# Repairing an automotive window "regulator" mechanism........



## brino (Mar 3, 2021)

I went to the local store on Saturday to pick up a few groceries we needed.
It had just started snowing hard but I wanted to get things we needed for meals that day.

It was snowing hard enough on the way there that it was building up on the side windows, so one at a time I lowered them about half way and raised them again just to create a section of windows that I could see thru. Three windows went fine, but one (of course the drivers door) got stuck down. When I stopped at the store I tried pulling the glass up as I hit the button but it would not go higher than about four inches from the top frame.

I gave up on the window and got the groceries. By the time I came out there was already a 1-1/2 inch pile of snow on the arm rest inside that door. I drove home and got a tarp tied over the vehicle. Once the snow let up a little I moved it under some cover......

The garage (or really my workshop!) is too full of tools/machines to get a vehicle in, so I did my usual; roll a 2x2 into one edge of a tarp and screw that just above the work-shop roll-up door. I can then pull the vehicle up close and get in at least partially (depending on which vehicle and which tarp) under some cover. This allows me to open the roll-up door so I can move back and forth for tools without getting too wet.

So while @Mickri was planting an apple tree, this is where I was:




The vehicle is a 2004 Jeep Cherokee.
I got the "window regulator" part out of the door on Saturday:



and immediately saw the spool where the cable winds was messed-up:



Not only was the piece of cable near one end out of the groove, the entire spool was "over-wound" with the now double-high wraps rubbing against the housing.

I did manage to pull the spool out, get it re-wrapped properly and reinstalled.....but no pictures as I didn't have enough hands.
I thought I was done..........but I was wrong!

During re-assemble while routing the cable I found a plastic guide was broken.
There is one of these guides at each end, they guide the cable onto the pulley, but also hold the black sheathing.

Front side:



Back side:



Here are shots of the good and bad guides:











The broken one had tipped enough that the cable had cut into the "nozzle" end.
I now believe that the broken guide caused the cable to wind wrong on the spool.

I briefly thought about 3D-printing a replacement part, but quickly realized that PLA (most of my filament in stock ) is not likely strong enough for the task. The cable is kept taught by the springs near the spool, and that's a lot of force. Also I know PLA gets soft when hot....so surviving the summer in a black vehicle was questionable. The PLA visor mounts we printed for my son's car did not last the summer.

So I thought about building a replacement in aluminum.....

more to come......

-brino


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## brino (Mar 3, 2021)

I found a 3/4" aluminum bar that looked about the right size, grabbed it in a 5C collet in a 4-sided collet block.
Using an endmill I cut three flats at 90-degrees for the sides and bottom, and a reduced shoulder to fit into the mounting slot.
I then started with a slitting saw to make the required grooves......




I set it up on the lathe to drill the required holes......




......and of course screwed it up........I drilled the larger hole from the wrong end!
Okay, how can I save this part?

Yes! I can turn a new tube as an insert:



....and braze it in!

(I have recent discovered Bernzomatic aluminum brazing rods and successfully used them in another project)

Here's the new aluminum part being test-fit (before the brazed joint was filed):



then I cut the bottom slot for the cable to enter:



...and the part really looked like the part (after filing):



Here's the part cut-off from the bar:












a couple pictures still to come.....

-brino


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## Ulma Doctor (Mar 3, 2021)

i like your thinking!!!!


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## brino (Mar 3, 2021)

Here's the new part installed:













I got the whole thing put back together and it's working great!

-brino


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## Ulma Doctor (Mar 3, 2021)

that's one hellava save there @brino 
nice work!


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## brino (Mar 3, 2021)

Thanks Mike!

I really don't want to spend several hundred dollars for a new window mechanism for a 2004 vehicle.
I also don't really want to shovel out a donor vehicle at a scrap yard, or steal a part from another door on this vehicle and have that window unusable.....

Besides, a guy with a shop full of tools should be able to do anything.....right?

-brino


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## JimDawson (Mar 3, 2021)

Nice job


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## Aukai (Mar 3, 2021)

A man gotsta have tools.


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## DavidR8 (Mar 4, 2021)

Excellent work!


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## Ulma Doctor (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> Thanks Mike!
> 
> I really don't want to spend several hundred dollars for a new window mechanism for a 2004 vehicle.
> I also don't really want to shovel out a donor vehicle at a scrap yard, or steal a part from another door on this vehicle and have that window unusable.....
> ...


besides, you have crafted a more durable alternative to the factory part, (coincidentally the OEM should have been made from a superior material for longevity )


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## AGCB97 (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> ......and of course screwed it up........I drilled the larger hole from the wrong end!
> Okay, how can I save this part?



I resemble those remarks!
Aaron


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## jwmelvin (Mar 4, 2021)

Hehe I too thought “I would do that” when you mention drilling the wrong end. Great work on this and thanks for sharing. It looks like a well-done fix.


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## John O (Mar 4, 2021)

Did you make extras, there may be a market for them.


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## cathead (Mar 4, 2021)

Excellent repair!!


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## brino (Mar 4, 2021)

John O said:


> Did you make extras, there may be a market for them.



hmmmm.....maybe I should have made a few spares for myself, there are two per door and four doors.

-brino


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## John O (Mar 4, 2021)

If you make spares it only guarantees the others won't break


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## SLK001 (Mar 4, 2021)

Now *THAT *saved you some real bucks!  Try pricing a replacement (I bet you'd have to buy the entire mechanism).


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## RandyWilson (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> Thanks Mike!
> 
> I really don't want to spend several hundred dollars for a new window mechanism for a 2004 vehicle.
> I also don't really want to shovel out a donor vehicle at a scrap yard, or steal a part from another door on this vehicle and have that window unusable.....
> ...











