97 Es300 Door Handle

[mikerodg]

The driver side exterior door handle is not working. I'm about to buy a used one from the junk yard. I looked at the inside panel and cannot see any exposed screws. Does anybody have the directions from a shop manual? Or help get me started.

The shop also told me the window control is about to break. It seems to work fine but they said I shouldn't use a used one. Does that seem accurate. Thanks, Mike

[George_Jetson]

There are a couple 10 mm nuts that hold the handle assembly to the door. Have you looked closely at the handle? When mine stopped working I found out that it was a plastic clip which secured the rod to the handle that had broken, and not the handle itself. I soldered a piece of copper tubing to hold a washer in place. It has been working as good as new.

[gbhrps]

To get to the door handle you'll have to remove the interior door panel and the plastic weather shield (really a thin plastic film to stop draughts). With the window glass up you'll be able to see inside the door to figure out what part needs repair.

As stated, the lock rod clip sometimes comes off and drops to the bottom of the door (if so, look in the bottom of the door for it), allowing the lock rod to become disconnected from the outside door handle.

Sometimes where the lock rod fastens to the door handle, the tab breaks off, requiring a new handle. And I've also seen where the lock rod itself has been bent out of shape, such that it is too long or too short and won't activate the lock assembly when the handle is lifted (just rebend the lock rod).

As far as not using a used power window switch .... BUNK! A used one will cost $20 or less, while a new one could cost as much as $120 or more. Guess why they want to you to use a new one? I've replaced a pile of them with used units and only had one that had a problem that a cleaning fixed. Good Luck!