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mommucked

mommucked

Endeavoring to persevere
Joined
Sep 26, 2011
Location
Rural Apex n.c.
Never had them on anything I owned and drove till recently. 2003 Toyota Highlanders right front window wants to stop about half way up about every other time now. Goes down just fine. I can grab/pull the glass and hit the switch and and it will usually take over and close but not always and seems to work better when the engine is on. It also seems to work a bit better w the switch on the door. Bad motor?
 
Window regulators and motors suck. Be thankful it's not a Subaru. Get the whole regulator and motor assembly and move on with life. Subarus are scissor mechanical window lifts with replaceable motors. They suck to service. Honda etc use cable regulators, and are cake to replace the whole thing. Hold window, unbolt window from regulator, regulator from door and reverse procedure to install. Some details omitted but that is the gist of replacing the cable type regs.
 
I've become a master at my F150. 2005 with 90k miles and done the drivers door 3 times, passenger door twice and a rear door once. The first failure was at 3 years 2 months and 19k miles. I raised so much hell Ford warrantied the first one.
 
Infamous1 said:
Try some sil-glyde from Napa or some sort of lube in tracks(felts or rubber) where the glass rides, may last awhile longer.
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I use silicone plumbers lubricant from Lowe's at work. It's by the solder and pvc glue. It's supposed to be used lubing orings and seals on valves. Put it on a pocket screwdriver and smear it in the window channel then run the window up and down. The felt dries out and the window gets harder to push up and down.

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Thanks for the lubing advice, i would never have thought about that, It does seem like it's sticking. I have replaced a few manual regulators but I always seem to fubar the door skins and fasteners.
 
For lube I use white lithium, but not the spray kind.
 
Really anything works, even wd40. The difference is how long it lasts before it washes away.

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I sprayed the tracks w liquid wrench silicone,ran the window up and back down and it stuck going back up just inches from the bottom. I went to the store and after 3 tries in 10 mins. it finally went back up. I'll work it a few times tomorrow and see what happens but I'm starting to think the motor or the scissors are sticking. It stops about 3/4 up about every 3rd time I try to close it and will only move about 1/2" at a time till it closes and sometimes not move at all. It goes down slow but it does not stop going down. If I let it sit where it stops going up for 10 mins. or so it will usually close when I push the button.
 
mommucked said:
I sprayed the tracks w liquid wrench silicone,ran the window up and back down and it stuck going back up just inches from the bottom. I went to the store and after 3 tries in 10 mins. it finally went back up. I'll work it a few times tomorrow and see what happens but I'm starting to think the motor or the scissors are sticking. It stops about 3/4 up about every 3rd time I try to close it and will only move about 1/2" at a time till it closes and sometimes not move at all. It goes down slow but it does not stop going down. If I let it sit where it stops going up for 10 mins. or so it will usually close when I push the button.
Click to expand...
Ok that's a classic symptom of the motor getting hot and quitting. Similar to the drill or grinder you may have let the smoke out of before. Let it cool off and it starts working again.

If you car has the scissors style regulator, you'll need a motor. Grease all the slides and pivots while it's apart, I use regular wheel bearing grease. Lock the regulator with vice grips so the spring won't make it try to decapitate you or amputate fingers when you unbolt the motor.

If yours has the cable style regulator, replace the whole mess, motor, regulator, and all. It's the easiest but way to go because it generally bolts right up and if you just replace the motor I guarantee the cable will break and the window will fall or get jammed up next week.

Edit: still a good idea to lube all the window tracks occasionally, it takes some strain off the motor.

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