how to put a door handle on e39 540i

[heartbreaker]

my dad asked me to put a door handle on his e39 540i (i guess this is common because he had one break off his 740il as well). anyway, does anyone know how to do this? does it require taking if the door panel? thanks for your help.
sam

[Lone Star 528]

Are you talking about the inside door handle or the outside? If it's the inside, there is a screw you need to remove in the "cup" of the door handle. The plastic handle is attached to a rod with a hook on the end of it. It's easier if you use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the rod while you remove the broken piece. Use the pliers to pull the rod toward the front of the door. The new handle goes on the same way. Takes maybe 10 minutes.
If you're asking about the outside door handle, no idea. Good luck.

[ozarkmark]

Yea, basically what lonestar said in regard to the inside handle. There is a guide you have to route the cable through in order for it to work properly on the new handle. You will see the guide when you get to work on it.

As for taking the panel off I did remove the part covering the side air bag to get a better idea of how the thing works. I broke off the foam like breakaway tabs along the top of the inside panel doing that. It wasn't that big a deal. I simply used some epoxy to keep it in place. It hasn't come lose in 2 years and you can't tell.

[LOS]

here is a link to replace the inside handle
Welcome to BMW Tips www.BMWTips.com
Just click on "tips & tricks", in the general section click, item 8

LOS

[PhatCat]

Duct tape works wonders