aleigh
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- Phoenix, AZ & Seattle, WA
So like so many people when I bought my LMTV I had door problems. On the passenger side, the tab for the door release rod on the handle was broken, and the rod itself was gone. The lock rod was there, though.
Also my driver door was sticking, a problem that had been getting worse and worse, to the point that it actually stuck so bad I had to pull the seal off the little window to remove it out in the middle of the mountains, so I could get back into the truck (because of the passenger door)... ha ha sigh.
Anyways, enough was enough. I had a new handle sitting around I'd gotten off a certain large auction site, but I still had no rod. It turns out the door rod and the lock rod for that matter are pretty simple, no fancy bends or anything. I was able to get stainless rod from metal supermarket, and we managed to bend that into the right shape. It actually fits so perfectly I suspect it was the right size. We were a little concerned it might be too floppy, but it works perfectly. Anybody should be able to do this without too much trouble. IIRC we had to heat the rod to bend it. (For once I was drinking beer instead of doing the repair). I still had the little plastic clip in the door latch to hold the rod captive, but if you are missing yours, auto parts stores sell packs of them.
On the door handle side it doesn't appear there's a retainer at all. I certainly didn't use one and it works fine - and later verified that I don't have one on the drivers side either. Didn't bother to look at the parts book to see if one is supposed to be there.
On the sticking driver side door, this was just a matter of adjusting the striker plate. I've stripped out the screws on the striker before - the correct tool here is an impact screwdriver, the kind you hit with a hammer. Backs them right out no problem.
Photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/adventioneering/albums/72157681021351473
Also my driver door was sticking, a problem that had been getting worse and worse, to the point that it actually stuck so bad I had to pull the seal off the little window to remove it out in the middle of the mountains, so I could get back into the truck (because of the passenger door)... ha ha sigh.
Anyways, enough was enough. I had a new handle sitting around I'd gotten off a certain large auction site, but I still had no rod. It turns out the door rod and the lock rod for that matter are pretty simple, no fancy bends or anything. I was able to get stainless rod from metal supermarket, and we managed to bend that into the right shape. It actually fits so perfectly I suspect it was the right size. We were a little concerned it might be too floppy, but it works perfectly. Anybody should be able to do this without too much trouble. IIRC we had to heat the rod to bend it. (For once I was drinking beer instead of doing the repair). I still had the little plastic clip in the door latch to hold the rod captive, but if you are missing yours, auto parts stores sell packs of them.
On the door handle side it doesn't appear there's a retainer at all. I certainly didn't use one and it works fine - and later verified that I don't have one on the drivers side either. Didn't bother to look at the parts book to see if one is supposed to be there.
On the sticking driver side door, this was just a matter of adjusting the striker plate. I've stripped out the screws on the striker before - the correct tool here is an impact screwdriver, the kind you hit with a hammer. Backs them right out no problem.
Photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/adventioneering/albums/72157681021351473
