STS Scott Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 This one caught me by suprise...I was getting out of the STS last night after coming home from work, and in one sort of fluid motion, I put it in park and opened the door at the same time. The 'auto unlock' released the locks just as I was grabbing the handle, and then SNAP!... The door handle went "limp" I checked it out this morning, for I thought maybe that steel rod just came off its track or something. After looking at it for a bit, I realized the door handle itself had snapped at the hinge, where the lever is that pulls at that steel rod. I guess my best bet would be to get the part from a wrecker? This really sucks, as who would expect their (steel!) door handle to snap! What do you guys think? Here's a poor pic of the handle. The white spot is the "severed" part of the hinge... " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Yeah, that kind of thing can be annoying! If you stop and think about it, that door handle has probably been operated somewhere around 10,000 times. Then it just broke! I know it shouldn't have, but it did. I would try to find a replacement in a wrecking yard and just change it out. (From your photo, it looks like you're half way there already.) About a year ago, believe it or not, my hood hinge broke. Not a catastrophe. When I went to close my hood one day, it came down cock-eyed and wouldn't close. A trip to my Cadillacs only wrecking yard and an hour of work solved the problem. Just part of the joy of driving an older car. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted May 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Yeah, you're right Poobah, for a ten year old car I can't compain, eh? I have divulged two ways to get out of the car...If I leave the door panel off, I peel back the "sound insulator", and pull on the steel rod that connects the handle to the door latch. (this method is very ghetto, as the door panle is in the trunk, and the power window thing is just dangling like a nintendo controler! The other way, is I leave the door panel on, and just roll down the window and open the door from the outside everytime. Both methods obviously are a hassle, but the first one is better with all of the rain we have been getting. ) Anyway, the replacing of that darn handle looks like it won't be to easy, because the whole assembly is rivited...not bolted... into place. Probably not something I could do in my driveway, but we'll see. " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 It's a peice of cake to remove the rivets. Take a small punch, and knock out the center pin of the rivit. I belive it's a 5/32" rivet, and you drill out the rivet with a 5/32" bit, or whatever size the rivet is. (YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE THE WINDOW ROLLED UP--NOT DOWN--BECAUSE THERE MAY BE A CHANCE THAT WHEN THE DRILL BREAKS THOUGH THE RIVET, IT COULD HIT THE GLASS.) Don't use a lot of pressure agains the rivet, and drill at a high drill speed. If the rivet starts to spin, jam a screwdriver between the rivet and the metal. Also, you can snatch the head of the rivet with a pair of needlenose vice grips. An alternative to drilling is to use a cold chisel and cut the head off the rivet. The hard part may be attaching the new handle: Rivets make it an easy to install. If you work at it, you can attach the handle with nuts and bolts. I would suggest locktight on the threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopdeville Posted May 25, 2005 Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 Mr. Scott, (always liked it when Kirk said that...) I had a '74 Charger once that the outside driver's handle broke off. I had to do the Dukes of Hazard / Stock car entry (on nice days that I could leave the window down) or go around to the passenger side and climb through... a real pain with the floor shifter and the console (which had a curved side on the shelf portion of the console that I always caught my foot on). Getting out was fine. Mike P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted May 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2005 Mr. Scott, (always liked it when Kirk said that...) I had a '74 Charger once that the outside driver's handle broke off. I had to do the Dukes of Hazard / Stock car entry (on nice days that I could leave the window down) or go around to the passenger side and climb through... a real pain with the floor shifter and the console (which had a curved side on the shelf portion of the console that I always caught my foot on). Getting out was fine. Mike P LOL I've always wanted to try that move...just not with my car! I wouldn't want to accidentaly ninja-kick a nice big dent in my door! " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason15036 Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 My 95 cadillac sts did that to and I purchased one from a junkyard, the dealer wnated like 86.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprucegoose Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 Mr. Scott, (always liked it when Kirk said that...) I had a '74 Charger once that the outside driver's handle broke off. I had to do the Dukes of Hazard / Stock car entry (on nice days that I could leave the window down) or go around to the passenger side and climb through... a real pain with the floor shifter and the console (which had a curved side on the shelf portion of the console that I always caught my foot on). Getting out was fine. Mike P LOL I've always wanted to try that move...just not with my car! I wouldn't want to accidentaly ninja-kick a nice big dent in my door! I just tried that with my car... Dang, these steel-toe work boots can really really do some damage if you aren't carefull! '09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi. '15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi '70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopdeville Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 LOL It does take some practice... almost took the sideview mirror off once... ... never did THAT much damage though... MP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crich8136 Posted May 28, 2005 Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 96 Deville. Outside front door handle broke. How do you get the inside panel off the door? My manual just says "disengage the attachments". Thanks, Claude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted May 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 LOL You guys are two funny! crich8136, Being a Deville, I am not familiar with the door panel, but for comparisons sake on my car, there is three fasteners holding the panel in place... -One screw on the bottom rear corner, underneath the carpet. -Another screw behind the door handle trim piece -A plastic fastener on for the triangular black trim piece next to the outside mirror. Once you undo these, there are a series of clips all around the door panel that just come out when you slide the panel upwards. Your car is probably different, but just poke and pull your way around the door panel, and where ever you find "resistance", chances are you found an "Attatchment to disengage". Good luck " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted May 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Well, she's all fixed! I got a handle out of a 93' STS from the junk yard, which isn't perfect, but it opens the door like it is supposed to. There is just some light scratches in the steel, that you would have to be looking for, but they still drive me nuts oh well, just another blemish to add to a 10 year old car, I guess. The other thing, is that the square trim piece that covers the assembly has a different way of mounting up, so I had to glue it, which sort of sucks because, again, I know that it is sort of a jurry-riged job. But, the door handle does it's new job nicely, so I can only complain so much. " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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