Crown replacement door handles vs OE Mopar

Has anyone ever replaced their door handles with the Crown replacements? Mopar ones are around $100 each, whereas the Crown handles are less than half that.

Normally I am OE 100%, but with something as simple as a door handle, I have to ask.

I used the Crown from Advance Auto on my Son's 00' and they were just fine, fit and finish was good and they held up for 6 years until he sold it.
 
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@JamesAndTheSahara, One of mine pops out about an 1/4" when I close the door (see image below). When you have yours out can you take a look and tell me how those are held in so then don't pop out any? I looked and really didn't see anything.

View attachment 34668
I replaced mine last fall and had a similar problem. The step wedge was not all the way down so I took a long slotted screwdriver and tapped it down further. Haven’t had an issue since.
 
I personally won't use anything Crown after my fender debacle. Had to return both and I just don't want to deal with it. Mopars are about $100. What are you really saving, a dinner at McDonald's for three?
Its $250 for a set of mopar handles or $45 for a set of crown handles. A McDonalds dinner for 3 is around $15. Big difference between oem body panels and minor replacement parts. A $200.00 difference is quite steep when it comes to door.

Couldn’t get to the install today due to weather, pursuing it tomorrow.
 
I replaced mine last fall and had a similar problem. The step wedge was not all the way down so I took a long slotted screwdriver and tapped it down further. Haven’t had an issue since.

Are you referring to the wedges on each side?
 
Its $250 for a set of mopar handles or $45 for a set of crown handles. A McDonalds dinner for 3 is around $15. Big difference between oem body panels and minor replacement parts. A $200.00 difference is quite steep when it comes to door.

Couldn’t get to the install today due to weather, pursuing it tomorrow.

$109 a side shipped from a dealer. I can't eat at McDonalds for $5, but I do like to exaggerate. lol

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=322316362966

No Crown crap for me. Maybe the handles will be better than the poorly made fenders, but I doubt it. I only needed one side, so it was a C-note. I heard they are a pain to replace as you can break some clip, but haven't looked into it yet.
 
Yes, this is what I kept reading on the reviews about them, which is why most people seemed to rate them poorly. Everyone was saying that they have gap, which I don't like the idea of.

I'm only considering replacing mine because my powder coat on mine is worn so much that they look weathered and old.
Why not sand the handles and spray paint them? I spray painted mine 2 years ago and still holding up.
 
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My passenger side hand had been acting funky. So I picked up a new mopar handle off from eBay.

I plan on getting a driver side soon.
 
Yes, this is what I kept reading on the reviews about them, which is why most people seemed to rate them poorly. Everyone was saying that they have gap, which I don't like the idea of.

I'm only considering replacing mine because my powder coat on mine is worn so much that they look weathered and old.

How about painting them? Crown parts generally feel "cheap" relative to Mopar. Here is a good painting DIY

http://dailydriventj.com/trim_painting.shtml
 
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I hit mine with some Mother’s back to black and they’ve stayed looking new through rain and washings. It took a few applications and some polishing, but certainly easier than removing them!
 
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$109 a side shipped from a dealer. I can't eat at McDonalds for $5, but I do like to exaggerate. lol

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337789113&icep_item=322316362966

No Crown crap for me. Maybe the handles will be better than the poorly made fenders, but I doubt it. I only needed one side, so it was a C-note. I heard they are a pain to replace as you can break some clip, but haven't looked into it yet.
Again, that’s not from the dealer, that’s from a parts warehouse. Watch what you say about crown because just like the YJ/WJ/CJ crowd, the dealership support for the TJ is very close to its cutoff. Then all you will have is crown and omix. You really can eat at McDonalds for $5 considering an XL soft drink and triple cheeseburger is $4 and happy meals are $3. Hell you can even afford fries if you want.

Like it or not, we are very fortunate to have manufactures who stick around some time after making wear parts that otherwise would be a PITA to source. Crown makes some decent stuff and $150 each for black painted door handles from the dealership is a slap in the face. Some things like cooling systems parts, hell yeah get factory replacements. Parts like rubber/handles/knobs/ect, there is no manufacturing difference that warrants that price.
 
You're right, I may just do this instead. Heck, if I really wanted I could just remove them and have them powder coated again, since the door handles work just fine themselves.

Yeah, and a shop would charge around $30 - $40 to powdercoat, and they would be as good as new, OEM strength and functional. I like that idea or painting them rather than buying Crown or Mopar replacements.
 
Yeah, and a shop would charge around $30 - $40 to powdercoat, and they would be as good as new, OEM strength and functional. I like that idea or painting them rather than buying Crown or Mopar replacements.

Yep, I think that's what I'll do. The door handles themselves are just fine.
 
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@JamesAndTheSahara, One of mine pops out about an 1/4" when I close the door (see image below). When you have yours out can you take a look and tell me how those are held in so then don't pop out any? I looked and really didn't see anything.

View attachment 34668
Mine don’t do this post install. Are your step wedges set to the factory reccomended amount?
 
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...Are your step wedges set to the factory reccomended amount?

What is "set to the factory recommended amount?"

edit: never mind, I just fixed mine. I remove the seal along the window, lowered the window and tapped the wedges down further with a screwdriver. Happy camper now. Thanks!
 
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Like it or not, we are very fortunate to have manufactures who stick around some time after making wear parts that otherwise would be a PITA to source. Crown makes some decent stuff

There are other options out there. I purchase my fenders from Keystone and they are DOT certified unlike the garbage Crown sells. I had to send both Crown fenders back because they are junk. Holes not lining up, fenders were actually different and noticeably so and grinding marks on top of one they looked like they were damaged and some moron tried a fix. Complete garbage. I have to post my experience because people need to know they aren't getting quality from Crown as far as fenders go. I wouldn't trust anything from them. I would trust Keystone as they are approved by insurance companies as well, unlike Crown.
 
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