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Window Regulator

3K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  epGTO60 
#1 ·
What a day. On Monday when I got to work hit the switch to put my drivers door window up. Once the window got all the way up heard a loud pop. I knew immediately that the regulator had failed. On top of that it was starting to rain. So I caught the window as it started to fall. Tried to get it to stay up on it's own. No luck. Needless to say the window ended up all the way down and I had no way to grab it. Ended up putting a plastic bag over the door to help keep the rain out. I was able to keep most of the water out.

Yesterday I found a parts store that had a regulator in stock for $102 US. Put it in with no problems other than 5 broken door panel clips. Wouldn't you know it none of the parts stores here had the right clips so ended up going to the Stealer to get them. WOW $32 for 11 little plastic clips. But on the bright side while I was there I picked up an orange rubber cover for my fob.

After all was said and done I found a wet spot on the passenger side front floor. I did some investigating. Did not tear anything apart over there but felt around for any signs that the wetness was coming from my HVAC. Nothing under the dash was wet. The wet spot is directly under where the A pillar meets the roof. Now we did have a real gully washer the day before so I am hoping that is where the water came from. I still need to do some checking to be sure of where the liquid is coming from.
 
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#2 ·
what a day indeed. we had a downpour one day here and my wipers decided to stop working. i drove for 45 minutes on the highway with my head out the drivers window... life will get you sometimes. good luck finding your leak
 
#3 ·
Have a look at the HVAC housing drain, which has a short drain tube sticking out in the engine bay on the passengers side. Could eventually be a heater core leak, but you probably would smell the coolant.
Also have a look at the antenna wire where it passes into the cabin, a bad sealing will let water pass along the wire. Some of the leaks overhere can become nasty when they drip exactly on top of connector C200. Water in that connector will give you all kind of strange behaviour of instrument panel, skim light and more.
So better solve this leak ASAP before it will strand you somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
When the leak is found and solved, don't forget to remove the carpet as far as possible, so that water can evaporate. Not doing this can lead to bad smell and severe floor corrosion.
 
#4 ·
That sux dude...glad to hear you got the regulator squared away. I'm starting to wonder if I should buy one to have in stock since everyone's regulator seems to have failed but mine.

If you have a sunroof, you may want to check there too. Sometimes those drain tubes run down the a-pillar. Also, weatherstripping around the door tends to shift sometimes, leaving a gap where water can get in. Open both doors on the passenger's side and check for any gaps in the foam rubber. Lastly, you may want to also check for leaks where your roof rack bolts down to the roof. Getting a look under the headliner pad might help you eliminate a lot of possibilities of where it's coming from.
 
#5 ·
In a bit of a quandary here with the possible heater core leak.

Mechanically I am quite capable of doing the repair. Once I get paid again I can pick up a new core for about $75. When I was buying my window regulator I did pick up a Haynes Repair Manual.

My problem is that I do not have all the tools needed to do the job. I have searched but have been unable to find a list of tools I will need.

Next problem is finding a place I can do the repair. Where I live they really really do not like anyone doing any type of auto repair. I caught some grief about doing my window regulator. Even though it took me about an hour total. I just wish I had the option I had in the military of what they called the craft shop. Basically you rent bay space and it is open to all active duty military members. Wow major flash of brilliance. My one son is active in the national guard. But he lives a distance away from me.

Next problem is finding the time to do the repair. I only get one day a week off. I am sure do to the complexity of the tear-down and the reassembly. I would be better off taking my time and feel that having two days to do the job would be best. I know with my abilities and experience and I could most likely get it done in one day or less. But I want two to be on the safe side. Also as with all repair jobs once you get into it you find other things that need fixed and forget some things you need. So trips to the parts store are inevitable and time consuming. Also things do tend to break and must be either repaired or replaced. Earlist I can possibly make time is in a month or two.

I have considered farming the job out to a shop but the amount I would end up paying makes that not an option at all. I can't afford it.

Oh well I will get it fixed in the end. Or I will end up getting rid of the Jeep. Don't really want to do that but that my be what I have to do.
 
#6 ·
Little more info.

How I found the wetness. I bought a roll of those blue paper shop-towels when I bought my window regulator. After I finished replacing the regulator I drove to find some replacement door panel clips. I had the roll of towles on the passenger seat. They rolled off the seat onto the floor. When I picked them up they were wet I mean really wet. But I did notice there was no red dye. It was just wet with no coloring. So I am hoping it is just water and not coolant. I do have the red coolant in my rad and reservoir. Here's hoping.
 
#7 ·
If it was THAT soaked, you'd see a noticeable loss in the reservoir I would imagine. Hopefully it is just rainwater getting in. That's a lot cheaper to fix.

If it does turn out to be the heater core, I've done this on an XJ with no experience and was back in business in about 8 hours. That includes clean up, and breaks to curse and hit stuff. It's involved, that's for sure, but it's not the biggest PITA I've ever dealt with. This was an XJ though...those are a little more spartan in nature. I was actually replacing the evap core and did the heater core while I was in there considering the cost of the part was cheap enough. You may want to consider doing the evap coil or at least having one on hand you can return if you decide to leave the existing one in. You certainly don't want to have to deal with tearing half the dash out again later if you can avoid it. My local shops were at about $1300 with parts. I did it myself and saved about $1k. Totally worth doing yourself. The only special tools I remember needing was a set of AC line release tools, which I found on the cheap online. Other than that, it was basic hand tools and a lot of patience. As for location, I'd check to see if it was "written" in the rental/lease agreement and go with it. They can "frown" all they want, but we've got to do what we've got to do. It's not like you're breaking any laws or disturbing the peace.
 
#8 ·
Well I am at work. Did a little investigating found no obvious leaks. But I do now feel I have found the leak source. You are going to call me a bone head. I put a bag I had over the window to keep rain out that was wet on the passenger side floor. So I can safely say that is the source of the water
 
#9 ·
Bonehead....

hahahhaha...hey, this is one of those rare occassions where finding the leak source leads to a sigh of relief instead of a fit of rage...hahahaha:thumbsup:
 
#11 ·
Glad to hear you seem to have found the source of your water problem. I know how much those regulators suck, my passenger side broke as I was about to head out of town for the weekend, had to swap vehicles with my wife and leave the jeep at home. about 3 weeks later the drivers side failed.... I think I win for clip breaking though, I had to replace most of them on both doors when I was done.

TONY: I highly recommend you stock one, plus then you can take advantage of saving $40 off store price and buying it on rockauto.
 
#13 ·
I fully expect the answer to be "no" and the price of the driver's to be slightly higher than the passengers, but we'll see if anyone chimes in.:confused:
 
#15 ·
Good point guys, they are window specific. FWIW, I used Dorman and both front units have held up 3 years now no problems.
 
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