Fosscore's 2013 Suburban LTZ Build Thread

[Cattivo]

Just went through the build, great job brother!

 

[Fosscore]

Just went through the build, great job brother!

Thx man. Appreciate that.

 

[Fosscore]

So the passenger rear door handle broke half way off the other day. I was with the wife as she was opening the door normally, not yanking on it and some plastic came shooting out the bottom onto the ground and the front half of the handle could be pulled away from the door. Obvioulsy I knew something wasn't right, but not sure as the truck has only just over 19K on the clock and well that shouldn't really be happening this early.

Once I pulled the door panel and the handle off, I could see the problem. In the second picture on the purple microfiber to the left side, the mounting tab/threaded insert for the screw just disintegrated and broke off. This is what came flying onto the ground. There is a knurled pot metal threaded insert that is held in place entirely by plastic (which BTW the whole handle is just plastic chrome except for the spring and lock rod) which is where the 10mm nut drives into and holds the handle in place. Only 2 screws hold the handle to the door.

I decided to try and fix it myself, even though the Dorman replacement is only $28 on Amazon Prime. There wasn't much purchase left from the plastic that broke off, but just enough at the bottom to hold the insert in the correct location and elevation. Two failed attempts with the 5 minute Loctite Epoxy shown in the picture ended up in the trash as neither one set up correctly. I think they had seen their usable shelf lives by the time I decided to use them. I ended up going with the West System G/Flex Epoxy as I already had some on hand.

This did the trick over 2 applications and hardened like it should, however the second time, that honey like mixture tried to flow its way out the front of the handle and onto the chrome. Thankfully I noticed that before it hardened and got it sorted out. My 8 year old daughter helped me reinstall the handle and put the door panel back on. It is tight and everything works as it is supposed to, so we shall see how we go and if the kids can manage to break it again.

 

[08HoeCD]

Glad you identified and repaired this so quickly.

I sense that my rear driver-side door handle may be on the verge of failing at the opposite end that yours has. Need to dig into that and have a look this weekend.

 

[Fosscore]

@ubervic

Here is a great video of the removal. 3 cover plates,
3 x10mm bolts , window harness, door handle cable and the clips to remove the panel. Pull the water shield back, unclip the lock rod, 2x 10mm bolts on the handle and out it comes.

 

[Goodinblack]

Chrome ones break all the time

 

[07Burb]

Yep....common issue but nice fix! I've even tossed around getting a second set of handles just for when one of mine breaks I've got a spare set handy. lol

 

[PG01]

@Fosscore [QUOTE="so we shall see how we go and if the kids can manage to break it again.


I swear my son and middle daughter hang on the handle to pull it open so i wonder how long its gonna be before mine go.....

@goodinblack ...
Whats the diff between painted ones and chrome?

 

[Fosscore]

Yes the kids snap the handles both inside and outside. I'm always telling them to go easy. Lol

I did order a spare from Amazon just in case this epoxy fix doesn't hold together. It is pretty shocking when you see the back of it and how flexible the whole handle really is.

The center flat piece has nothing other than the pressure that holds it in place to the door to keep it from snapping in half. Thankfully the Dorman replacement is only $28.

 

[08HoeCD]

@ubervic

Here is a great video of the removal. 3 cover plates,
3 x10mm bolts , window harness, door handle cable and the clips to remove the panel. Pull the water shield back, unclip the lock rod, 2x 10mm bolts on the handle and out it comes.

Thanks. I've replaced the lock actuators on both my rear doors so I've become pretty good at tearing into the doors. Lol