- Guest Article By:
- Name: Phil, aka 'Maximus'
- Location: Ontario, Canada
- Phil's website is unfortunately now d.o.a. but was located at http://www.alexanderarmysurplus.com
(I have a 98 but I'm sure most models are relatively the same.)
You push the power window button. You hear the motor running
but nothing happens. Usually the window drops an inch or so... What
happened?
Evidently this is a common issue and although I have heard of
many of these cases, Chrysler says there is no general recall.
If you
can hear the motor work but the window doesn't move it is very likely that the
"worm screw" has detached from a bracket that attaches to the bottom of the
window.
I'm not a mechanic by any stretch but here's what I did... stick
with me. It's really not that hard espacially once you do it once -- now I cant
wait for the other ones to break so I can fix them too!
Here's what to do:
Carefully pull off the inside door skin. There are plastic
body clips holding it on around the perimeter, three large Phillips head screws
and one small one near the front.
Then there are two control arms that
attach to your interior door opener handle - one for opening, one for the lock.
Remove plastic clips that hold them in place then pop out the control
arms.
You also have to unplug your power switch from the
armrest.
Now remove the inner door panel.
Ok, so you have the
panel off right? If you don't, I'll wait here for a minute while you do
that....
Ok your back? Now you need to tear
away the white vapor barrier - its stuck on with black stuff - peel it back and
make sure you don't get it on your clothes.
Now you should see the
inspection ports-with the window half way down you should see the bottom of the
window.
Now you need to tape the window up, otherwise it will fall
down. I used 2 inch wide scotch tape - don't use duct
tape 'cause the glue is hard to come off afterwards. Tape the glass to
the vertical post at the back and tape along the bottom horizontal edge.
Ok - Now ya see the bracket at the bottom of the window? Take
that off.
Now remove these screws & remove the vertical
trac...
Also unscrew the power motor.
All you need to do is get the track out of the
inspection port so that you can access the worm screw. You Do
Not have to unwire the power motor!
Now (drumroll) Here's the ingenious part that saves you
hundreds and make you a big hit with all your friends!
I took that
bracket and using a chisel, I chiseled off the white plastic piece from the
steel plate. (This plastic is why your window regulator busted in the first
place.)
After getting the plastic & rivets off; I then drilled two
holes in the steel part where those plastic teeth would have
been
Make sure it lines up where it used to be on the track!
- Mark where the holes are to go in relation with the track.
Now you need a couple of cotter pins - yep that's right cotter
pins.
Bend open the bottom of the track so you can get access to the
worm screw and power (use the power switch) the worm screw out of the track a
bit.
The cotter pins wrap around the grooves in the
worm screw at the end. Make sure they are tight right into the grooves cause
when the screw going back into the track, you don't want there to be any
unnecessary friction. I used two. One didn't seem like enough but three might
have caused too much friction in the track so two was "thy number of thy counting" in this case.
Now power (using your power switch) the screw back into the
track. (Actually I first sprayed the track, the hose where the screws comes
from and everything with WD40.)
Now put the bracket back onto the cotter pins which should now
be sticking out from the track. Bend them over and cut off the
excess.
Now put everything back the way you took it apart and BOB'S
YOUR UNCLE!! (I haven't got a clue where that saying came from
)
Savings: Between $150-300 for the entire regulator
assembly (Canadian $) and about $200 for labor! PLUS TAXES!!
Now, with
the money you saved, you can afford to buy some performance parts for your
Jeep.
PS -- its not just about the money that was saved. For me, it was more about conservation and Repairing not Replacing everything. Today, no one wants to repair things anymore, just throw them out and replace them. This goes for VCRs, Microwaves, Televisions, Computers even cars! We are living in a disposable society. There was nothing wrong with my power window motor, or the track, or the window itself but noone was willing to sell me just the bracket. I asked dealers, mechanics aftermarket shops, not even the wreckers! So, what would have happend to my perfectly good motor, track etc?... Garbage!
If you have pics of your own repairs or can suggest other methods - please contribute your ideas (and pictures) to this article!
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Revised on:
November 25th, 2007 |
