300sd door handle issues?

[its_snowing]

hurrah -

the drivers side door handle on my 300sd quit working. if had been sticking of late, which made the door rather difficult to open from the outside - it was as if the handle has stuck on something, and you'd either have ot pull it hard, or finesse it just so to get it to open. but it worked. no more. suddenly, the handle pulls back quite smoothely, but it DOES NOT open the door. i cant find much info here about the door handle assembly itself. im wondering if anyone here has any info about what might have finally broken, and how to take this thing apart, or if its simply easier to replace the whole assembly.

[MattBelliveau]

Jay,

Have you pulled the panel to see what's actually going on in there?

[its_snowing]

nope. currently locked out of the car! (the drivers side handle has a busted cylander, and doesnt unlock externally).

im soliciting ideas before i take it apart tonight or tomorrow.

[its_snowing]

alright, so i cranked the sunroof open from the trunnk, and unlocked the car from the inside.

mystery: as i mentioned, the external door handle was not engaging, though i could lock and unlock the car. i went to take the door apart and test it out and, voila: it worked fine, though its still VERY stiff.

i cant imagine what this could be. as i mentioned before, the handle has always been stiff. you really have to pull it hard to get it to engage. but yesterday, it pulled completely easily (like it should) but simply did not engage.

im wondering if ill even be able to see anything out of the ordinary if i take the door panel off. or, if this sounds like something anyone can figure out, i wouldnt mind a clue or two about what to look for when i get in there.

[MattBelliveau]

Either way, to remove it, the panel has to come off. I would imagine that the innards of the handle aren't serviceable, if that's where the problem is (I could be wrong, someone else chime in here), so you may want to look at a replacement. Also, removeing the panel, you may be able to tell whether it's the handle causing the problem, or perhaps something with the lock mechanism. Look for things that may be binding (lock rods and such. ).

[toomany MBZ]

Service manual covers replacing outside handle. Avaiable from mbusa.com. Does the passenger side door lock work? Inside door handles common failure. Purchase, or otherwise obtain new or used unit. Will need to remove panel. See how it came out, install is reverse.

[hey_allen]

I don't know if this is the problem for you, but when I had mine apart to get the tumbler repaired, upon reassembly, I didn't get it aligned correctly and it missed the little loop on the latch mechanism that the handle pulls to release it.
On mine, I had to loosen the handle again, slide it forward and then back, hooking it in the loop.

In your case, is there any chance that it was installed with the handle barely catching the latch, and it's flexed the metal enough over the years to have popped out?

Another thought, maybe just pulling the handle, getting into the lock mechanism with some cleaner and lube, and working the mechanism a few times might check the function, and possibly free up some gunk jamming up the mechanism.

From looking at how my car is assembled, it appears that you could swap door handles from right to left, thereby getting a functional door tumbler from the passenger side, and using it on the driver's side.

You might also consider checking if any of the locksmiths in your area will work on MB lock tumblers. Neither of my door lock tumblers worked, so I pulled one, took it and the key to a good local smith who rebuilt the whole core of the lock cylinder and keyed it to my key.