Is there a quick down and dirty in any of the manuals on removing and replacing the power window motors? I have the chassis and body service manuals on CD and have a hard copy of the chassis service manual on the way. But I'd really like to get these motors replaced without having to wait on the manual. So any help, advice, tips and tricks appreciated.
Any copies of literature or guides would be most appreciated!!!
Dave

 

I'm pretty sure that info is in the Fisher Body Manual. I don't have a scanned copy of it but I think Wild About Cars does

 

Thanks Mike, will check that manual on CD that I have.

 

It is in the Body Manual. One thing to be especially careful of is that you need to mechanically attach the sector gear to the regulator frame BEFORE removing the motor. The FBM tells you to drill a hole through the sector and frame and put a bolt through it. This works fine and no one will see the hole with the door assembled. This holds the offloader spring that will otherwise cause serious damage to your fingers as soon as the last motor bolt is removed.

 

Thanks Joe. I printed all of the pages, I think only three, pertaining to the motor removal.
6-26, -27, -28.

 

Just guessing it would work best to have the windows fully up, lock them in place with a padded adjustable clamp and unbolt the regulator assembly and slide out.

 

Definitely not a chore for the faint of heart. LOL
Especially in the heat and 90%+ humidity here.
Started with hopefully the toughest one, the passenger rear. MAN what an ordeal getting this unit out. Best if possible to roll the window up first, use an adjustable clamp with rubber pads to lock the window in place. Then start removing the regulator bolts. If you can, slide the roller out of the window track and lower the regulator (if the motor is working at all) to give the regulator assembly the shortest profile. Makes it MUCH easier to maneuver out of the seemingly tiny access hole.

Will attempt a reassembly of the first one this evening. Wish me luck.

 

FINALLY had a free weekend to actually spend some time working on Black Beauty.
Long overdue!!!
I learned a LOT in a short time about these power windows. Mainly, pay attention to which bolts go where. Although only 8 bolts were removed, they were two different lengths. I couldn't remember exactly where which bolts were removed from, I really should have paid more attention. Put too long of a bolt, by just a few threads, in the wrong place and you will jam up everything. LOL
Thankfully I had the opposite side to look at to quickly verify which bolts went where.
The other thing I learned was out of the four motors, the MAIN issue was not the motors but the switches. I used some De-Ox-Id spray into the switches and worked them a few times. This seemed to help on some of the switches. When I got to my drivers side 4 bank switch, I was getting sluggish reaction and smoke coming from the switch. The spray didn't seem to help.
I got online and was about to place an order for a new switch. These things sell for anywhere from $69-96 for a 4 gang. Wow...
Since it wasn't working correctly, and since being in electronics for many years, I decided to open it up and take a look. Can't hurt since it's not working anyway. I was amazed at just how little there is inside one of these switch banks. Especially for THAT price. I used a set of pliers to carefully straighten the locking tabs in order to separate the connector board from the switch assembly. What you have inside is just a set of contacts mounted one onto heavy double layered copper leafs and the other on the connector pins. One set for up and one for down for each window. The contacts can build up carbon if they ever arc or if dirt gets inside. Lifting the switch lever or pushing it down forces the copper leaf down to make its contact touch the connector pin contact to send power to the motor.
I took a jewelers file (burnishing tool works too) and hit both sides of the contacts. I followed up by wiping some De-Ox-Id onto the contacts to remove any remaining filings. Reassembled and tested. Windows worked like a charm.
So, I would recommend if you have sluggish or non-functioning electric windows, pull your switches, take them apart and examine the contacts. You may be able to simply clean the contacts, reassemble and save yourself a LOT of time and money replacing a motor or switch that really doesn't need to be replaced. Wouldn't hurt to have a spray can of white lithium grease handy and shoot the regulator assembly and rollers while you're working on the windows.

 

Dave,
Thanks for posting this about the switches! And the regulators! I removed both of my rear windows and regulators two years ago and will need to figure out which bolts go where. Any hints? All of my bolts, etc. are jumbled into a baggie labeled Rear Window Hardware.

All of my windows were incredibly slow. I figured I would have to rebuild the motors. Now, with your post, I will definitely try cleaning the switch contacts before I take apart the motors. BTW, there is a thread here on CO about rebuilding those motors. You being familiar with electrical schtuff will find it simple, but time consuming.

Rich

 

LOL
Certainly know where you are coming from when you get back to a project after some time. There are two different size bolts for the rear assemblies. There are 4 short bolts that hold the motor/regulator assembly. The remaining bolts should be longer and have built in washers. These hold the track assemblies in place and together. I'll look in the manual and see if I can find the diagram of it and post.
After struggling with the passenger rear side motor removal, I see the motors aren't too big of as deal either, as far as rebuilding. Time permitting, I'll check out that thread and attempt a rebuild the one motor I replaced. I most likely will return the other 3 unused replacement motors for a refund, if they accept returns. It's one of those things you learn by spending. LOL
I hate those too. That's how I wind up with a shop full of "spare" items and no money.