1941 Door Handle Slippage

drolston

drolston

Well-known member
Occasionally, becoming more often, when I go to open the driver's door on my coupe, the handle turns with some resistance, but slips and does not unlatch the door. If I push in on the door handle and turn, it engages and unlatches the door.


Can there be slippage between the handle and shaft? Or is it slippage between the shaft and latch mechanism?


I have tightened the screw under the door gasket that holds the handle in place, but that did not seem to help.



What is the fix?
 
On mine the shaft gets worn / rounded and slips in the door latch . Easy enough to check . And fix . I welded my shaft up and milled / file down sqware again .
 
Pulled the door handle and the end of the shaft is not rounded, so the slippage must be between the handle shaft and the door mechanism. When I put the handle back in, it is locked solid; will not turn up or down. Tried with the inside door handle in both locked and unlocked position. Doesn't even have its usual slight droop.

I will dig into latch mechanism diagrams unless someone has a clue why the outside handle became locked. Otherwise it looks like the door panel will have to come off to investigate further. Yuk.
 
Ggmac said:
Are they original or reproduction door handles?
Click to expand...


The handles look original, but I could not swear to it. The latch mechanism is original. I replaced some of the springs a few years back and managed not to break it.



Still mystified why after removing the handle and putting it back in that the handle will not turn at all. Inside door handle works correctly.
 
if the door is locked ,for some reason, it will open from inside but not outside. maybe something is up with the latch's lock mechanism
 
fordor41 said:
if the door is locked ,for some reason, it will open from inside but not outside. maybe something is up with the latch's lock mechanism
Click to expand...


I tried all combinations with the door key and interior door handle, but did not solve the immovable exterior door handle.
 
I would remove the handle again and use a square rod or ground to fit diagonal a screw driver . Have the door ope and the inner handle in unlocked position, then try turning the mechanism from the outside. I had a similar situation with the trunk . It was key locked .
 
Managed to get the door panel off with out losing the little handle pins or breaking the panel snaps.

Two problems. First is the square door handle shaft is just a little rounded at the end. I will get it extended by adding weld and file to shape. That will fix the slippage.

Second is a challenge. The door handle frozen locked is due to bent part in the inside door latch mechanism. The push/pull bar from the inside handle engages both a pull for the actual door latch, plus a locking lever inside the mechanism. When the inside handle is moved to lock, it pushes that lever toward the door jam and it blocks handle movement. When you move the inside handle to unlock, it pulls that lever back. On my lock mechanism that lever is mangled and will not pull the lever to unlock. That lever mechanism is completely independent of the outside key lock mechanism.

I can move the lever with a screwdriver to get the latch unlocked, but the next time someone locks the door with the inside handle, there is a good chance it will leave the outside handle locked again.

Two choices: Take the latch mechanism apart and straighten the bent part. If I attempt that I am guessing 90% chance that tabs will break, making reassembly difficult. Does anybody rebuild latches?

Or, buy a replacement latch mechanism for '41 to '48. I find some passenger side latches, but no driver side. Anybody know of a source?

Thanks!
 
drolston said:
Managed to get the door panel off with out losing the little handle pins or breaking the panel snaps.

Two problems. First is the square door handle shaft is just a little rounded at the end. I will get it extended by adding weld and file to shape. That will fix the slippage.

Second is a challenge. The door handle frozen locked is due to bent part in the inside door latch mechanism. The push/pull bar from the inside handle engages both a pull for the actual door latch, plus a locking lever inside the mechanism. When the inside handle is moved to lock, it pushes that lever toward the door jam and it blocks handle movement. When you move the inside handle to unlock, it pulls that lever back. On my lock mechanism that lever is mangled and will not pull the lever to unlock. That lever mechanism is completely independent of the outside key lock mechanism.

I can move the lever with a screwdriver to get the latch unlocked, but the next time someone locks the door with the inside handle, there is a good chance it will leave the outside handle locked again.

Two choices: Take the latch mechanism apart and straighten the bent part. If I attempt that I am guessing 90% chance that tabs will break, making reassembly difficult. Does anybody rebuild latches?

Or, buy a replacement latch mechanism for '41 to '48. I find some passenger side latches, but no driver side. Anybody know of a source?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I may have a spare latch from a tudor , I will check today . If I dont respond by tonight ( monday ) please send a pm to remind me .
Gary
 
Good news. I do not need a replacement latch. There is a quirk in the latch mechanism of which I was unaware, and somehow no one on this board remembered.

The square bar of the door handle goes through two square holes. The back/second/inside one operates the actual latch mechanism. The first one rotates easily a quarter of a turn within its position. When the inside door handle is in the locked position, it is blocked from rotating. But if that square hole is not rotated to its limit in the direction opposite of handle movement when installing the handle, it will block handle movement.

So, - lessons learned for future reference of other dummies:

1) If your door handle slips and does not open the latch, but will work if you push in on it, the square shaft is a bit too short andor has gotten rounded. Remove the door handle (screw under the rubber door seal) and have some length added by welding, and file it to match the square shape.

2) When putting the door handle back in, peek into the hole with a flashlight, take a screwdriver and rotate the first disk with square hole to a stop in the direction opposite normal handle movement. Then put the handle in.
 
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