Passenger Door Handle Mounting Screws

[rbouch8828]

I am finally putting my door panels back on and am ready to attach the passenger side handle, but am uncertain as to which screw was originally used to go from the backside of the door panel through to the mounting side of the handle.

Does anyone recall?

Best,
Roland

[Pawel66]

I thought I would find it, but I only found DIN numbers...
They can be decoded if someone knows how...
I see two kinds of screws.

007985 - lens head screw
DBL 8451-21 high polished, galvanized-iridescent passivation, standard version

N007985004129

4.8 AM 4x20 DBL 8451-21

N007985004126
4.87 AM 4x12 DBL 8451-21

So it is M4, length 12 and 20, lens head, but not sure if it is e.g. for flat or philips screwdriver...

[FGN59]

I disassembled the panels a week ago to restore the window winding mechanisms. I have all the parts laid out to reassemble, hopefully starting tomorrow. Not sure what I had on my car was entirely original, but I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow if that helps.

[rbouch8828]

When you remove the passenger side door panel and the passenger handle from the door, if you could take a photo of the screws used to hold the handle on the door panel that would be superb! If you have a chance and could take a measurement of the screw, even better!!!

I am also trying to understand the connection between the window crank and the part that it is fastened to. My crank has a large hole while the part that comes out of the door has a threaded hole. I think I have the wrong crank and that I need the one that uses the flat top machine screw, but I know there is another type that hooks to a pin of some kind that comes out of the door. If your's is like that, I would like to see what those parts are.

Thank you very much!

Best,
Roland

[FGN59]

I’ll do my best 

[mbzse]

.../...I am also trying to understand the connection between the window crank and the part that it is fastened to.../...

There is useful info about the window cranks in this posting (search function is your friend...):
https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=30105.msg218048#msg218048

[FGN59]

Enclosed some pictures:

- window crank mounted with screw
- window crank screw unmounted; M4x10mm, flat head (not entirely sure of the terminology); mine has a hexagonal 'hole', I guess it could be Philips, Torx, anything really

- door handle unmounted, with mounting screws: M4x20mm with hexagonal head; for sure these are not the originals, as they look almost new (the car was re-upholstered about 10 years ago), but they look right for the part: given that 'sliding' the chrome parts over the leather upholstery is difficult and risks damaging (scratching) the leather, there is no space to use a screw driver, so you (or at least I) have to use a 7mm flat spanner (if that is the right word) to tighten the screws.
- there were no washers, but I think I am going to use some split(?) or spiked(?) washers to keep the screws tight

Hope this helps.

[FGN59]

Here's a picture of the part to which the crank is attached (ie screwed) together with the side of the crank which fits over it

[rbouch8828]

That is really wonderful information! Thank you so much for all the photos and the detail! It will be a great help!

Kind regards,
Roland

[FGN59]

I forgot to include in the picture of the handle the small complicated plates which serve to attach the chrome fittings hiding the screws (yours look like they are chromed, mine are simply galvanised steel), but this changes nothing to the screw story.

[FGN59]

My pleasure. Others have done the same for me on other subjects 

[mbzse]

If you have interest, this is the factory recommended position (angle) for the handle when side window is "up".

[FGN59]

Thanks, this is indeed useful. It makes a lot of sense, as it is in a position which is easy to reach (if it was closer to the armrest it would be in the way, and for those with long arms it would be somewhat awkward to grasp it), and offers maximum amplitude of movement for a quicker winding.

What is the round knob between the door handle and the door opening lever?

[MikeSimon]

I am not sure, but the knob may be the crank for the small triangular vent window on a sedan.

[FGN59]

Ha! There is room for foreign objects (sedans) on this forum then! 

Thanks for the information, I think you are very probably right.

[Pawel66]

- door handle unmounted, with mounting screws: M4x20mm with hexagonal head; for sure these are not the originals, as they look almost new (the car was re-upholstered about 10 years ago), but they look right for the part: given that 'sliding' the chrome parts over the leather upholstery is difficult and risks damaging (scratching) the leather, there is no space to use a screw driver, so you (or at least I) have to use a 7mm flat spanner (if that is the right word) to tighten the screws.
- there were no washers, but I think I am going to use some split(?) or spiked(?) washers to keep the screws tight

Hope this helps.

For all 113 the hex-head screws for the handle is not what parts list is suggesting (it talks about lens-head screws, as I said in the previous post). The length is 20mm for two pieces and 12mm for 2 pcs as per the parts list. The washer is toothed lock washer as per the parts list. Now, having said that:
1. I do not know what was really used in the factory for screws to fix this handle
2. I 100% agree with the described difficulty with sliding chrome piece up the handle to make room for screwdriver, so I would not go for lens-head with philips screwdriver slot. Since I was not patient enough, I used allen screws there as I could reach the screw head with rounded tip of allen key and turn continuously while with the spanner it took "forever" to do it.
3. I would check the length though... I do not remember this on my door, but if the book says 12mm and 20mm there may be a reason for it.

[FGN59]

Just to report today I finished putting the doors back together after restoring the winding mechanisms and sliders for the windows.

This whole thing has taken a toll on my nerves, as it involved performing an innumerable series of small, slow, tedious set of actions (cleaning, gluing, adjusting, readjusting, rereadjusting...) for in the end an invisible result. Yes the windows open and close without difficulty, yes they clear the hardtop rubber all around when closing the doors, yes they keep the inside quiet and dry while driving, no they don’t sing, don’t rattle, and don’t flap their ears like Dumbo at speed, but I didn’t learn to do anything I didn’t know already, I didn’t discover any wonderfully clever mechanism or contraption, and the whole thing took me countless hours. I hope I don’t have to do this again in my whole life!

Now, the screws for the passenger door handle: I cut two of my screws to 12mm as per Pawel’s information, and could not catch the thread on the other side through the door upholstery with the short screws! I had looked at the space behind the plate into which the screws are threaded beforehand, and couldn’t see anything that would either stand in the way of or be damaged by longer screws. So, lo and behold, after 15mns of trying to get the shorter screw to catch the thread without any success, I decided I could do something better with my time and switched to the longer screw. That worked immediately. So the door handle is solidly affixed by four M4x20mm screws with hexagonal heads, and I moved on to more interesting things, like trying to figure why the glovebox sticks out of alignment from the rest of the dash.

Thank you Pawel for your contribution 😊, even though I couldn’t (or rather decided not to) make good use of it.

I take it you probably have a parts book for the 280SL, and as I don’t and we are on the same time meridian, I may ask you for information from time to time 😉.

[Pawel66]

Of course - feel free to ask! I have access to EPC, but I am not a mechanic, so if it gets complicated,  I may not be able to help.

Sorry for the misleading info from parts list - I would probably check if 20mm is not interfering with anything with glass up and down and just use it.

Great you did what you planned for.