Great write up. Once I get back from Sebring I'm going to tackle this. Getting real tired of looking at the handle sticking out.

My 05 (build of June 2005) just developed this issue yesterday, I opened the door panel to check if it had slipped. Unforfunately it wasn't the case, even when trying to adjust the rod the door handle would still not come back. I unpluged the rod for fun to see if it was going to make a difference but the handle was still not comming back into position by itself, so there was obviously something else.

I decided to take a plunge and remove the door handle assembly off the door to see what was wrong. Once I took it off I notice that the shaft, were the spring is installed was not in is position, it had slipped off the holes. The shaft is inserted in between two plastic sidewall with two holes to keep in place and those two wall on each sides had separated to break loose the shaft and preventing the spring to work properly.

Because the plastic walls had seperated there was no way to put the shaft in it's position, it would always pop out if I didn't put pressure on the wall and squeeze it the walls together.

How to keep these the walls from seperating ? Imade myself a "U" shaped metal bracket to clip on top of the mecanism that would keep the wall squeezed together and the trick was done and now it works like new.

I dont know if Ford has changed this design but from what I saw it's design for faillure.....

Here a little sketch, it's not to scale but illustrate in a simple form the issue

My 05 also has this problem on the driver's side. I've learned alot from this thread and intend to work on it myself. I do find it interesting that apparently there is not a TSB for this issue.

I noticed this problem with mine for the first time today. It isn't really sticking out, but it feels very loose, like something needs tightening up. Maybe I'll take it apart and investigate...

BTW I went to the dealer anyway to inquire about this issue and they were very surprise about my creative fix, they say that it would be the best solution to fix the issue once and for all as all replacement handle the received are made the same way as the originals so for sure the problem will come back.

So I plan to install a bracket on my other one so it wont break loose with time.

Excellent info... I have this same issue on my '05 and wonder which issue I am going to find. Dineau, since it was over a year ago... do you recall the steps required to remove the handle assembly from the door? Or will it be obvious when I get to that area?

Although I have not had the problem (yet) it is good to see this resurface - this issue was raised about 3 years ago with the same solution, but with the server crashes and forum upgrades, the original thread was lost...

Good work.

It's been a long time since I did it , but I didn't have to remove the handle to do my fix. There's a nylon piece that the rod from the handle fits through and if I remember correctly it opens up so that you can remove it from the rod. What happens is that the rod eventually slips down through the nylon piece and doesn't pop back up as high when you release the handle. I guess Ford assumed the threads on the rod would keep it from slipping , but it doesn't. I screwed a nut on the rod to the top of the threads and then closed the nylon piece around the rod and positioned the rod where it should be. I then screwed the nut down till it hit the nylon piece and now the rod can't slip down. I don't know what size the nut is but it was a nut from a throttle body spacer I had laying around and wasn't using , it's one of the lower nuts on the throttle body. Hope this helps ...

First you have to remove the door panel. (ignore the red notes, because I took this picture from another post)

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...insulation.jpg

Then remove the plastic film to be able to reach inside the panel.

Then unclip the rod from the bottom.

There's also one bolt from the inside the door that holds yhe handle, take it off and then you can pull the hndle out. it may be sticked a little so pull firmly.

You can see from the pictures bellow the issue. You will notice that the right side of the spring assembly is out of the plastic sides.

Also if you look carefully you will see the thread of the bolt that need to be removed.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...orlatch008.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...tchford007.jpg

Hope this help ?

So your problem was that something on the handle actually broke ? Mine was just because the rod had slipped down in the nylon bushing at the bottom end , I guess you do need to remove handle if that's the problem ...

Good thread guys. I don't have the issue (either) yet, but if it comes up, this gives excellent info about how to deal.

Excellent! Thanks for posting the pictures Dineau. That's a great help and I'm sure I'll be able to fix this whether its the slipped rod problem or the plastic bracket problem.

Yup, same problem here on my Legend Lime car. I wonder if they didn't fix it in later years or if this is still an issue with the newer cars. I would take it to Ford but they would probably do a quick fix only to have it come undone down the road. Guess I'll tackle it and see what happens.

Julie

this is a great fix, thank you so much lime gt (mine's lime also). very important though, the door must not be locked or it won't work. make sure your door is unlocked!

this is a great fix lime gt (mine's lime also). very important though, the door must be unlocked for this to work!

Door Handle repair for $2
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...c3f63b25b.jpeg

File down the boss shown on right side in this view
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...ae134c326.jpeg
After filing, center punch the center, to guide drill thru center of pivot shaft (held in vise in this view)
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...ddbb3acff.jpeg

Hole drilled for same diameter of solid rivet (washer is used, not shown) :
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...8628ae8ab.jpeg

Handle assembled with solid rivet crimped & assembly greased:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...354d83716.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/themust...e3f70f7c7.jpeg

This exterior handle will never break again..........

LDC5

Good write up thanks. My driver side door handle stopped retracting about 5 years ago. I got into the habit of just retracting it myself thinking i'd eventually get around to fixing it. Lately it's been starting to retract again on it's own; not entirely but mostly. Not sure how or why it started to fix itself but maybe I can avoid pulling this apart after all.

Thank you so much
 

literally made an account because I wanted to thank you. This help me out so HUGE! thank you for the photos

Some things never get old! I just acquired a 2005 GT with a sagging door handle and I KNEW I had seen a fix for it somewhere down the line! Thanks for the excellent write-up and solutions to the problem. BTW, I had a 72 Mustang vert (351C) that the driver's door handle broke--casting fault. Same door handle as the Mark V Lincoln and that massive Thunderbird. Nearly every one I found in the junk yard was missing the driver's door handle. I took all of them I could find, cause I knew mine would break again!
THANKS AGAIN!!!

You Are Welcome!

Old Posts Rock! Glad it Helped!

Just an Fyi They Repop The Old Mustang 71-73 Door Handle!

Original Ford Part Number E25Y-5422405-A , Drivers E25Y-5422404-A Passenger.

https://www.carid.com/replace/front-...fo1310109.html

Mgb,

Kc