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

That's a great repair brino!
 
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.
 
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.
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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.
 
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, a guy with a shop full of tools should be able to do anything.....right?

-brino
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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
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
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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