						Power Window Regulator For 2000-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Front Left with Motor  | eBay
					

2000 Grand Cherokee. 2001-2004 Grand Cherokee. Notes With plastic bracket; Hole style; Regulator attaches directly to window glass with locator pin and hole Interchange part number 741556, 55363287AE, CH1350122.



					www.ebay.com
				







The #1 killer of window regulators is sticky window operation.


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## Winegrower (Mar 4, 2021)

That’s just mean to post a $28 eBay offering.   

Disregard this, Brino.

I notice I will spend two fun shop days to save $25.  In fact, it is still a big win to save anything at all, because normally it’s all outgo anyway.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> I went to the local store on Saturday to pick up a few groceries we needed.
> It had just started snowing hard but I wanted to get things we needed for meals that day.
> 
> It was snowing hard enough on the way there that it was building up on the side windows, so one at a time I lowered them about half way and raised them again just to create a section of windows that I could see thru. Three windows went fine, but one (of course the drivers door) got stuck down. When I stopped at the store I tried pulling the glass up as I hit the button but it would not go higher than about four inches from the top frame.
> ...


I had the same thing happen with an Audi Quattro.  I ordered a new regulator as the cable was pretty much trashed.


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## Gaffer (Mar 4, 2021)

That's a great repair brino!


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## RJSakowski (Mar 4, 2021)

I did some checking and the vehicle was a 2004 Audi Quattro.  I ordered the regulator from Rock Auto in 2011 for $67.  Their current price is $52.


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## RandyWilson (Mar 4, 2021)

Winegrower said:


> That’s just mean to post a $28 eBay offering.
> 
> Disregard this, Brino.
> 
> I notice I will spend two fun shop days to save $25.  In fact, it is still a big win to save anything at all, because normally it’s all outgo anyway.





It wasn't so much about what Brino did; shop time is shop time. I was pointing out there really is no market for replacement bobbins. The regulators normally break because the window gets stiff in the tracks; Slow to go down and binds going  up. When the regulator finally cries uncle, a piece of plastic will break, as here. But normally the drum and cable also get damaged from unravelling and double-winding, making it unrepairable.


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## BGHansen (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> Thanks Mike!
> 
> I really don't want to spend several hundred dollars for a new window mechanism for a 2004 vehicle.
> I also don't really want to shovel out a donor vehicle at a scrap yard, or steal a part from another door on this vehicle and have that window unusable.....
> ...


I think you earned the moniker under your name:  If it was man-made then a man with sufficient will, knowledge and tools can fix it!

Bruce


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## brino (Mar 4, 2021)

Honestly I did NOT even look at replacement prices for the entire window regulator until today.
I was surprised to see them under a hundred dollars; although just barely to my door with exchange and shipping......of course the vehicle would still be out of operation for a week minimium waiting for the part.

I saw what was broken and figured I could still make it work, so I did.

....and as stated a few times above it was an interesting time in the shop, using multiple tools and basically only messing-up once!

Thanks for all the comments and likes!

-brino


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## Ken from ontario (Mar 4, 2021)

If I see something broken that I can fix but can also buy cheaply, my first choice is 99.9% of the time is to use the tools in my shop and fix it myself.
Hats off to you brino for going through the build step by step with pictures and all.
Just recently my son broke the handle on our front sliding door, the handle was old , and I like the look of it very much so I decided to machine the broken part out of Aluminum, it took a lot of fitting/refitting/to find the correct length but I finally fixed it and it works extremely well if I may say so myself.
I guarantee you brino, that every time you open/close that window in your Jeep, it'll put a smile on your face.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 4, 2021)

In my case, the failure happened in August.  I was able to repair the failure sufficiently to allow the window to be raised.  The repaor was enough to be able to secure the vehicle in public parking areas.  I admonished  my wife not to lower the window and ordered the new regulator.  Had the failure occurred in the middle of a snowstorm with temperature dropping well below freezing, I probably would have elected for a more permanent repair as Brino did.

The great thing about this hobby is that we have the power to elect to perform such repairs rather than being held hostage to parts houses and auto dealers.


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## brino (Mar 4, 2021)

One other option that briefly flashed thru my brain was simply disconnecting the glass from the regulator and then sticking on some duct tape from the inside glass, over the door frame to the outside glass....not pretty, not convenient, and not really lockable, but would keep the snow out for a while.....

-brino


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## Diecutter (Mar 4, 2021)

My son's rear windows both gave out at the same time and would drift down and let rain and snow in.  My solution was to tightly wedge a length of broom handle between the bottom of the window channel and bottom of the door and then wire it into place.  No glass movement after that.


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## John O (Mar 4, 2021)

Another fan of Red Green


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## aliva (Mar 4, 2021)

See, your tools are paying off.


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## brino (Mar 4, 2021)

John O said:


> Another fan of Red Green



Did you see this one:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/the-duct-tape-catamaran.79401/post-680110

-brino


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## Superburban (Mar 4, 2021)

John O said:


> If you make spares it only guarantees the others won't break


Or the others are a different size.


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## John O (Mar 4, 2021)

brino said:


> Did you see this one:
> https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/the-duct-tape-catamaran.79401/post-680110
> 
> -brino


Looks fun for a great cause


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## BGHansen (Mar 5, 2021)

brino said:


> One other option that briefly flashed thru my brain was simply disconnecting the glass from the regulator and then sticking on some duct tape from the inside glass, over the door frame to the outside glass....not pretty, not convenient, and not really lockable, but would keep the snow out for a while.....
> 
> -brino


Yeah, but with my luck I'd get pulled over and the officer would tap on "that" window.

Bruce


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