My TGE was ordered as bulkhead delete so had wrap around plastic trims on the B pillars but no grab handle fitted.
After some searching I discovered that VW/MAN list a nice plastic handle in VW Pearl Grey. These I duly ordered along with associated parts except the screws which I already have in stock.
Parts list is as follows for a left sliding door (VW part numbers not MAN)...
7C0 858 717 Y20 -- Grab handle (Y20 is the colour code)
7C0 867 737C -- Bracket for grab handle left
7C0 857 885C Y20 -- Connecting piece left upper
7C0 858 623C Y20 -- Connecting piece left lower
Parts list is as follows for a right sliding door (VW part numbers not MAN)...
7C0 858 717 Y20 -- Grab handle (Y20 is the colour code)
7C0 867 738C -- Bracket for grab handle right
7C0 857 886C Y20 -- Connecting piece right upper
7C0 858 624C Y20 -- Connecting piece right lower
My total cost for the left sliding door parts here in the UK was in the region of £75, horrendous I know but it is a professional OEM item and looks the part.
Note that you do need the full wrap around plastic B pillar trims to cover the bracket etc. If you are fitting these after removing the bulkhead to make a nice job you need to change the sliding door rubber seal to enable the new trims to fit into the slot provided on the new seal and of course fit the correct pillar trim parts.
To fit the new handle I marked some datum lines on masking tape stuck to door aperture and plastic trim for measuring purposes should I need them. In the end I didn't need so many.
Then with the trim released and pulled away from the pillar I screwed the new bracket to the threaded locations already existing in the pillar.
Next as accurately as possible I transferred the location of the handle fixing screw holes on the bracket to the masking tape covered surface of the plastic trim. Definitely a measure twice job!!
With the trim refitted to the B pillar I drilled a 13mm hole at the marked locations which revealed the threaded holes in the bracket. I was lucky, one was spot on and the other no more than a millimetre out.
With long (longer than required for the eventual fixing) screws I fitted the handle with its so called connecting pieces to the bracket being careful to fit them in the correct position (upper is different to lower) and with the slight curved edge in line with the edge curve of the pillar trim. Again it's worth double checking!
So I now had the handle fitted but spaced off the trim by the connecting pieces. This enables marking of the exact shape of the two large holes required in the pillar trim, this I did with a marker pen on the masking tape.
With the handle removed I cut the majority of the hole out with a tank cutter leaving some material to remove. Note that the holes are NOT ROUND so careful work with a Dremel or similar to produce a snug fit for both connecting pieces to sink into the trim. Patience and lots of trial and error will produce a good result, without it you will ruin the pillar trim!
There are plugs supplied with the handle to cover/fill the fixing screw holes but I have declined to fit them until the conversion is complete as the trim may need to be removed during the job and it looks as if removal will damage the plugs.
After some searching I discovered that VW/MAN list a nice plastic handle in VW Pearl Grey. These I duly ordered along with associated parts except the screws which I already have in stock.
Parts list is as follows for a left sliding door (VW part numbers not MAN)...
7C0 858 717 Y20 -- Grab handle (Y20 is the colour code)
7C0 867 737C -- Bracket for grab handle left
7C0 857 885C Y20 -- Connecting piece left upper
7C0 858 623C Y20 -- Connecting piece left lower
Parts list is as follows for a right sliding door (VW part numbers not MAN)...
7C0 858 717 Y20 -- Grab handle (Y20 is the colour code)
7C0 867 738C -- Bracket for grab handle right
7C0 857 886C Y20 -- Connecting piece right upper
7C0 858 624C Y20 -- Connecting piece right lower
My total cost for the left sliding door parts here in the UK was in the region of £75, horrendous I know but it is a professional OEM item and looks the part.
Note that you do need the full wrap around plastic B pillar trims to cover the bracket etc. If you are fitting these after removing the bulkhead to make a nice job you need to change the sliding door rubber seal to enable the new trims to fit into the slot provided on the new seal and of course fit the correct pillar trim parts.
To fit the new handle I marked some datum lines on masking tape stuck to door aperture and plastic trim for measuring purposes should I need them. In the end I didn't need so many.
Then with the trim released and pulled away from the pillar I screwed the new bracket to the threaded locations already existing in the pillar.
Next as accurately as possible I transferred the location of the handle fixing screw holes on the bracket to the masking tape covered surface of the plastic trim. Definitely a measure twice job!!
With the trim refitted to the B pillar I drilled a 13mm hole at the marked locations which revealed the threaded holes in the bracket. I was lucky, one was spot on and the other no more than a millimetre out.
With long (longer than required for the eventual fixing) screws I fitted the handle with its so called connecting pieces to the bracket being careful to fit them in the correct position (upper is different to lower) and with the slight curved edge in line with the edge curve of the pillar trim. Again it's worth double checking!
So I now had the handle fitted but spaced off the trim by the connecting pieces. This enables marking of the exact shape of the two large holes required in the pillar trim, this I did with a marker pen on the masking tape.
With the handle removed I cut the majority of the hole out with a tank cutter leaving some material to remove. Note that the holes are NOT ROUND so careful work with a Dremel or similar to produce a snug fit for both connecting pieces to sink into the trim. Patience and lots of trial and error will produce a good result, without it you will ruin the pillar trim!
There are plugs supplied with the handle to cover/fill the fixing screw holes but I have declined to fit them until the conversion is complete as the trim may need to be removed during the job and it looks as if removal will damage the plugs.
