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2000 XJ passenger door latch plastic broke off... new panel??

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Old 11-18-2018, 12:52 PM
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Default 2000 XJ passenger door latch plastic broke off... new panel??

I can’t find anything related to this on the web and I’m guessing I now know why...

i took the interior door door panel off to repair the switch assembly, and when I put it back on I was trying to get the actuator lever back into the hole on the door handle spring and it snapped off... :-|

Looking at it it became apparent that the handle assembly is built into the entire door panel. I tried to gorilla glue it, and that looked like it was going to work until I tried to reassemble again and it just snapped off.

Do i I have to buy a whole new door panel now? Or do they sell the spring mechanism with clips separately?

Last edited by gbkd80; 11-18-2018 at 12:54 PM.
Old 11-18-2018, 01:02 PM
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The clip that holds the rod to the door handle, or the lever it snaps into? If its the clip, that can be fixed easily with a new one. If its the lever it snaps into, you need a new door handle. The handle can be removed by grinding the little plastic heads down around the handle. They look like rivets, but they are part of the door pad. Use a Dremel and carefully grind the very tops off. Or use a sharp knife an cut the very tops off. You can use short screws to fasten the replacement onto the door. I cant remember what size screws, tho.
Old 11-18-2018, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by gbkd80
I can’t find anything related to this on the web and I’m guessing I now know why...

i took the interior door door panel off to repair the switch assembly, and when I put it back on I was trying to get the actuator lever back into the hole on the door handle spring and it snapped off... :-|

Looking at it it became apparent that the handle assembly is built into the entire door panel. I tried to gorilla glue it, and that looked like it was going to work until I tried to reassemble again and it just snapped off.

Do i I have to buy a whole new door panel now? Or do they sell the spring mechanism with clips separately?
Originally Posted by fb97xj1
The clip that holds the rod to the door handle, or the lever it snaps into? If its the clip, that can be fixed easily with a new one. If its the lever it snaps into, you need a new door handle. The handle can be removed by grinding the little plastic heads down around the handle. They look like rivets, but they are part of the door pad. Use a Dremel and carefully grind the very tops off. Or use a sharp knife an cut the very tops off. You can use short screws to fasten the replacement onto the door. I cant remember what size screws, tho.
Thats so gross... why did they make that part of the entire door panel? Geez... yes, it’s the lever the rod goes into. I was trying to upload a pic, didn’t take for some reason. I might try epoxy as a last resort but I doubt it will hold.
Old 11-18-2018, 01:06 PM
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Old 11-18-2018, 01:13 PM
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I’m going to try to JB Weld that sh*t. I’m so not up for spending money on this repair....
Old 11-18-2018, 05:38 PM
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I'll bet you could find one in a junkyard. Even from a wreck. It looks like there's a screw holding both levers into the latch and can be taken out once you get it off the door panel.
Old 11-18-2018, 05:41 PM
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Yeah, I saw that too and was a bit surprised they plastic-riveted it to the whole panel. Genius idea... I’m sure I can find one in the yard too; maybe I’ll find a good panel and just use it.

Im still trying to think up creative ways to rig it though
Old 11-18-2018, 05:56 PM
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Well, I've seen some weird stuff in my day. You could add an extension on the rod and stick it thru the panel so you could just pull on the extension.

I think the weirdest one was a guy with a 54 Chevy 3-speed column shift that broke, so he cut a hole in the floor, bolted 2 pieces of flat steel onto the transmission shift levers, and shifted it that way! In order to shift from 1st to 2nd, he had to move the front lever to center, then the rear lever into 2nd gear! He wouldn't spend the money for a floor shifter.
Old 11-18-2018, 06:50 PM
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If i hadn’t just thrown 1200.00 into this thing (long story) I would just spring for the panel... problem with the yards around here, they think they’re selling gold by the way they charge... almost better off on eBay. I’m going to try fabricating a thin piece of metal in the same shape as the latch and see if I can attach it to reinforce it
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