240D door handle, lock question
 

I've managed to remove the door handles from the front doors of my '83 donor car, which have a key. My '82 driver door doesn't have a key, so how does one remove the handle if there is no key to turn and release it from the door? :confused:

...
take out the screws... remove the handle.
I don't understand... what are you removing?
I've removed 123 handles and disassembled the tumblers with no key.

my question has to do with removing the handle without removing the door panel. if one has a key, you turn it to the lock position and the whole handle comes off from outside the car, after you've loosened it up and removed the 2 screws. The lock on the drivers side has either been replaced in the past, or the lock mechanism has failed. I can't turn it at all, and broke the head of one of the new dealer supplied keys. all other locks and ignition work with the new keys.
OK, the door panel is off, but I can't get the thing to come out WITHOUT a key! I've searched, believe me. evry body says just turn the key in the lock and it comes out. I don't have a key. Can I just twist the whole mechanism 90 degrees as someone said or am I just gonna break it. There's so many things on these cars that you just don't know if you're gonna bust something by forcing it.

Never mind... I forced it out and broke off the rod from the handle, oh well, I got 2 replacements from the donor. Now to reassemble. "Installation is the reverse of removal", HA!

Well of course you can't do that...
 

because if I'm understanding you correctly, that would be akin to breaking into a car. Other than, that, I'm with vstech: lost. :confused:

i got everything replaced and the donor handle works great, just have a different key for the door. the rod on the lock cylinder must be turned by a key to allow the handle to be removed from the door. on later models I guess you need a key to get the handle out.
the rod goes into a little plastic thing that miraculously didn't break when I forced the handle out. hope that makes sense.

What you have to do is remove the door panel. You are going to have to cut the aluminum rod that goes into the hole where it must turn to Ger it out.you will have to find a used one to put back into the lock after but if you have 2 handles used that have keys. And rods on them. You have nothing to worried about.any? 'S PM ME

RIGHT NOW I GOT To repair my 126 drivers door.handle bit am waiting for it to turn once more so I can Ger the lock out so I can repair my worn tumblers. Cause I.don't have and.extra.rod. that I will have to cut with some sharp dykes.