Window motor problem....

[trwp72]

OK, I replaced the bushings in the window motor, put it all back together, (they were toast, just bits in the bottom...) and the stupid window goes up and down up and down., about 1-2 inches at a time.... WTF???? I figured it was because of the bushings, whch were toast.... and NO grease, at all in the area of the bushings! I am suprised they lasted this long! anyway, the plastic gear is ok... no teeth missing... could the motor be bad? This is rediculas!!!!

[Lincolnmania]

take the motor apart and clean the brushes and the armature, or replace the motor

[trwp72]

Well, it isn't the motor.,... it evidently has plenty of torque.. it SHREDDED the new bushings! I was amazed! Soo I put the 1/4 - 20 nuts in it... I konw what everyone says about using the nuts.. but I am the only one that drives the car... And I usually don't roll the windows up tight anyway... Just snug...

The replacement bushing things were brand new... Guess they were defective, or had been sitting on the shelf for a while? Going to get my money back tonight....

Tom...



I am going to go out and put it back in after it quits raining... I decided to come back in and take a cold shower.... It is 103 degrees outside right now... with about 98% humidity... I was soaked in sweat... Thank goodness I got the window back up before the rain... (I remembered to put it up before I took the motor back out... it took a few minutes, but it finnally went up!

[gadget73]

Might want to lube up the linkages if it came apart that quickly. I found that a bit of silicone lube sprayed right into the felt window run made things move pretty nicely. The mechanism inside the door also needs to be greased where any parts move.

[Ringting]

Tom,
I have a bunch of pictures in a folder on this topic, did driver's side doors on weekend. If you have need of anything let me know. Mine is an 1989 and I have the shop manual and vaccum/electrical, technical details available upon request.

Like you, I am the only one who drives this wonderful car so the 1/4 - 20's work for me. The contacts were cleaned up on the front and it runs like a top. It is the newer/smaller type.

Good luck with this.

[trwp72]

The motor is back together... Going to put it back in first thing in the morning... It rained this afternoon, so I said the heck with it, took a cold shower to cool off... (100 plus degrees here today) And decided to put it back in tomorrow... I also found a loose connection at the motor plug.... Typical Ford electical plugs! So I will eliminate the plug, with crimp connectors, and heat shrink tubing... I also have to go to the welding shop tommorow, and have a place welded on the inside of the door right by the door pull release... it is cracked about 3 inches long, and letting the door release handle rattle like hell... I can't STAND rattles! I have four new doors to go on the car, but that won't be until AFTER the Chicago Show... So I'm going to temp. fix this one... so it won't rattle on the way to Chicago... Besides, if it cracks the rest of the way, I will have a heck of a time trying to open the door! The whole metal piece that it mounts to moves about 2 inches when you pull on the door handle... that is alot of movement!
I'm also going to spray some undercoating inside the door to see if it helps deaden the sound some... if it works, I will do all four of the new doors when I put them on... (I'll have them apart to paint the door jamb areas on the doors, and to do the window motor rebuild on all four doors, before I put them on the car.... )


Wow, the A/C just shut off for the first time ALL DAY! I can't WAIT to see my electric bill this month! Good thing I turn it WAY up when I am at work!

[trwp72]

Well, had to take the motor out of the door like four more times,,, still not fixed... here is a run down!

1. Put the motor back in with the 1/4 nuts for the clutches... NOISY!!! I mean BAD noisy!
Took motor back out...

2. Bought completely new motor, (Advance Auto parts.. Chinese motor) put it in the door... would not fit right, but finnally got it bolted in... motor would run... but no movement of window... sort of like the gear wasn't seated into the rerceptical... it was also NOISY as heck... new motors shouldn't be that loud? Took it back...

3. Took the old motor apart, one of the magnets fell out of the housing, not sure if it is supposed to do that.... Cleaned up all contacts... got the remaning plastic pieces out of the end of the motor drive... quite a bit still in there... so I thouight that this may be the source of the noise? Had to get an electical shop to get the motor back together... As I could not hold the brushes and put the shaft into the housing.... $20.00 for that. Put new gear and bushings kit in the motor assembly... Put it back in.... motor VERY Noisy! Like it is about to shred itself! It works, but just doesn't sound right... Guess the mortor itself is just wore out....

4. Went to Napa, bought a "Dorman" replacement motor assembly.... this time bench checked it.. nice and quiet... so as soon as it quits raining, it will go in car.... hopefully it will go in right, and I can finally get my door back together!

Also, as a side note, I fell the first day and smacked my knee on the sidewalk... took about a 50 cent piece size piece of skin off my knee.. all the way to the first layer of skin... I have a bad ankle that sort of goes out once and a while, when it does, to keep from breaking my ankle (It turns inward... bad position to put weight on your ankle) I fall forward, the opposite way, to keep from breaking my ankle. I aimed for the grass... but didn't quite make it there.... left knee contacted the sidewalk, with very much pain! Anyway, two days later, I went to the E.R., as it was hurting way worse than it should have been... Got it X-rayed, turns out, I have a hairline fracture of my Patela... my knee cap... Great... Made it fun to sit on the ground and work on this stupid door motor all this time... The problem was getting down on the ground, and getting up! Only thing they could do was pain meds, and put a leg splint on it... which the doc advised against, because it would make it harder to walk, and may make me fall easier... Since this is the opposite leg from my bad ankle leg. In his words, "Don't fall on that knee again, anytime soon, until it has healed, because next time, you will fracture it all the way, and you will be getting a new knee cap!

Great week... now if would just stop raining!

[trwp72]

We have success! The motor actually mounted better than the original, no play at all... The motor is quiet and fast!!! I can hardly hear the motor when rolling the window up and down, and that is with the door panel still off! I will put the rest of the door back together tommorow.. I have to figure out a way to get the door handle rod from the outside handle to quit rattling, before I put the door panel back on. I may just put some grease on it, to get it to stop rattling.... I can't STAND rattles! I also ordered some of the baffles to go behind the speakers, (On Sunday, supposed to be here tommorow) as I noticed alot of rain coming into the door Saturday... So I want to put those behind the door speakers. Then put the rest of the door back together.


If you have to put new door motors in, go with the Dorman NEW ones... they seeem to be really good....

[trwp72]

Baffle came in for the speakers, nice fit with them... Pictures when I get that done... Rained ALL fricken day, except for about 20 minutes.. gave me just enough time to clean the inner door with some laquer thinner... to get all the glue off from where the plastic door sheeting was glued / taped onto the inner door. Cleaned up real nice.. looks new. Did not get all of the "goo" off, but a majority of it, I just wanted to clean up the surface so the tape will stick when I re-install the plastic. I got done with the clean up, and it started to rain again... and it still raining! I guess it will take another few days to get this completely done!

Just started thundering again... damn!

[gadget73]

No, the magnet is not supposed to come out with the motor shell. When that happens, its scrap.