Is there a procedure to tight the outside door handles on my 1938 60S?
Thanks, Bob
Bob,
By loose do you mean the handle wobbles up and down? Are there any rubber grommets in place between the door and the handles? If not, get some and put them in. Repros are available from CaddyDaddy and Steele Rubber.
If you mean loose by the handles moving in and out of the door then the screws that hold the handles to the door latch are loose or missing. Those are an odd tapered screw that goes into a hole in the lock mechanism. You should be able to see them through a hole in the door near where the latch is.
Also, have a look at this posting: http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=144440.msg357794#msg357794
WParo in VT
It might just be the rubber bushing. I'll look today when I go to my garage.Easy fix if so.
If I loosen the screw inside the door mechanism, will I be able to just remove the handle?
Seem's I looked at this once before, but was afraid to lose the screw in the door panel.
Will follow up.
Thanks,
Bob
Bob, the screw has to come all the way out. Be careful or you'll lose it. Also, the receiving end tends to strip or be stripped quite easily. Put some PB Blaster on it and let it set for a week or so before you get all gorilla on it.
Bob, You cannot screw the screw all the way out and loose it because it would foul the inside surface if the door before being fully out(its about 1.5" long). You have to hold the handle slightly down to line up the screw head with the hole and keep on unscrewing. If the threads are all good it will not be fully unscrewed until the head is partly out of the hole. Then you might loose it on the floor ;D
Bob
There are several potential causes for what I think you are describing. It may be helpful to understand what you are experiencing.
The tapered screw secures the handle shaft into the lock mechanism. If that screw is loose, the handle would have rotational free play. Also, if it is loose on all doors, that would be quite unusual, unless all affected doors had been taken apart recently. Usual problem with the tapered screw is it is frozen in place, making solving other problems difficult.
The rubber bushing is part of a ferrule that is crimped to the door skin. Also a bit unusual to affect all doors at same time. This failure is less of a rotational free play, and more where the handle is floppy about the axis of the handle shaft, no matter what the orientation.
The other item to check are the springs in the lock mechanism. These are also known failure items, frequently found broken after this many years. Another symptom of this problem is the handle is 'droopy', instead of sitting horizontal in the nominal position. Correcting this requires removing the tapered spring to remove the handle, then removing the lock assembly from the door to service the internal springs. You will need to remove the door panel & all of the other linkages - inside lock slide, key lock, and the relay link for the inside door handle. A service manual is helpful to see an image of all the bits. These springs are typical for GM cars of the vintage, and should have several sources.
Good luck with your repair!
Paul