Whoa rivets? dude... I've had to repair the roller on the track in my car window, but thanks to it being japanese, never had to deal with crazy rivets. On a side note, can anyone direct me to a tutorial on how to align a car window properly? I've tried googling it and looked at the fsm for my car, but nothing really describes the process. I've got it pretty much good just through trial and error, but would love to hear what a dealer tech would do exactly.
Thanks, Murilee! I've been putting this exact operation off in my '92 Town Car for about a month now, because I wasn't sure how involved it would be. BOTH front power windows are nonfunctional, and the passenger side slides down at about the rate of about a half-inch every 20 miles.
And when I took the inner cover off, I DID have old rivets in the bottom of the door.
My '97 Contour SE did that too after a few weeks of driving it over some cobblestones. It never did have a lot of suspension compliance. Fookin' aces going around corners but in a poorly maintained downtown environment, it shook fillings loose.
I usually develop unreasonable emotional attachment to my vehicles, that requires extreme engineering if something breaks more than once. In the case of plastic bits which are woefully under-engineered, I have been known to make aluminum replacements. Or even construct completely alternative designs, which can be easily maintained. In the case of the hardware holding the plastic onto the inside of the door, I almost never re-use the clips. I will pony up for new ones if I can find them on the cheap, or if they are some obtuse design, I will redo the interior panel, to include inset screws.
This very situation, is why I HATE electric windows. They fall into the same category as pneumatic suspensions as far as I am concerned.
What is it with Ford and dodgy power windows? An early 90's Falcon (Australian) has power windows that if not used often become stuck, then the motor strips it's nylon gears making the the window as useful as a solar powered torch
I've come to believe in the car repair buddy-system after a similar repair of a Honda rear-regulator by four arguing engineers (arguing engineers are happy engineers). Between all the cursing, straining, fishing for parts, searching for tools, and failed patch attempts leading up to the eventual fix, we had a wonderful time. And during the project, we were not yelled at for a record-breaking couple of hours.
Interesting, the door locks, window regulator, and hood latch have not needed to be replaced on my '97 P71 (which my dad currently drives). I guess it's a matter of time. I'd rather deal with any of those than have to replace another cracked intake manifold.
The regulator on my Focus broke last year. Nobody makes an aftermarket replacement, there was no way to fix it, and there aren't many in the junkyard, so I had to pony up the money to get one from Ford. Luckily I have a friend who works at a dealer and I get a discount. Unfortunately I accidentally overtightened the bolt that holds the glass into the regulator and I shattered the window all over my laptop which I was using to read instructions. The screen on the laptop still has several nicks and scratches because of it. I was able to get a cheap used window from an auto glass company and did it again.
It makes GM's gear and lever regulator look really good. When a window fails to work, it's usually the motor, and seldom the regulator.
However when the motor fails, the removal procedure is similar with punching out the rivets holding it in place and the motor is held to the regulator with rivets, as well.
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@skulldriveshaft picasaweb and youtube: 'Prise' 'Lever' or 'Remove' all indicate that you'll probably be breaking something before long, or at least putting permanent scars or divots into your trim, generally in a highly visible location. If it says 'Simply', prepare yourself for an additional half day.
I grew up on simpler machinery, where an assortment of screwdrivers, wrenches, pry bars and a hammer could accomplish most everything you needed to do. Now things are all edumacated, with clever hidden fasteners, and twisting, unclicky secret manoeuvers needed to properly disassemble the 85-part assembly around the thing you're looking for. They're nonintuitive (to me) but invariably fragile.
"The ammunition used in the Khyber Pass region is often underloaded, being made from a variety of powders or even old film (which contains nitrocellulose, a key component of smokeless powder) - and as such, Khyber Pass Copy rifles cannot generally stand up to the pressures generated by modern commercial ammunition. In short, it is generally advised that they not be fired under any circumstances, although there are a few collectors who have made extremely mild handloaded cartridges for their Khyber Pass rifles. This practice is NOT recommended, and anyone firing a Khyber Pass rifle is doing so at substantial personal risk."
Lulz. Sounds a lot like those Chinese door regulators.
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I just went through this with the 97 Marquis. It was the front passenger side, strangely, which gets so little use.
It was only half down when it failed so I pushed it up and used the first thing I could find in the work room--plastic toilet shims--to hold it in place. Worked pretty well, though it was necessary to re-shove it up every other day or so.
The driver's side door interior, on the other hand, makes a little rumble, has a major split down the plastic which happened when my dear beloved did something or other, but refused to explain; and there's both duct tape and epoxy trying to hold it together. Yet it works.
