Front door interior handle broken cable tie

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
Trying to open the front door as normal - and that bad tactile feeling that something is breaking while pulling the front door lever from the inside. Finished off the day getting out of the van from the passenger side. Once home,

I removed the door panel per instructions from here: https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20345 - but remembering to lower the window this time.

This is what I found - the nylon clip holding the cable in place had broken:

Capture.JPG

As this part had been the subject of a rash of breakage reports around 2006, I dug into my bag of minor parts and found a spare 05133989AA (MB# A0007270346). Note that this nylon fitting is handed. The left door's is white. The right doors' is yellow:

05133516AA (MB# A0007270446)
Capture2.JPG

While I did not explore the options for a jerry-rig fix as I had a part available, it does not seem feasible to create a zip-tie type of solution, as the range of movement on the lever is about 60-degrees. One possible option is a clip-nut attached to the cable's tongue.

Capture3.JPG

Now the why - For a while the door had been a bit harder to open. I ignored it as it seemed minor. Before going back to work, I found that the latch was hitting the strike post too high. So I adjusted the strike post up about 1/16th, and it is opening much smoother now.

Time (including finding the spare part) 45 minutes
 
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misterbond10

New member
I suspect my door needs that adjustment as well, the drivers door requires a slam to shut it compared to the passenger door which needs a gentle nudge. Thanks!
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
Well, it broke again, and this time I did not have the part handy. So I have tried the push-nut/slip-nut option.

Unfortunately, all the pushnuts I could find are Standard, and the post is metric. I used a 5/32 pushnut, then drilled it out to 11/64ths.


I needed to save the bushing part of the broken clamp, otherwise there is too much slop in the mechanism. So I clipped off the broken clamp side and the bushing's retainer ring:


Installing the pushnut is a real pain, as it has a mind of its own and wants to escape; whereas the post on the cable hates to be twisted. So I found that it is best to remove the handle from the panel (3 screws - see 1st picture in the 1st post above).


Then, with needle nose pliers and small flat screw-drivers, the pushnut goes on.


How long will it last? Who knows. But now at least I do not have to lower the window to open the door when I am inside.

[UPDATE 3/27/2023] Still working without a problem.
 
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maxzoom

2006 T1N 118" + 2006 T1N 140" + 2005 T1N 118"
Does anyone have a source for the original style clips? Mine just broke.

Mine just broke too when I took off the interior panel. I lower the interior panel too far when the cable was still attached.

I found some parts here. Hope it helps, because when a passenger gets out the "Right Front Door Interior Release Handle 2002-2006" stays open most of the time and the door won't close. How to fix it now is to just make sure the door handle is pushed all the way in before closing door.

https://europarts-sd.com/item.asp?PID=5212

https://europarts-sd.com/item.asp?PID=5211

 
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