Aftermarket can't even get interior door handles right

freedom_in_4low

freedom_in_4low

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Public Service Announcement for anybody needing new interior door handles.

I thought it looked funny at first but couldn't place it, but sure enough, it's backward from my full doors, and yes, pressing the side that says "lock", unlocks the door. wtf.

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This reviewer noted that all the currently available aftermarket options are the same way, even though one of them even has a photo that shows it correctly.

1656859966745.png


I think I'm gonna pull them out and see if it'll still work if I pop the rocker out and switch them between driver and passenger, because I want it to be right and I want it to look factory.
 
Artsifrtsi said:
I just lived with the issue… hell, I never lock the doors…
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I could do that if I end up removing the actuator rod so they don't do anything. Obviously it's not keeping anybody out either way but I'm thinking more to prevent theft since these things are skyrocketing like real estate. Kentrol also makes some "anti theft" hinge pin nuts (because they take a hex key instead of a standard wrench) but they're $40 which is absurd. And I'm not convinced it makes them any harder to steal just because it requires a different type of tool. If they were anti-tamper Torx, maybe.
 
I want to say they grouped that handle to fit yjs and tjs and you probably discovered the difference between the two
 
freedom_in_4low said:
I could do that if I end up removing the actuator rod so they don't do anything. Obviously it's not keeping anybody out either way but I'm thinking more to prevent theft since these things are skyrocketing like real estate. Kentrol also makes some "anti theft" hinge pin nuts (because they take a hex key instead of a standard wrench) but they're $40 which is absurd. And I'm not convinced it makes them any harder to steal just because it requires a different type of tool. If they were anti-tamper Torx, maybe.
Click to expand...

The anti tamper torx is too easily defeated with a drift punch.

The doors for mine have lived in the garage since Easter weekend, I just put a trail top on when it’s supposed to rain.
 
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P man said:
I want to say they grouped that handle to fit yjs and tjs and you probably discovered the difference between the two
Click to expand...

you're probably right. Of the YJ doors on ebay that I can see well enough to see the label, they match these. Of course there's no way of knowing whether they function as labeled.

I work in manufacturing so I get why you want to consolidate, but if it was me I'd at least label them for TJ's so they'd be right more often than they're wrong.
 
Artsifrtsi said:
The anti tamper torx is too easily defeated with a drift punch.

The doors for mine have lived in the garage since Easter weekend, I just put a trail top on when it’s supposed to rain.
Click to expand...

my intent is to run half doors year round and throw some uppers on when needed. I've been doing the doors on/off thing for years but I'd like to finally be able to see out of my passenger mirror with the doors on again, have a door-triggered dome light year round, be able to enjoy a 2 hour highway drive to the trail and be able to lean out and see my line when I get there, etc.

I'll probably live that way for a year before I actually do anything rash like sell my hard doors or put red loctite on the hinge pin nuts, but if it works out the way I think, that's probably what I'll do.
 
Artsifrtsi said:
The anti tamper torx is too easily defeated with a drift punch.

The doors for mine have lived in the garage since Easter weekend, I just put a trail top on when it’s supposed to rain.
Click to expand...

Or a big pair of vise grip pliers.

I am keeping my 1/2 doors on now, if and when I hit a thunderstorm on the way home from work, they sure help keep some of the rain off me.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
my intent is to run half doors year round and throw some uppers on when needed. I've been doing the doors on/off thing for years but I'd like to finally be able to see out of my passenger mirror with the doors on again, have a door-triggered dome light year round, be able to enjoy a 2 hour highway drive to the trail and be able to lean out and see my line when I get there, etc.

I'll probably live that way for a year before I actually do anything rash like sell my hard doors or put red loctite on the hinge pin nuts, but if it works out the way I think, that's probably what I'll do.
Click to expand...

I'd have to check it again but I ran into the same issue and I thought I had chased it down to a difference between early and later TJ doors. That or the early doors I checked had the interior handles already swapped out to aftermarket.
 
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John Cooper said:
Or a big pair of vise grip pliers.

I am keeping my 1/2 doors on now, if and when I hit a thunderstorm on the way home from work, they sure help keep some of the rain off me.
Click to expand...

The inside of my windshield gets covered by my rear tires if I have the sides off and it rains.
 
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JKP said:
Dorman states their handles fit up to 04, so possibly a difference in the 05 and 06 models which is a common occurance.
Click to expand...

mrblaine said:
I put them in an 05. I think I compared them to our 04 to figure it out.
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They had the larger lock cylinders (same diameter as the full doors) and the interior panels seem to be dark slate grey (not agate like the earlier "black". No idea what year they actually are but the action matches my full doors. Just not the labeling.

I don't remember any difference between the full doors on my 99 and my 06 but I may just not have cared enough to notice as long as the action matched the labeling.
 
TRE3TOP said:
The inside of my windshield gets covered by my rear tires if I have the sides off and it rains.
Click to expand...

Mine too, when I went through a big rain with no doors it was blowing rain everywhere in my Jeep, with 1/2 door it seemed to help some and just blew on the inside of the windshield, like you mentioned.
 
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freedom_in_4low said:
Public Service Announcement for anybody needing new interior door handles.

I thought it looked funny at first but couldn't place it, but sure enough, it's backward from my full doors, and yes, pressing the side that says "lock", unlocks the door. wtf.

View attachment 340520

This reviewer noted that all the currently available aftermarket options are the same way, even though one of them even has a photo that shows it correctly.

View attachment 340522

I think I'm gonna pull them out and see if it'll still work if I pop the rocker out and switch them between driver and passenger, because I want it to be right and I want it to look factory.
Click to expand...

My handles from Dorman are right
 
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