Anyway, I just couldn't face replacing it, so I took it to the dealer, where it gets all its maintenance, trouble ensued, wrong part ordered, very pricey labor, long delay--and after some serious discussion about bad attitudes, customer service, how many years I'd been going there, and how many lies I was told on just how terribly, terribly, terribly complex and brain surgery-like it was, I got it all for free.
@Murilee Martin: Yeah, I just wasn't willing to rassle the bastid.
However, I WILL take a shot of the inside driver's door on the Merc, same color as yours, and post it, so you will feel sooooo much better about yours when you see that raggedly ass panel on mine.
The toilet shims are in the glove box now.
You never know.
@Novaload: The gf's brother in-law's mechanic thought that gluing the window in place, instead of fixing it would be a good idea.
That was during the winter.
The victim was a 1988 Bonneville SSE :(
Insurance sent it to the wrecker after I tapped a Pontiac Vibe that was out of control during said winter, Vibe went from right lane to left lane with tires pointing at the left ditch, I went right, Vibe went right, I went left, this went on at least 3 more times, the ABS could keep up, but that damned Vibe kept coming back after going on the shoulder!
All the while I'm yelling PICK A DITCH!!!
I had just gotten the window fixed the day before.
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Edited by skulldriveshaft picasaweb and youtube at 12/06/09 10:21 PM
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@skulldriveshaft picasaweb and youtube: There was a lot of plastic cladding on those Pontiacs, maybe the g.f.'s b-in-law could have glued it back together!
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And when I took the inner cover off, I DID have old rivets in the bottom of the door.
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This very situation, is why I HATE electric windows. They fall into the same category as pneumatic suspensions as far as I am concerned.
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The regulator on my Focus broke last year. Nobody makes an aftermarket replacement, there was no way to fix it, and there aren't many in the junkyard, so I had to pony up the money to get one from Ford. Luckily I have a friend who works at a dealer and I get a discount. Unfortunately I accidentally overtightened the bolt that holds the glass into the regulator and I shattered the window all over my laptop which I was using to read instructions. The screen on the laptop still has several nicks and scratches because of it. I was able to get a cheap used window from an auto glass company and did it again.
12/06/09
However when the motor fails, the removal procedure is similar with punching out the rivets holding it in place and the motor is held to the regulator with rivets, as well.
12/06/09
I've found VW rollup cable systems to be finicky. But a lot can be fixed with generous applications of friction tape and white grease.
And on my car, I generally muscle something wrong and break some of those delicate plastic trim bits before I find the right technique.
12/06/09
*SNAP*
oh, that's why...
but the Haynes Manual said to do it this way :(
12/07/09
I grew up on simpler machinery, where an assortment of screwdrivers, wrenches, pry bars and a hammer could accomplish most everything you needed to do. Now things are all edumacated, with clever hidden fasteners, and twisting, unclicky secret manoeuvers needed to properly disassemble the 85-part assembly around the thing you're looking for. They're nonintuitive (to me) but invariably fragile.
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Lulz. Sounds a lot like those Chinese door regulators.
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For over 15 years my crank windows have yet to fail me and that is why I love them.
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It was only half down when it failed so I pushed it up and used the first thing I could find in the work room--plastic toilet shims--to hold it in place. Worked pretty well, though it was necessary to re-shove it up every other day or so.
The driver's side door interior, on the other hand, makes a little rumble, has a major split down the plastic which happened when my dear beloved did something or other, but refused to explain; and there's both duct tape and epoxy trying to hold it together. Yet it works.
Anyway, I just couldn't face replacing it, so I took it to the dealer, where it gets all its maintenance, trouble ensued, wrong part ordered, very pricey labor, long delay--and after some serious discussion about bad attitudes, customer service, how many years I'd been going there, and how many lies I was told on just how terribly, terribly, terribly complex and brain surgery-like it was, I got it all for free.
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However, I WILL take a shot of the inside driver's door on the Merc, same color as yours, and post it, so you will feel sooooo much better about yours when you see that raggedly ass panel on mine.
The toilet shims are in the glove box now.
You never know.
12/06/09
Bonus points if you just swap the whole door. Color be dammned!
12/06/09
That was during the winter.
The victim was a 1988 Bonneville SSE :(
Insurance sent it to the wrecker after I tapped a Pontiac Vibe that was out of control during said winter, Vibe went from right lane to left lane with tires pointing at the left ditch, I went right, Vibe went right, I went left, this went on at least 3 more times, the ABS could keep up, but that damned Vibe kept coming back after going on the shoulder!
All the while I'm yelling PICK A DITCH!!!
I had just gotten the window fixed the day before.
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