I thought about this one. If you have enough of the plastic flange left where it broke you might be able to screw in a really short piece of plumbing strap or other thin but strong metal to it then drill a hole in the plumbing strap to accomodate the white locking clip. Then clip the rod to that instead. You would need to be able to get at least 2 screws in the plastic flange though, to avoid the plumbing strap slipping and not letting the handle pull the rod to open the door. Or a really good epoxy might hold it in place too.

That might or might not work. It's just an idea. Maybe worth a trip to the hardware store to see what you can find to attach the rod back on the broken plastic piece.

Jimmy

 

I have exact same problem and am wondering how you resolved yours. Because there are replacement handles available, I have to assume that they can be installed, just don't know how. Pretty sure I can get the old one out by slightly melting the plastic retainers, but not at all sure there would be enough plastic left to install the new one. Were you successful?

 

Maybe I'm not quite understanding the problem but, if it's just that plastic clip that you need, you can buy it by itself.

 

It's not the clip that is broken. It is the tab on the back of the handle assembly that the clip goes into that is broken. What I need to replace is the handle itself.

 

Are there any u-pull-its or junkyards near you? Just pull off a door panel and take off the whole handle.

 

The whole door handle is a Dorman part #81634 and it's around 25-30 bucks brand new. Not worth a trip to the junkyard, IMO.

 

I know I can get the handle. My concern is about installing it. You see, in order to get the old one out, I have to melt the plastic spots that were melted at the factory to install the handle originally. After melting the retainers to get the old one out, I am concerned that there will not be enough plastic left to fasten the new one. I am thinking of using epoxy to attach it, but then it better last forever as it will not come out again. Am looking for some advice on this or a better solution.

 

Just for the record, I never found a good solution to this broken handle so I fabricated something to make it work.
I found a piece of thin sheet metal bent it over what was left of the tab on the door handle. Then I drilled a hole thru the sheet metal and door tab. Screwed in a #6 screw and nut to hold iti in place. Lastly I drilled a hole at the end so the locking clip would lock in.
Reinstalled and it worked.

 

Even though I bought a new handle, I decided to try your solution first. Worked great, so if you ever need a handle, I have a spare. thanks.