This is way more trouble than it needs to be. I bet you don't have the clip correctly installed on the handle so it cannot spread then snap in place in the groove in the splined shaft. There are several incorrect styles of these clips out there, they are close, but if the shape of the "Waist" and the thickness of the wire is not just right, it makes it dang hard to make it work. The clip has a "waist" like a supermodel, not like a beer belly, ini, not outie. Each side of the waist has to protude into the center of the handle, through the slots in the side of the barrel of the handle. If you can't see these two sides of the wire "waist" protruding into the center, at a distance apart less than the diameter of the splined shaft, then its not on right and won't engage. BTW, these are the correct clips. ClipsAndFasteners.com - Automotive Retainers,Clips and Fasteners Kinda pricey at $5.23 for 100, but sometimes you just have to pony up....