door handle slack

did a bit of looking, but with negative results. anybody elses door handles loose? when i pull up to open the door the handle swings about a half inch before it unlatches the door. is there anyway to tighten it up? i am assuming there is a bar attached to the latch mechanisum right? any way to adjust it there?

mine are like that. thought there is also a mark on the outside door trim where it looks like someone tried to break in once. they work though, and usually dont feel like theyre gonna break. its like, instead of gradually unlatching the door, the handle moves up a little, then suddenly unlatches the door.

My driver side door does that, not the pass side tho. Guess just wear and tear. Open the door up and take a look, then tell us how you fixed it

i took a look. there are springs on either side of the handle mount which keeps tension on the handle. im not sure how to rewind the springs but i will figure something out and post.

If the rod between the handle and latch mechanism is even slightly bent, that can lead to slack in the handle. Sometimes trying another rod altogether solves the problem. Sometimes it's a matter of the handle gradually going up on the factory rivets. Sometimes the plastic grommet on the inside of the door handle needs replaced. Sometimes the latch mechanism needs replaced. I had this same problem on my old T-Bird Sport...the latch mechanism was probably the culprit. I solved the problem permanently: sold the car.

Thanks Eric, we will throw that in the FAQs with acknowledgement.

Really?! Cool...an honor for a non-turbo owner.

A few other little observations concerning the door handles:

The factory rivets, as mentioned, will loosen over time and that lets the handle wiggle. At this time I don't know of a permanent way to fix that. It is possible that one could remove the door panel, reach in with some pliers and try to flatten out the rivets a little. The problem with that is, if you wiggle them too much, the metal on the rivets will snap off. It may be possible to jam something like a matchbook in behind it to keep the tension.

If you are not so concerned about keeping the original rivets, the best solution I've found is to drill them out and replace them with 1"-long carriage bolts. A little thread-locker, a lock washer and you're all set. Should the handle ever become loose you can always tighten it down. And this also lets you wiggle the handle to its optimum position, relative to the rod, to eliminate slack. Another bonus: it's much, much harder for anyone to try and drill out a carriage bolt, therefore it's got an additional safety measure.

I'm not a big believer in rivets as a permanent solution to most anything, and with the case of our door handles, they eventually fail. They were just easier to install on the assembly line, I'm sure.

This is a common problem with the 83-92 Ford Rangers as well. The solution Ive come up with is to take the rod Eric mentions and bend it pushing towards the lock door jamb part of the door. Doing that, I have all the handles on my Rangers so they could open up with your index finger. I like them very sensitive with no play.
I tried this on my black TC and bending the rod was much more difficult(the metal looks alot thicker than that of a Ranger), but did help the door handle greatly! Theres still some slack but not nearly as much as before. Hope this helps someone!