electric window failures

[fish]

That's right, failures. Both window mechanism's failed within two weeks of each other in my '95 ranger. I'm guessing this must be fairly common and someone can help me out with information. The windows go down ok and I can hear the motor running but I have to push the window frame up by hand (I have taken the panels off). I'm guessing theres a gear thats stripped or broken. How much do I have to replace? Can I access what I need to without drilling out the door rivets? Parts here are usually an order here, so I wanted to get as much information as possible before I tear into it. Thanks for your response

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

the window regulator comes as a whole unit, this is what you need to order (brace yourself, they arent cheap).

your also going to have a blast changing them, theres (if memory serves) 3 rivets holding the regulator in that need to be drilled and replaced with bolts.

 

[RobbieD]

The regulator will need to come regardless. Once it's out, remove the electric motor itself from the rest of the regulator and check the three round roller links. If those are busted up (which is a common failure) but everything else is OK, then it's a much less expensive repair- you just replace the three rollers per regulator. I got replacement roller links on eBay. Good luck.

 

[tbirdsps]

I've had pretty good luck pulling the motors out on the Fox bodied cars. I think the motors are the same on the Ranger. They are held to the regulators with three 3/8" bolts.

The gears are usually OK but there are three plastic wedges that fail the actuall protect the motor and gear assy from failing.

The kits are about $20 each and quite easy to change once the motor is removed. I've done this job twice on the 86 tbird and once on the 92. On the 86 I had to drill a hole in the inner door metal to get a socket on the lower bolt.

It's worth the effort to not have to remove the regulator all together. That's a major PIA.

Take the inner door panel off and look around with a bright light and see what you've got. You may even get away with removing the speaker to get at the bolts. I haven't done it on a Ranger as mine has manual windows but give it a shot. It took me about a half hour on the tbird but I already had experience with it.

 

[fish]

I took out the motor on the drivers door, leaving the regulator intact(I assume thats the name of the large crescant shaped gear that the motor engages and in turn lifts the bottom of the window). Both gears look decent and the v-shaped plastic spacer the motor bolts mount through seems intact. If it's a gear how do I know which one if there is no obvious failure?

 

[tbirdsps]

I took out the motor on the drivers door, leaving the regulator intact(I assume thats the name of the large crescant shaped gear that the motor engages and in turn lifts the bottom of the window). Both gears look decent and the v-shaped plastic spacer the motor bolts mount through seems intact. If it's a gear how do I know which one if there is no obvious failure?

I wish I had a picture but I don't. There should be a metal cover where the small gear is exposed with three screws in it. Remove that and you'll see a big plastic gear with three small wedges. It's the wedges that shatter. Maybe only one has broken thus the window will go down but doesn't have the power to go up.

Anyhow the repair kit comes with the new gear set. Remove the old, clean the old grease out, drop in the new gear set and grease with the red grease provided, install the cover and put the motor back in and you're fixed.

The new gear set is already assembled in the box. Just drop it in, in place of the old gear set.

 

[blue83ranger]

/\ that's what happened to my '88's power window ( I would much rather have crank windows) but i'm just waaay to cheap so i just filled in the plastic gear with silicone, and didn't "roll" the window down for a few days so it could dry. And no problems as of yet. (it's been about 8 months)

 

[fish]

Eureka, I found it, and just as forecast the culprit is indeed those three little wedges(same problem in both motors). So I took the link from this web site to e-bay and found 139 regulators and or motors, but no repair kits. I admit I have never used e-bay before, but this is a good opportunity since I live on a small island in the middle of a big ocean and everything has to be shipped anyway. thanks for your input.

 

[blue83ranger]

i would like to take back my suggestions for a "fix" I used the window for the 1st time in months. It when down great but didn't go back up. Luckily it went up high enough so i could grab it and push it up by had and it stuck shut. I guess I'll go search ebay know for the proper fix.

 

[yoyodyne]

Napa part 665-1524 are the correct regulator plugs, i believe... done this job on plenty of mustangs

http://www.napaonline.com/NOLPPSE/(S(1v5zd255rqw2qf45od2ta445))/Detail.aspx?R=BK_6651524_0061128542

 

[4x4junkie]

I wish I had a picture but I don't. There should be a metal cover where the small gear is exposed with three screws in it. Remove that and you'll see a big plastic gear with three small wedges. It's the wedges that shatter. Maybe only one has broken thus the window will go down but doesn't have the power to go up.

Anyhow the repair kit comes with the new gear set. Remove the old, clean the old grease out, drop in the new gear set and grease with the red grease provided, install the cover and put the motor back in and you're fixed.

The new gear set is already assembled in the box. Just drop it in, in place of the old gear set.

I wonder if this could be why I found a bunch of smashed-up nuts in the centers of the gears on my '90...

I took one side apart to see about lubing up the motor and the gear had 3 recesses that appeared something was missing to engage the center hub to the gear, and had been replaced with what looked like around 5/16" (or 1/2" hex) nuts someone had taken a sledgehammer to, smashing them into a sortof oval shape

I later found the slow-rolling-up problem I was having was lack of lube in the center window channel that the window bracket rides in.

 

[yoyodyne]

I wonder if this could be why I found a bunch of smashed-up nuts in the centers of the gears on my '90...

I took one side apart to see about lubing up the motor and the gear had 3 recesses that appeared something was missing to engage the center hub to the gear, and had been replaced with what looked like around 5/16" (or 1/2" hex) nuts someone had taken a sledgehammer to, smashing them into a sortof oval shape

Yes, I have seen that done,too. BTW, I just picked up some of the rollers today at Advance, for the regulators I got from the junkyars to swap my truck to power windows in their Help! section. Part number 74410. 8 bucks.

 

[Sultan]

Hey I picked up the rollers from NAPA. If I need to drill out the rivets which type of rivets should I use when I reinstall the motor?

Thanks.