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- Joined
- May 14, 2018
- Messages
- 2,059
- City
- Western Mass.
- Vehicle Year
- 1994
- Engine
- 3.0 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- Tire Size
- 225/70/R15
- My credo
- If it's not broken Don't Fix It!
Product being reviewed:
And the following pictures show the reason I changed out the crank handles... Lets chalk it up to an OCD thing aye?
A simple thing that is quite necessary if you have crank windows is the crank handle and these often wear out crack and break on older vehicles no matter the make or model. After 26 years mine finally wore out and one started to crack and the other's cover would not stay clipped and would rattle when hitting a hard bump so I hit up one of my favorite part stores and ordered a set. RockAuto had these as there only in stock option at the time and for a whopping $2.75 each before tax and shipping I figured I would give them a shot on my 1994 Ranger.
Left is the new Ultra Power and the one on the right is the Ford O.E. handle
At first glance these two handles appear to be the same but there are differences on back side that in the future may cause an issue of rattling.
From the above picture you can see where they tried to reduce cost by making the the plastic around the splines that hold the handle on a lot, and I mean a lot, thinner. I can see this a being a easy breaking point if the windows freeze. Also the knob has a split in its attachment point which can causing the knob to pop off later in life, while this is a guess with this exact part number and may never come to pass it is an educated guess since this is not the first crank handle I Have replaced over the years.
From the below pictures you can see that the trim ring that goes between the door panel and handle fits snugly around the factory handle, which will prevent rattles but on the new Ultra power there is quite a room between the exterior of the spline shaft and the ring leaving a lot of room for movement and a possible rattle.
While installing the first one, drivers side, I notice the handle wouldn't slide down all the way down the splines and required a firm beating with the side of my hand to seat it but the passenger side slipped on just like they are supposed to. Is this a manufacturer tolerance issue? For $2.75 company's will cut corners where they can and are definitely not an O.E. fit. As a note: Ford O.E. uses a Torx T20 as the screw head and because this is a aftermarket part it comes with the more common Phillips head screw. Either will work just fine but I reused the Torx screw because I wanted to try to keep it as factory looking as possible on this job.
After install all is well but time will tell if my fear of rattling will come to pass or if a frozen window will break the thin spline casing.
No more cracks or covers hanging in the breeze and my OCD-ish obsession with my truck is satisfied... for now.
My opinion on these handles is for the price they are most definitely worth the try but the tolerances could use a little tightening. Having the trim ring being as loose as what it is worries me about rattling, one reason for the handle change for me, but if a rattle doesn't bother you then this is a good buy.
I would have put this in the product review section but there isn't one for interior parts so here it sits.
And the following pictures show the reason I changed out the crank handles... Lets chalk it up to an OCD thing aye?
A simple thing that is quite necessary if you have crank windows is the crank handle and these often wear out crack and break on older vehicles no matter the make or model. After 26 years mine finally wore out and one started to crack and the other's cover would not stay clipped and would rattle when hitting a hard bump so I hit up one of my favorite part stores and ordered a set. RockAuto had these as there only in stock option at the time and for a whopping $2.75 each before tax and shipping I figured I would give them a shot on my 1994 Ranger.
Left is the new Ultra Power and the one on the right is the Ford O.E. handle
At first glance these two handles appear to be the same but there are differences on back side that in the future may cause an issue of rattling.
From the above picture you can see where they tried to reduce cost by making the the plastic around the splines that hold the handle on a lot, and I mean a lot, thinner. I can see this a being a easy breaking point if the windows freeze. Also the knob has a split in its attachment point which can causing the knob to pop off later in life, while this is a guess with this exact part number and may never come to pass it is an educated guess since this is not the first crank handle I Have replaced over the years.
From the below pictures you can see that the trim ring that goes between the door panel and handle fits snugly around the factory handle, which will prevent rattles but on the new Ultra power there is quite a room between the exterior of the spline shaft and the ring leaving a lot of room for movement and a possible rattle.
While installing the first one, drivers side, I notice the handle wouldn't slide down all the way down the splines and required a firm beating with the side of my hand to seat it but the passenger side slipped on just like they are supposed to. Is this a manufacturer tolerance issue? For $2.75 company's will cut corners where they can and are definitely not an O.E. fit. As a note: Ford O.E. uses a Torx T20 as the screw head and because this is a aftermarket part it comes with the more common Phillips head screw. Either will work just fine but I reused the Torx screw because I wanted to try to keep it as factory looking as possible on this job.
After install all is well but time will tell if my fear of rattling will come to pass or if a frozen window will break the thin spline casing.
No more cracks or covers hanging in the breeze and my OCD-ish obsession with my truck is satisfied... for now.
My opinion on these handles is for the price they are most definitely worth the try but the tolerances could use a little tightening. Having the trim ring being as loose as what it is worries me about rattling, one reason for the handle change for me, but if a rattle doesn't bother you then this is a good buy.
I would have put this in the product review section but there isn't one for interior parts so here it sits.
