MK2 gti stiff handles

Hi guys I have purchased a J reg golf gti with central locking, both front door handles need replacing however I don’t know where to get the handles from as they need to be for central locking model and also how tricky are they to replace ??
Thanks.

 

Try Heritage Parts. They are not difficult to change, you just need to remove the door panel.

 

Ok thanks

 

If its outer handles, just 2 screws, one under the chrome or black filler on the handle, and one on the inner door shut next to lock, no need to take any panels off for them, did our green one few weeks ago as handle broke, only took about ten minutes including lock swap.
We used ones from heritage too.

 

But was yours the central locking model ??

 

Mine is, Allie's isnt. I did my rear one in February, same but no lock.
Think the actuator is inside the door, not to do with the handle but the lock mechanism itself.
The handle pushes on a lever on the mechanism.
See if different handles are listed for with or without central locking.

 

The door handles are the same its the actuator that operates a linkage on to the door lock itself as dodgy has said.

 

I had repeated failures of several handles on some of the mk2's I owned,drove me nuts but in those days I had a good collection of used ones and parts,think I read on here that the door latches get gummed up,cleaned and freed them up and was surprised @ the difference it made,also it pays to check door alignment to the striker pin as the doors tend to drop/droop ,these pins tend to wear and are cheap to replace and its takes some unwanted load of the outer door handles also.
Cheers.

 

As far as I know outer door handles are not specific to central locking.
You might find you can fix the ones from your car with a bit of lube. As others have said above - the stiffness may well be in the latches rather than the handles. Should be easy enough to see if the stiffness is in the handle mechanism once they are off the car. With the handles off, you can also put your finger in the hole on the door and push down on the lever to see how stiff that is.
Don't be tempted to get cheap new handles from eBay - they are crap! Cheaper alternative to heritage may be to find some second hand genuine ones.