Outside Door Handle Issues (Both Sides)
 

Hey everybody,

What's Wrong: So when I bought my 94 dakota (3.9 slt crew cab/power windows) back in 2013, the outside door handle did not work. Until I had it fixed, I had to open the passenger door and slide across the seats. I had a guy fix it, I believe the OE plastic rod clip broke and he replaced it (there's a red one there now). The driver door has always sagged a bit when open, but after he fixed it I could always open it. Last week, the PASSENGER side door had a similar issue and stopped opening from the outside. There was no resistance on the handle so I figured that clip finally died and the rod fell out. Ironically, I went outside to look at that door today. When I went to open the driver's side, it also didn't open. I pulled the handle about 100 times and it finally caught and I got in without having to sacrifice any windows. So, both doors do not open from the outside now. Great! All indoor handles and locking mechanisms are working fine.

Driver's side: I took the driver's side panel off to take a look and the plastic clip is still in the outside handle - it appears to be moving the piece under the door lock so I'm not sure why it's not allowing it to open. Could this have something to do with the adjustment screw?

Passenger side: the rod running up to the outside handle was out but I put it back in. I'm not sure where to get a new clip, maybe they have them at a parts store. However, I may have a bigger issue. Even when I have the rod rigged in there tight and I'm getting it to move with the outside handle, the door still will not open (just like the driver's side). It's kind of hard to see in there with the window, but I can see movement under the locking mechanism so I'm wondering if this is another case of adjustment? I've never messed with the adjustment screw and am interested in asking questions before I make the problems worse.

This site has been a great resource for me before and I'm hoping you can all hit me with your wisdom. I'm sure that by this point, most people's plastic clips have exploded just like mine! Thanks in advance

Use a screwdriver or something to latch the door, (with it still open....) and work the handle, see if it will release. If not, push the lever in the direction it needs to go, and see if it will release, if it does, just adjust the rod a bit.

I replaced mine due to them having faded. I got the new outer door handles oddly enough on New Egg. You have to remove the door panel and drop the window inside the door to get access. I used a channel lock pliers to get the grip to remove the nut that holds the handle. IDK if you can get a new plastic clip for the top of the rod but you might check the dealer as I think I reused what I had.

Intel or AMD door handles? :)

ARM octacore. :p

RwP

i5 7200 dual core :)