mssldn
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I had a friend several years ago (probably a decade or more) that purchased aluminium interior door handles off the internet somewhere. I've moved and I've lost contact with him. He told me I should get some, but they were pricey so it got put in the "someday" list. Back then I only had the halfcab and my kid was in a carseat. His kids were older than mine and were continually breaking the plastic ones. He said it was worth the money. Fast forward to this past year or two, now my kids are older and are breaking door handles.
Now my 8 has a full top, full doors, two rear benches, and both front seats flip forward. Never seen one break in person, surprisingly. It normally happens when the wife is driving the kiddos somewhere. One kid shuts the door on the other thinking "they were getting out the other side". The second kid pulls too hard on the handle, then comes home and says "Sorry, Dad." The wife has broken one too. Needless to say, I am not wanting to discourage the wife from driving the jeep, but I would like to stop this problem.
It is not an epidemic, probably 5 in two years. I can't remember the order of replacement, but I tried used OE, TJ ones, and dorman. My experience has been the TJ ones lasted the longest; followed by used oe. Dorman SUCKS. At a tenth of the price, I know that I get what I pay for (which is nothing). The wife broke the Dorman one. I told her it seemed very flimsy and she broke it the next day. It was $5 on Amazon. I was hoping it would last until I figured out a more permanent solution.
So this a super long way of asking: Does anyone know where I can find metal ones? I've searched and searched, but come up empty. I know forums are not what they used to be, but I've come up so empty that I cannot even find a mention of these handles. My friend's handles were cnc'd. The lock switch and surround were aluminium too. The lock switch was unlabeled.
Now my 8 has a full top, full doors, two rear benches, and both front seats flip forward. Never seen one break in person, surprisingly. It normally happens when the wife is driving the kiddos somewhere. One kid shuts the door on the other thinking "they were getting out the other side". The second kid pulls too hard on the handle, then comes home and says "Sorry, Dad." The wife has broken one too. Needless to say, I am not wanting to discourage the wife from driving the jeep, but I would like to stop this problem.
It is not an epidemic, probably 5 in two years. I can't remember the order of replacement, but I tried used OE, TJ ones, and dorman. My experience has been the TJ ones lasted the longest; followed by used oe. Dorman SUCKS. At a tenth of the price, I know that I get what I pay for (which is nothing). The wife broke the Dorman one. I told her it seemed very flimsy and she broke it the next day. It was $5 on Amazon. I was hoping it would last until I figured out a more permanent solution.
So this a super long way of asking: Does anyone know where I can find metal ones? I've searched and searched, but come up empty. I know forums are not what they used to be, but I've come up so empty that I cannot even find a mention of these handles. My friend's handles were cnc'd. The lock switch and surround were aluminium too. The lock switch was unlabeled.
