Volvo RWD 444-544 Forum

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Sagging Door Handle 444-544

posted by  Keith756W on  Mon May 18 13:13 CST 2009
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last visit: Sun Oct 11 13:27 CST 2009
[RELATED]

Reassembling the 444 - right door is fine but on left door the handle wants to "sag" from horizontal to a position like I was starting to open the door.

I have the assembly out along with the one from the 544 "donor" car. The spiral "watch?" spring seems much stiffer on the 544 assembly. I wonder if this is what keeps the handle horizontal. My intention was to just try it with the 544 assembly but on the 544 assembly the portion with the top screw hole in back is broken off (nfear where the rubber bumper on the 444 assembly). I would like to try taking the spring from the 544 and use it on the 444 assembly.

Before launching into this two questions:

Is this spring what keeps the door handle horizontal and will switching the springs be likely to help?

Are they swapable? Any pointers for doing so will be appreciated. Looks like the assemble is held together with bent tabs. Do I need to unbend the tabs to switch the springs. Don't see it in manual or archives.

Thanks,

Keith W.
444 Project, near Moline, IL







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    Sagging Door Handle 444-544

    uid 37415's pic
    posted by  Old Kombi on  Mon May 18 13:43 CST 2009
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    last visit: Thu Sep 30 01:42 CST 2010
    [RELATED]

    Replacing the "Pin" that secures the outside handle to the mechanisim (reached thru the sheet metal of the door)with a cotter key with the loop in the rear worked for me. You may have to flatten the loop slightly to clear the door, I think I did.
    after assembly I hooked a wire thru the loop and attached this to a spring, I secured the other end of the spring at the bottom of the window channel.
    I found a 'helper' spring at the hardware store that has enough force to keep the handle in a horizontal position and helps the door bolt work better too!
    This is a common problem with all these type handles.

    Cheers!
    OK







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      Sagging Door Handle 444-544

      posted by  Keith756W on  Tue May 19 05:47 CST 2009
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      last visit: Sun Oct 11 13:27 CST 2009
      [RELATED]

      Applied the "fix" this morning. Both handles now up and horizontal. A joy to behold!

      Also, in the interest of science, I unbent the tabs and disassembled the already damaged latch from the 544. Once I saw how it works and goes together I switched out the spiral spring - moving the 544 spring to the 444 latch. That provided no real help with the limp handle. But the reverse tug with a spring from the cotter key on the back side method worked great.

      Thanks for the help - what a great resource this forum is.

      Keith W.
      444 Project, near Moline, IL








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      Sagging Door Handle 444-544

      uid 35621's pic
      posted by  Suppo176 on  Mon May 18 21:48 CST 2009
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      last visit: Mon Jan 13 13:39 CST 2014
      [RELATED]

      In my opinion, the more likely cause is a worn "square hole" in the door latch mechanism itself. I have replaced clock springs with little if any effect. Once the aforementioned "square hole" (where the door handle shaft enters the latch mechanism) wears out, there is so much play in the travel of the shaft that the handle gets the "Limp" (you know what) look permanently. There was a replacement latch on eBay recently that went for about $100. Naturally they are not interchangeable from drivers side to passenger side.








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        Sagging Door Handle 444-544

        posted by  benski on  Tue May 19 21:40 CST 2009
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        last visit: Wed Oct 22 12:07 CST 2014
        [RELATED]

        This sounds tedious, as it would take some time, but it seems like you could put a little weld on to the worn area, and then file it back to the correct shape. A NOS handle would probably be a better bargain, even at $100.00.







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