Okay, i have two questions and was hoping somebody could answer them...

1) My outside door handles are loose (driver's is worse) and I remember hearing that this was caused by a broken spring inside the door panel... can i simply go to the hardware store, purchase a couple new ones and fix it? I dont have enough time to take my doors apart and then run out to the store hoping to find it...


2) There is some extensive rust on the underbody...some spots it goes thru to the carpet (!) and was wondering... should I go and purchase a whole new floor pan online, or simply go to Home Depot buy some thicker sheet metal (or whatever i can find) and weld that on the inside ontop of the existing floor pans..?? There are only a few spots where the rust is really bad, so i would like to save a few bucks and not have to buy a whole new floor pan - my question is if this is a smart idea or not (structurally) ??

Thanks

 

ttt

 

1) Bad news. On my TA is wasn't the spring that broke (based on the design, I doubt the spring itself ever breaks), it was the very cheaply designed spring mount which holds the spring and is cast into the handle body. So a new handle is how to fix this.

2)Good News. As for the floor, unless you have a concours car that is going to be in shows and judged for points, getting some sheet metal and welding patches is fine. Just make sure to weld around your entire patch. Just don't spot weld it on there. I would weld it from the bottom, but if you HAVE to weld it from the top, then make sure you use POR-15 www.por-15.com or fiberglass the "gap" between your patch and the old sheet metalthat will be exposed underneath the car.