The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Droopy Door Handle Fixed For No Cost

My '48 One Ton Dually had a droopy door handle on the passenger side. It worked fine and had the same range of movement as the good handle on the driver's side but it pointed down to about where 5 o'clock would be on a clock face.
The shaft of the handle assembly is press fit into the handle . I think what happens is that when the door is locked and someone tries to open it from the outside, they end up twisting the handle on the shaft.
I removed the handle assembly, tightened the square end of the shaft carefully into my bench vise and then simply twisted the handle counterclockwise about as much as I thought it needed.
It was tight but it turned on the shaft! One more small adjustment and it was aligned just right. No fuss, no muss. Maybe it will work for you too.

...and if they are pressed in tight a couple bolters here reported that they heated them up and twisted them to where they wanted them. Sounds OK to me.

Hope your enjoying the Stovebolt. Lots of good stuff here and folks willing to share.

Any pics of your project? we like pics.

No pics yet, I'll post some when I can move 'Pokey' outside. Right now there are more parts off the truck than on it! The headlights work great, everything else needs a little attention. Bought sight unseen, it's more like a barn find than the runner I thought it was. That's ok though, I enjoy the work and hope to have it road ready sometime in the near future.

Thanks for the info! I have the same problem on my passenger side but it only droops about 5 degrees. I will try the fix you suggested. Jim

I might add that a while back I pulled a door handle that was twisted like Jim suggested because someone had drilled a hole and put a "spilt pin" in it...or what I call a "roll pin".
Just adding to the list!

What would happen if I pulled up on a droopy door handle without taking it off the door first? I'd take it nice & slow. Thought about using a cheater bar but it might break the cast pot metal handle.

I think it would work. The shaft is tight in the latch and well supported going through the door. In a PM to another poster, I told him that if I had to do it again I would attempt it without taking off the handle. Cheater bar is overkill and doesn't give you the control and feel of doing it by hand.

Thanks Jim. My passenger door handle points to 4:30 pm & it bugs me!!
I think I'll try pulling it up this weekend using my bare hands based on your experience & advice. I'll post my results later.

Thanks,

spot...are you SURE you don't want to pull the handle out and put it in a vice??

Alvin, not if it's easier to leave it in the door and use a little muscle to move it back into position. Eureka Jim seems to think it would work. I'll give it a gentle try and see what happens.