On 10/13/2010 4:00 AM, Chuck wrote:
> On 10/11/2010 11:49 AM, Christopher Muto wrote:
>> My passenger side exterior door handle does not snap back when opened.
>> It has to be pushed back flush with the door in order for the door to
>> latch/close properly.
>> I have tried squirting some WD40 into the latch behind the handle but
>> that only marginally helped.
>> If I remove the handle from the door and give it a complete cleaning
>> will it function normally again or should I look for a replacement?
>> There is talk about this problem on miata.net but it is unclear if
>> cleaning is a permanent fix or if people had to replace the spring. If a
>> spring replacement is the answer where might I get a replacement spring?
>> Many thanks for your advice.
>
> The last one of these I saw turned out to be caused by a broken off pot
> metal thingy that held one end of the spring. I think that you are going
> to need to do a little door dis-assembly to really find out what is
> going on.

Thanks Chuck. It isn't a particularly hard job but it gets messy when
you lift that plastic vapor barrier because of that tar like glue so I
don't want to have to go in there twice... will learn from your
experience and get a spare handle before i go in there. Thanks again.