Best epoxy for a broken door handle

[Busterbrown]

Last week, I noticed the exterior driver's door handle awkwardly stressed when pulled upward. Today, finally had a few minutes to pull the door panel off and take a closer look. The plated plastic arm (noted in the 2nd picture) was completely cracked and separated. I had some all purpose epoxy on hand to glue it back together. Will reinstall it tomorrow but now I'm wondering if it will hold up to all the years of abuse a handle takes. Anyone have a suggestion in repairing a clean crack in molded plastic parts? Super glue epoxy's always disappoint me. I'm sure I can source another one but I be even happier if I can find a < $5 fix.

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[The_Roadie]

I've never had good luck with ANY product that doesn't mold around the gap and add bulk strength of its own. JB Weld. Cyanoacrylates like thin gaps, but are better at flat to flat sorts of issues where you have a good number of square inches to work with. Epoxies can be good for bulk strength, but many are fast curing that sacrifice strength. If JB Weld doesn't work, nothing will. (IMHO).

 

[Busterbrown]

I've never had good luck with ANY product that doesn't mold around the gap and add bulk strength of its own. JB Weld. Cyanoacrylates like thin gaps, but are better at flat to flat sorts of issues where you have a good number of square inches to work with. Epoxies can be good for bulk strength, but many are fast curing that sacrifice strength. If JB Weld doesn't work, nothing will. (IMHO).

Thanks Bill. I'll make a run up to Home Depot in the AM for some JB Weld to apply as bulk over (and around) the arm. Just curious, have you seen the handles of our vehicles fail with normal usage? I was a bit shocked when I discovered the break in an obvious stress zone.

 

[Wooluf1952]

It also helps if you can embed some metal in the epoxy to strengthen it.

 

[The_Roadie]

Not that my memory of a million posts is perfect, but I don't recall any significant number of reports of door handle failures.

 

[Busterbrown]

It also helps if you can embed some metal in the epoxy to strengthen it.

As in "metal shavings"??

 

[Wooluf1952]

As in "metal shavings"??

No. A piece of SS wire or maybe something like a paneling nail and mold the epoxy over it.

That'll keep it from pulling open and cracking the epoxy.

Also, I agree with Roadie. JB Weld is the best option.

 

[TrailBlazn420]

I would think he means more like a "strip" of metal.

 

[The_Roadie]

Think of it as a splint. Sometimes I try to drill holes in both halves of broken things and use a rod or pin internally, when I've got an irreplaceable or expensive item to mend and I'm being frugal.

 

[jrSS]

My outside driver door handle busted on my voy a while ago. I tried "gluing" the handle with gorilla brand glue. Thought it might hold but 1st time trying to open door it failed. So hope jb weld wrks out for ya.

 

[PonokaTB]

Try drilling a small hole on each side of the break and the feed a wire around the 2 holes. After you JB it in the crack tighten the wire with pliers, then JB in bulk around the wire and crack. Should work.

 

[Taz6056]

I hope I am not too late to the party but a product similar to JB Weld that I have had a lot of success with is CarGo's QuikSteel. It, like JB Weld is a steel impregnated epxoy but is sold in a stick, and more like play-doh as opposed to JB Welds gooey liquid form. I buy mine at walmart, it is sold in a 2oz. plastic tube just roll the 2 parts together (comes in a tube) and then mold, shape press into the crack sets in 5 minutes, and gets hot to the touch, full cure it says in an hour, but overnight means its totally dry. Has a rough finish, if looking for smooth finish, get it wet and rub with a finger. Sandable, paintable, drill and tap it, stuff is awesome.

Sorry for the run on fanboy, not related to the company just a very very satisfied customer.

Marc.

 

[Busterbrown]

Try drilling a small hole on each side of the break and the feed a wire around the 2 holes. After you JB it in the crack tighten the wire with pliers, then JB in bulk around the wire and crack. Should work.

Thanks for the input. I didn't have much clearance for lassoing the break together. I applied the quick setting epoxy last night to secure the two pieces. This morning, the bond was solid. So, I purchased JB Weld and molded the entire arm, filling in all the gaps and crevices of the formed plastic. It's been about 4 hours now and the goop will need to cure at least till tomorrow morning before I can test tensile strength.

As a side note, the stealership wanted $115 for the chrome handle with unpainted trim assembly. Apparently, Detroit Top Auto have many of the units; they just don't have any chrome handle ones (the Rainier's variant). If JB Weld fails, a 2nd option would be to reface a used unit's handle with chrome acrylic paint. I have no experience with chrome paint...and I have no idea how close to OEM chrome the handle would look.

 

[jrSS]

I went to the stealership to buy a new chrome with the silver paint to match the rest of my handles and they wanted $200 for all 4. They wouldn't just sell me one. Jerks. Anyhow I just bought a black one and will paint all 4 of them come springtime.

 

[Busterbrown]

I hope I am not too late to the party but a product similar to JB Weld that I have had a lot of success with is CarGo's QuikSteel. It, like JB Weld is a steel impregnated epxoy but is sold in a stick, and more like play-doh as opposed to JB Welds gooey liquid form. I buy mine at walmart, it is sold in a 2oz. plastic tube just roll the 2 parts together (comes in a tube) and then mold, shape press into the crack sets in 5 minutes, and gets hot to the touch, full cure it says in an hour, but overnight means its totally dry. Has a rough finish, if looking for smooth finish, get it wet and rub with a finger. Sandable, paintable, drill and tap it, stuff is awesome.

Sorry for the run on fanboy, not related to the company just a very very satisfied customer.

Marc.

