Window regulator on 89 F150


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Old 07-04-11, 04:49 AM
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Window regulator on 89 F150

I just spent three hours trying to repair a balky power window on an 89 F150. The window would balk and grind going up or down. The previous owner said that the 'arm' was bad. After opening the door up, I figured that he was talking about the regulator. Even though I had to chisel out the old rivets, the old regulator came out easily enough, once the window was held up with duct tape. It took me a few tries to get the new regulator and the motor to mesh, but I was finally able to get them together. Putting the regulator back in was not so easy. If the regulator was attached to the window before lining up with the bolt holes, they wouldn't all line up. If the regulator was lined up with the holes, there was no way to attach it to the window. Finally, I decided to attach the regulator to the window, line up the right most bolt hole, and bolt it in loosely. Then, I removed the duct tape, and slid the window up and down until all of the holes lined up. Two of the holes had the regulator in the way, but once I had the other two tight, I hooked the power back up, and rolled the window down clearing the remaining holes.

I figured I was done, but then once I tried to roll the window back up, I had the exact same balking grinding problem. I ran the regulator up and down without a load before I put it in, just to make sure that the regulator and motor were meshing properly. It worked smoothly then. It also worked smoothly when I dropped the window a few inches to connect the last two bolts.

So, where did I go wrong? Did I do something to mangle a new regulator? Did the regulator and motor somehow become un-meshed when I connected the assembly to the door? When the regulator is acting up, it acts like it is not meshing with the motor. The window slides up and down with very little resistance once it began acting up.

Any assistance would be appreciated.
 
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Old 07-04-11, 08:19 AM
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the power window motor has a gear set that is driven by a set of 3 plastic 'dogs', that wear out /crumble.
I have used small rubber balls to repair them.
there 'used'to be a repair kit available.
 
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Old 07-04-11, 11:49 AM
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Thanks!

Even better than rubber balls, I found out that 1/4" nuts do the job as well. Once I got the gearbox open, I could see that the central gear would freewheel at the slightest provocation, and the nuts prevented that. Unfortunately, since I used the regulator, I can't return the blasted thing. However, the passenger side is doing the exact same thing, so now I know how to fix it for $2.00 in change worth of nuts and bolts.
 
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Old 01-18-13, 09:36 PM
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F150 power window repair

You may not have seen it but there are 2 indents under the speaker. If you drill these out (hole saw) you will have access to the three 5/16" bolts that hold the motor to the regulator. Once you remove the motor you would be wise to replace those spacers with the same. Using nuts or ball bearings will often lock up the motor and burn it out. Scott
 
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Old 01-26-13, 10:58 PM
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I have used this little bit of "re-engendering" on window motors for 20+ years,
& don't recall one coming back " locked, or burned out " ?
( but to be fair, my memory is a little more than 62 years old)
LOL
 
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Old 01-27-13, 05:53 AM
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Thread is year and a half old; doubt if he needs help any more.
 
 

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