Whirlpool 8206501 Door Handle OEM Part

This has happened to several of both our and friends' microwaves made by this otherwise great company. Fixing it this time took three minutes. The first one took 20 minutes. This was the fifth microwave to need a new handle. I bet the next one I can do by just twitching my nose.... First and most important - two people are a big, big help. With two people, one to hold the inner liner steady, you only have to remove the two screws on the right side of the door, loosen the clips for the top and right side and then the inner liner pulls free far enough to reach in, unscrew the torx screws, remove the rest of the old handle and attach the new handle. If you're by yourself, you may have to take the whole liner off. Not hard, just a few more knife blades and cllps to keep depressed. I am careful to only tighten the screws enough to keep the handle tight, nothing more. They all snap because they're overtightened at the factory or there is too much load on the screwholes, which don't even have threaded brass inserts. The clips holding the inner door liner in place are molded into the mat black plastic frame closest to the outer door liner on all four edges. Slide a fifth putty knife or thin butter knife into the space between that frame and the outer door liner at the top, on the upper left, about three centimeters (inch and one-quarter) in from the left edge. Push down while 'feeling' for a clip to depress. Once you have it loose, you'll know. Leave that knife there, and move on across to the next ones. They snap back into place if you don't have a knife blade or something similar there to stop them. The inner door liner is much heaver than you'd expect it to be, so be prepared for it to swing loose suddenly after a clip or two are done. Once that handle is in place, gently press the inner liner back in place, holding the door frame pushed together and tighten (not too tight) the two screws on the right side of the frame. If these microwaves weren't otherwise so good, the first one would have been the last one. I suspect the tool they use for another component is used for the handle and it is set to a level of torque which is much to high. This stresses the thin plastic handle.