Hand Crank Window Problem

[Danger-Ranger96]

Hey guys, i'm sure some of you may have had this problem before with your trucks but, in my 96 i can only roll my driver's side window down to about 1/2 before the handle starts twisting and grinding and in order for me to get the window back up i have to actually grab it and pull on it while i grind the shit out of the hand crank.

I'm thinking theres a plastic gear or something inside the door panel that is causing it, anyone ever had this problem?

[pillen140]

either the slider or regulator itself, sometimes the tracks just need cleaning though. does it get hard to crank or just "free wheel" the crank? one guy is parting out a truck, still has doors and regulators.

[Danger-Ranger96]

it used to be hard to crank up, now it just sort of free-wheels with a loud grinding noise and it like clicks when i do it.

[94 4.0 5-spd 4wd ranger]

is it the crank handle itself on the shaft that sticks out of the door panel? if so id pick up a new handle and clean the tracks like pillen said

[Danger-Ranger96]

i'll have to take it apart, to really see whats going on, but i'm sort of clueless as to why it doesn't want to roll the window up after it starts to click at half way. probably just the tracks. My plan is just to take the door panel off and put the crank back on, and view it when i roll it up and down. I wouldn't be surprised if the tracks are really dirty because i have a tendency to roll up and down the windows with mud on them heh

[Wicked_Sludge]

the window regulator inside the door is toast. the big crescent-shaped gear that raises and lowers the window is obviously missing teeth at the halfway point.

if it was the window crank itself it would do it at any random point that window resistance overcame the plastic-on-metal resistance at the crank.

window regulators are a pain in the royal ass to change. my passenger side needs to be done because the window rolls up "crooked"..and ive been dreading the day. if possible, i'd try to find a whole door that matches your truck.

[Jspafford]

That is one thing I took to safelite to have done.

I refuse to stick my arm in there...

[Danger-Ranger96]

so if i were to go and get, say a body shop to fix it correctly, how much (roughly) would it cost. I really want this thing to be fixed before summer hits so i can roll it all the way down again heh

[Wicked_Sludge]

probably an hour or two of labor...whatever the local labor cost is there.

[Danger-Ranger96]

****, so we're talking atleast 200 bucks heh

110 an hour for labor.

[Wicked_Sludge]

damn, i need to work in a shop up there....our labor is around $80 an hour.

[Danger-Ranger96]

stealerships up here base rate is 130 an hour now lol. thats why i try to do most of the work on my truck by myself, but it gets hard to save money when to change plugs and wires (alone) costs 120 bucks. It's getting ridiculous to live here. A gallon of milk costs $4.50

[Loanranger]

The regulators really aren't that hard to do. They're riveted in. The easiest way by far is to take an airhammer with a pointed bit, and feather the trigger to punch the center pin through. Be carefull on the two on the glass, if you hit the trigger too hard or for too long, it may shatter the glass. You can also use a center punch and a BFH, but the airhammer bit works the best. Once the center is punched through, use a 1/4 inch drill bit to drill out the rivets. With the window rolled all the way down, the regulator will fit through the hole to the back of the door. Once the old one is out, put the new one in, and rivet it back in.

Labor rate at my shop is $48 an hour, and I don't recall book time on the regulators, but it should be somewhere between 1.0 to 1.6 hours.

[92MiniMonster]

its really not hard to change anything in that truck. Just be sure to use plenty of tape so you can tape the glass to the door, in this case its never enough. My truck had the same problem, there werent any teeth missing in the "half way point" the tracks needed a severe grease down, but there are different things so im not saying thats what it is. I converted to power so i wouldnt have to deal with the hand cranks, but essentially its all the same, good luck, you really shouldnt have a problem.

[94 lngbd]

danger-ranger96 & wicked sludge:Your both needing the opposite door regulators correct,Danger needs drivers & Wicked needs passenger?

Hopefully with in this week i'll be removing both of my excellent working manual window regulators to swap in electric ones & if you guys are interested i'll sell you the ones im taking out for $20 USD each plus shipping & im in Tacoma,WA 98404

[skareb]

Am in the middle of doing the same on my driver side and was wondering how many rivets are holding the regulator on.

[94 lngbd]

if its a manual regulator then theres just 4 rivets ,but if electric theres 1 more holding the motor to the door.

[Wicked_Sludge]

thanks for the offer 94...but i will probably procrastinate until the regulator fails completely :black_eye:

[Black'03LevelII]

to bad you guys aren't closer (or me closer to you) I can do one of those regulators in about 20 mins. I do quite a few of them at work on our big trucks.

[hunt-n-fish]

...take an airhammer with a pointed bit, and feather the trigger to punch the center pin through.

An AIR HAMMER? Please do not use an air hammer. You will more than likely shatter the glass on the first hit.

Just take a sharp drill bit on a semi slow speed and drill right thru the rivets. If your not getting anywhere drill a bit faster untill the bit starts cutting good. Nice and easy and you won't have to buy a new door glass. Door glass is way more expensive than taking your time and being safe.

[Ranger4banger97]

Mine is doing the same damn thing now, i refuse to pay any money for a skipping window, i'll go the junkyard before i go to a stealership.