WHen I was in Home Depot this morning, I noticed the QuikSteel. You're absolutely right about the gooey liquid application style of the JB Weld epoxy. It's initial bonding time is 6 hours. Then a full 24 hours to dry completely. Not the most user friendly goop.

 

[Taz6056]

I like JB Weld for some projects, especially filling cavities and/or voids blindly. But in some instances the clay like properties of QuikSteel are indispensable.

Marc.

 

[cartman57]

++ for JB weld
I've used tape as a dam to prevent it from spreading or to hold it in place until it cures.

QuickSteel is great and it's machineable, or ribon epoxy.

 

[Busterbrown]

My JB Weld patch work this morning with 24 hours of set time:

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Installation tomorrow in the AM.

 

[jrSS]

That's exactly where mine broke and damn threw the broken one away. But I hope it works out for u.

 

[Busterbrown]

That's exactly where mine broke and damn threw the broken one away. But I hope it works out for u.

Me too. I hate "epoxy'ing" when more goop finds your fingers than the actually plastic surface. The cold weld is rock hard now....so tomorrow is d-day.

 

[n0kfb]

I'd not bother repairing a broken handle. It won't be as strong as the original and will soon break.

If your dealer won't sell you just the part you need, go to another dealer or your local auto parts store. It is amazing the small parts like this available at NAPA and other auto parts stores. Finally, many junk yards would be happy to sell you this sort of part.

Good luck!

-- Dan Meyer

 

[Busterbrown]

1 day of general use and the handle is holding up well. The combination of a superglue epoxy for the adhesion and JB Weld as the structural cast seems to be the ticket. Crossing all my fingers....

 

[TripleBuick]

Hi to all,

Recently noticed that my driver door handle needed to be pulled up further than normal to open the door. Went to the dealership and was charged $60 to get an estimate of $450. Unbelievable! They quoted $160 for the handle, $160 for labour, $60 to paint the bottom of the handle same color as the vehicle, plus taxes. I paid the $60 and drove away with my broken handle.

Thanks to the advice in this thread I removed the door panel, removed the door handle, used JB Weld PlasticWeld which has a playdough type consistency, installed the door handle the next day, and it worked like a charm. Cost was $10.

Thought I would upload some pictures and text on how to do this.
1. Remove the oval faux wood around the inside door handle. Lift out with small flat screwdriver, use small detents on the inside to pry out.
2. Remove the power window/lock pod from arm rest. Use a putty knife to pry up.
3. Remove one bolt under the pod, one bolt from the left side of the arm rest where the cutout for your hand is (if you look down and to the left you will see the hole).
4. Use a large flat screwdriver to pry the door panel off. Best method is by moving the screwdriver to the first plug, then pry off, move to next plug, then pry off and so on. Using this method will not damage the door panel or the plugs.

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5. Use a utility knife to slice the caulk under the rubber door liner. It stays sticky and is reusable, so don't worry.
6. Remove two nuts that hold the door handle on from inside the door. The one on the left is easily visible. The one on the right is hidden. You need to use a small socket wrench and get your hand up in there. Don't worry, there's enough room.
7. Disconnect the two rods that attach to the handle, one is for the lock, the other is for opening the door.

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8. Remove the door handle.

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9. Broken handle. Release return spring from plastic bracket before repairing.

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10. Repair using JB Weld PlasticWeld

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[Busterbrown]

@triplebuick, I had a very similar split on that handle arm. I attempted the JB Weld fix. Worked for about 3 weeks. Then failure on a cold morning. I bit the bullet on a new handle assembly from the dealer. I swapped out just the new chrome handle by removing its loaded spring. Replaced it on my original trim assembly so I didnt have to spend the money and have it painted. The $120 hurt though for a molded piece of plastic! Of coarse, Roadie's initial perspective was spot on.

 

[TripleBuick]

Hi Busterbrown, thanks for your reply. Three weeks is not good for longevity.
Question for you: I know you can remove the return spring, but it looked to me like you need to slide the shaft that the spring and arms rotate on as well in order to swap out the top handle with a new one and reuse the bottom painted part. The end of the shaft is punched so the parts don't slide off the shaft. How did you remove the shaft and then reinstall it considering the flared side? Below is a picture of the shaft end I am referring to.

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[Busterbrown]

Hi Busterbrown, thanks for your reply. Three weeks is not good for longevity.
Question for you: I know you can remove the return spring, but it looked to me like you need to slide the shaft that the spring and arms rotate on as well in order to swap out the top handle with a new one and reuse the bottom painted part. The end of the shaft is punched so the parts don't slide off the shaft. How did you remove the shaft and then reinstall it considering the flared side? Below is a picture of the shaft end I am referring to.

It's been a while since I made the repair but IIRC, I was able to manipulate the flared end of the pin with pliers in order to separate the trim piece from the handle. I took me a good few minutes to convince it to move through. Maybe you'll have better luck with your JB repair and you won't have to disassemble your door panel again.

 

[TripleBuick]

JB plastic weld held, but the plastic broke just a little further up from the repair. I purchased an aftermarket handle for $25. They are available on ebay and amazon. I then disassembled the new and old handle and swapped the new top handle onto the old bottom handle. Why would I do that?
Because the original bottom handle is painted the same color as my Rainier and has the lock cylinder in it. I didn't want to repaint the bottom half of the new handle. The bottom half has no moving parts and should not increase the failure rate. It is fairly easy to take the handle apart. The new one was press fitted, just used a hammer to knock the shaft out. The old one has a punched out end on the shaft. I used a drill to eliminate the enlarged end.
Attached are some pictures on disassembly.

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[TripleBuick]

[video=youtube;kUqni3iyZTc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUqni3iyZTc[/video]