I have been fighting with the following issues for some time now. The outside handle doesnt seem to pop the latch until it is just at the end of its travel. The inside handle does the same. It had gotten so bad I had to pull it once to unlock. Then pull it fully again to open. To make it even better, my door panel had pulled away from the door and was hanging on the door sill, lol. This made for a very uncomfortable and embarassing door opening procedure. I finally got it fixed tonight though.

I pulled the panel and popped the rod off of the latch that comes from the outside handle. I did this by putting a No 2 phillips screwdriver in the hole in the threaded plastic retainer and pulling the retainer from the latch. I only turned it out one turn, so the latch arm would travel further earlier during a pull. This fixed the outer door handle problem.

The inner door problem seemed to be caused by a stretched cable. I didnt have any frays in the cable so I said "Hey, lets screw with it!" I tried tying the cable in a knot, but it was near impossible without kinking the metal strands. So I found a 5/16" or 8mm nut with a big washer made onto it, but any nut would really work.

Here is a pic of it after the 3 cuts:


The middle cut is to allow it to slip onto the cable. The lead thing on the handle end of the cable is too big to go through an 8mm nut. The outer cuts are to let the nut sit fairly comfortably in the door handle "frame."

Here is a pic of it installed:


You basically pop the cable sheath out of the door handle frame (black plastic,) slip the nut onto the steel part of the cable that is now exposed and make it sit like the pic above. It works awesome now, although the door handle does sit slightly inward now. I dont know if thats normal or not. I could always adjust the tension by changing the nut thickness, but I am very happy. A half pull is about all it takes now to get the door open. No more maxing out drivers door handles!

 

I had the same problem and just got done repairing it. Only I fixed it at the lock end as the rubber grommet at that end was falling apart.

I clamped a lead sinker (fishing weight) around the cable to take up the slack. And then replaced the rubber grommet with a nylon one that I slit lengthwise to slide over the cable.

We'll see how long this lasts but it's working fine for now.

 

My yellow translucent rubber thing was sitting loose on the cable. I was not sure what its function was. My handle broke a couple weeks ago after modding it like this for a couple of weeks. I was supposed to get the LH handle with cable. I am concerned that he sent me the rear cable though.

Does anyone know if the front and rear door cables are the same on a Vanden Plas? Thanks in advance! I was really hoping to get a new cable this time and go ahead and remove my latch and give it a serious lube job and inspection. Someone please let me know on the cable differences.

 

I would guess the rubber is to eliminate any metal to metal noise as the cable end makes contact with the lock release lever. I was hoping the lead would be easy on the stainless steel cable and the nylon would serve the same basic funtion as the rubber. Seems ok so far.

Mine's a long wheel base also and if things hadn't worked I was going to raid the cable from the back door. Forgot about the different door lengths.

Quick check of Coventry West's site shows only one cable listed so looks like same length for all.

Coventry West, Inc. - Online Store

 

Good call, buddy. I have my "new" rear handle with tweeter cup and cable. Lets hope this fixes the achille's heel (me and my door problems) of my Vanden Plas.

 

Well, I totally removed the drivers latch last night and lubed it up with silicone spray lube. I also found the inner release are that the inner door handle cable actuates has gotten slightly bent down through the years, so I bent it back. Wow, my door feels almost like new! The rear door handle and cable fit the front for sheezy! Thanks to all!

 

I pulled mine out and did the same before repairing the cable and yes, it's surprising just how much of a difference it makes. Out of habit I still pull with the force previously needed when all it really needs now is a feather touch. And so lubing the remaining locks has been added to the growing list of future projects.

And as far as my cable fix goes, it's still working fine. But now that I know the rear cables are the same I'll raid my passenger rear door when I pop the panel to tighten the rattling wood trim.