I have seen references to renewing/restoring door panels.

I wonder how one goes about reparing the "door pull handle" when the hooks molded into the foam underneath have been broken. This, in turn, makes the whole door feel as if it is falling apart. My front driver's is door pull is in poor shape. Everytime I get in, I reach for the pull, the whole panel bows outward, and I feel like my car is falling apart. Not nearly as "feel good" as the rear doors, whose pulls are nice and solid.

When I remove the door panel, I see that one of the hooks is broken off, and the handle is coming loose from the whole panel. I might be able to reafix it to the panel, but it will just seperate, again, unless I can get those hooks nicely anchored into the door.

Can these hooks be glued back on with any amount of reliability? Or does one just need to locate a door panel already intact, or otherwise in great shape?

If it is the latter, it leaves me wondering if these are not pretty rare. The driver's side door is the most heavily used door. Are these just breaking over time? Or were they broken during a careless R&R of the door panel?

Which MB do you have? Year/Model

__________________
Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

Oops. '87 300TD. Thanks.

This is a common problem on W124's, which often results from someone attempting to pry the panel off rather than pull it upward.

Armrests are available separately. I'd try using some epoxy to repair the hooks first. Also, the plastic dowel fasteners (looking from the rear of the panel, they look like plastic rivets) are heat/press molded and tend to break away from the door panel. Drill into the center of each, and fasten with a screw and washer.