get bent.....is this the problem? So I bend it back with some needle nose pliers...will it continue to do this?
I dont see any other issues........but why should I .......I never used that handle....:thinking:
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Great info.........so mine wont open from the inside....removed the latch and the upper tang is bent forward

Whats interesting all the years I have this..purchased new....I never tried to open it from the inside....maybe once in 9 years !

How did that tang get bent.....is this the problem? So I bend it back with some needle nose pliers...will it continue to do this?
I dont see any other issues........but why should I .......I never used that handle....:thinking:
It's possible that someone (dealer mech?) tried to install the handle and thought it didn't fit right, and bent the tang. The tang goes IN the slot on the arm, but I suppose it would work if it was forward of the arm, maybe that's what happened.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
It should be mentioned that removal of the panel isn't required if you are just messing with the handle. Removal of the mechanism requires removal of the panel (two phillips screws in handle, two T25 in bumper/stop, snap in fittings on panel). Mechanism is removed via 3 T25 screws, #1 phillips on plastic handle, snap out door lock rod, pull down and lever out, 2 philips screws on power lock (if equipped), rotate and remove cable grommet from groove, remove cable rod from back. Now you're holding the mechanism, clean and grease, check for function. Reverse assemble.

(perhaps they are Torx #20 screws...have both drivers available)
 

Turbo John

New member
Thanks to Christopher's Dodge World in Golden, CO and $28.50 (and some re-bending of the lock mechanism) I have a working sliding door handle (both inside and out)!

Thanks & Happy New Year!
Cant open my door from the inside........I am thinking the tang is bent.......it lays forward from vertical......

What did he actually rebend?

Thanks John
 

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