new gaskets around the door handle

[TexZan]

I ordered the gaskets for around my outside door-handles from ebay. The guy (Kenneth Woo) is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and makes a pretty good product. It's $6.50 with free shipping. Expect two weeks from order to delivery. He can be reached at great.bmw.deals@gmail.com or at HIS EBAY STORE

I followed the instructions from mz3.net to remove the handle. The install was quick and painless but I added a few photos here that would have helped just a hair more.

The rubber gaskets before (garage-kept except for one winter which is when they went bad):


The result:


Tools you'll want (I used a bent coat-hanger as my puller and the 2mm flathead was perfect for removing the black plug):


The new gasket vs the old one:


What the plug looks like (I wasn't sure how deep this thing went. Small tabs, big tabs, or what. This would have helped):


I could do this again, both sides, in 10 minutes now. It's pretty simple. The hardest part was getting the black plug out. If you have questions about it, drop me an email or if you're near Dover, DE, email and I'll help you do it.

www.texzan.com


97 2.8 Arctic Silver - Tanin Red interior with wood console - black top
Whalen Shift Machine, polished - Type II windscreen (non roll-hoops) - Bilstein HD shocks/struts
Axxis Metal Master pads - Brembo rotors - Doug Whalen seat bushings
Passenger Eject (unfortunately non-functional) - OEM Passenger Airbag Disable switch
Polk Audio all around - Blaupunkt PA amps - LeatherZ Mark II armrest - Strong Strut Trio

[s-retire]

[st-pete-z3]

I bought the same gaskets from the same dude but when I get the plug off the inside of the door and look through the hole I don’t see where I am supposed to hook. Do you have any pictures pointing where to hook and pull-? I am afraid that I will pull something I cannot push back and a $6 piece of rubber will end up costing me $106 for a shop to fix. Thanks

[TexZan]

You first push, then pull to reinstall. Take a flashlight and look in the hole. You'll see a brass piece that looks like a screwdriver with a bent end. The "shaft" points toward you, the bend goes toward the passenger compartment. That's the piece. It's the closest thing to you. Push it with a screwdriver. It will have a little resistance but not a ton and will move about an inch or so. Once it gets going, you'll know. From there, take apart the handle on the outside from the top (use your fingernail or maybe a credit card so you don't scratch the paint). You need to pull the same piece with the coathanger to reinstall.

www.texzan.com


97 2.8 Arctic Silver - Tanin Red interior with wood console - black top
Whalen Shift Machine, polished - Type II windscreen (non roll-hoops) - Bilstein HD shocks/struts
Axxis Metal Master pads - Brembo rotors - Doug Whalen seat bushings
Passenger Eject (unfortunately non-functional) - OEM Passenger Airbag Disable switch
Polk Audio all around - Blaupunkt PA amps - LeatherZ Mark II armrest - Strong Strut Trio

[TexZan]

www.texzan.com


97 2.8 Arctic Silver - Tanin Red interior with wood console - black top
Whalen Shift Machine, polished - Type II windscreen (non roll-hoops) - Bilstein HD shocks/struts
Axxis Metal Master pads - Brembo rotors - Doug Whalen seat bushings
Passenger Eject (unfortunately non-functional) - OEM Passenger Airbag Disable switch
Polk Audio all around - Blaupunkt PA amps - LeatherZ Mark II armrest - Strong Strut Trio

[s-retire]

I can shoot a couple of pictures if that will help, but I don't have a picture hosting account so e-mail will have to do.

Let me know if that will help.

[lpcapital]

...make sure to take pix of how the inside looks like and update this post...
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1998 Z3 1.9 - few modifications here and there
1999 Z3 2.8 - individual edition (British Traditional)
2003 Z4 2.5i

[s-retire]

[lpcapital]

This is how the door handle looks inside.

I've circled the sliding piece that you hook to. You PUSH it in to release the cover and PULL it out to lock the cover in place. It grabs onto the tab that you find on the back of the door handle cover. You'll notice there's a hole in the handle assembly that to accommodate the tab on the door handle cover. Once you pull the sliding piece it will lock the tab and the handle cover's wont come off.





Thanks s-retire for the pix
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1998 Z3 1.9 - few modifications here and there
1999 Z3 2.8 - individual edition (British Traditional)
2003 Z4 2.5i

[vnc]

Could you tell me how that electrical switch is attached? Can it be removed while the latch is still installed in the door?

thank you,

vc

[s-retire]

The electrical switch is held to the door handle body with a spring clip. It looks like it could be removed while the handle is in the car by removing the spring clip upward and sliding the switch inboard.

The switch is sold as part of the door handle assembly.

I'll e-mail you some pictures.

[st-pete-z3]

Thanks for the PIC's and details. It was maybe 2 months ago I looked in there but not sure mine has all those pieces hanging off. Mine seemed like it was covered up in some case around it-? I'll look again if it cools off. Thanks again.