Rear window regulator problems -- any experience?

frugality

frugality

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My rear window regulator just recently developed a problem. There's some sort of 'disconnect' between the glass and the motor. When the problem first happened, the window was partway down and the motor ran a bit before something 'catched', and then finally started pushing the window up. The window hasn't dropped. I didn't play around with it too much since it's now in the 'up' position, and wanted to leave it there since it's rained off and on lately.

I did some searching and found that the problem is often a $1.25 pin that holds the glass carrier to the mechanism, so I've picked up a couple of those in advance, and have door trim clips since those often break. And I have a Metalnerd 8mm triple square bit for the latch, since I've seen the front door .pdf how-to and expect the rear is similar.

Does anyone have any advice before I start tearing in? I don't know if the glass should be 'up' or 'down' before I start pulling out the module that has all the inner workings of the door, or how to disconnect the regulator from the window carrier (if it's still connected).

Thanks in advance.
 
frugality

frugality

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Thanks, I already had my passenger's side front window drop, and the dealer fixed that one for free. Unfortunately, the extended warranty applies only to the fronts, not the rears. So I gotta dig into the rear door myself, hopefully this weekend. I was hoping someone else may have taken apart the rear door and would have a few tips or hints, but I'm only hearing crickets out there, so apparently there haven't been many rear window regulator problems. :D
 
MOGolf

MOGolf

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You don't need to take out the panel that the regulator is mounted on. There is an access for getting to that pin location. You'll need a long nose needle nose pliers. A second pair of hands to help position the window are useful too.

If you have the Bentley manual refer to the picture of how to remove the pin. Using the pliers you can insert the pin through there to fix rather disassembly and reassembly of the door.

I fixed one of these at Marty's GTG. You should have watched.
 
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MOGolf

MOGolf

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Found the picture:
 
frugality

frugality

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MOGolf said:
I fixed one of these at Marty's GTG. You should have watched.
Click to expand...
*hangs head in shame* Sorry dad, it won't happen again...:eek: Guess I was out getting sunburned chatting with Growler, Vaxick, et. al...

:DThanks Glen. I completely forgot about my Bentley -- I never think of it for things like trim, only for running gear stuff. I actually pulled my rear door panels at the GTG to replace those rusty little triangle inserts. Hopefully it'll be a quick job if I don't have to remove the module.
 
frugality

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Mission accomplished.

O.K., here are some notes in case anyone has the same problem and searches for this later:

1) When the problem first occurred, I didn't run the window up and down out of fear that I could do some damage. Not to worry. With the design of the rear doors' regulators, they will continue to force the window 'up' alright, even if the pin is broken. When you push the button 'down', the regulator will move, but the glass may not. However, it can be slid down by hand (if the regulator has been run to the 'down' position.)

2) The pin is molded as one piece, but it must be snapped apart into 2 pieces. One cylinder (technically called a 'roll pin') goes inside the other. When I first looked at the new pin, I was wondering if the big end was inserted, and then the smaller part was driven in the center with a hammer to form a wedge. Well, in just fiddling with it to see how it fit, the pin got away from me and slipped all the way through the hole in the glass, and it's down in the bottom of the door. I hope it doesn't rattle. :eek: Bottom line: snap the 2 pieces apart, insert the smaller pin inside the larger pin, and insert it with a needle-nosed pliers. I then used the square end of a small 3/8" ratchet extension to gently tap it into place. I belive that one end of the larger cylinder was slightly larger than the other, so start the small end.

3) I found that my original pin hadn't broken, it'd just worked its way loosed and fallen out. It fell on the inboard side and got caught in the rectangular channel that the cable runs through, so I was able to retrieve it and I actually re-used it after dropping the first one in the door.

4) The little cylinders are $1.25, so I got a couple of them.
 
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simbolo

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frugality said:
4) The little cylinders are $1.25, so I got a couple of them.
Click to expand...
hey, where did you find this part, do you have a part #.

thanks
 
frugality

frugality

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For the sake of anyone else who might be searching for this in the future, here's what I PM'd back to simbolo:

I got them at the dealer. I think I had to order them and go pick them up later, as they didn't stock them.

If you've got the same problem I had, you might just go ahead and start tearing into that rear door. As I mentioned in that post, I accidentally dropped the new one in the door, so I ended up re-using the old one. You might find the original pin out of the glass but hung up in the regulator, as mine was. The old one actually fits better. The new ones are a bugger to get in there.

To remove the rear door trim, first take off the grab handle cover. This is difficult to do without scratching the soft-touch paint, so be careful. Dealers use a plastic pry stick, but you can use a screwdriver with some tape wrapped around it so as not to scratch the door. Start down at the bottom, and pry from between the fabric and the grab handle. With some prying and wiggling, you can get the handle loose without prying on it anywhere else on the plastic and scratching the paint. Just be patient and careful.

That's the tough part. Once that is done, remove the 2 screws inside the ends of the handle, and don't bother with the 3 other ones that hold the handle to the trim. Then remove the 2 screws at the bottom of the door panel. Then gently pry around the perimeter to pull the clips that hold the trim to sheet metal. You may want to pick up a couple of these at the dealer, too, in case they break -- $2 each.

Let the door panel hang gently from the wires. There is one going to the tweeter and one going to the window switch, if I remember correctly, as well as a cable to the door release handle. You could disconnect all those things, but you need to be able to work the window switch, so I think I left it all connected and sort of swung the trim as far out of the way as I could.

There is a rubber grommet right about in the center of the door. Pry it loose and you will see the mechanism. The pin may be out of the glass but hung up in the channel, and it can be re-installed.

As for installing the new pin -- it's tricky. The new pin comes in 2 pieces, with one piece needing to be inserted inside the other in order to make a press-fit to hold the window into place. The problem is that it seems to be too large for the hole in the glass. I've done it 3 times now -- twice on one rear door, and once on the other. I remember that the last time, I shaved a bit off of the inner pin, making the 'groove' wider. I think you'll see what I mean when you get into it. I had to make the inner pin smaller so that it would collapse more when inserted into the outer pin, so I shaved a bit of plastic off of one of the 2 flat surfaces of the inner pin. Seems a bit complicated here in print, but I think you'll see when you get into it.
Click to expand...
 
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simbolo

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hey,

thanks for the detailed info :)

I actually took the door apart before and tried to fix the problem by making my own pin out of a bolt and some washers. It works for the most part but the window misses its frame once it gets to the top and has to be manually guided.

I did this because I assumed I would need to get a whole new regulator to get the pin, but a search brought me to this post which says otherwise.

Was looking for the part # cause everytime I try to explain the part I need to the service people at the dealer they look at me like im from another planet ;)

thanks!
 
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MOGolf

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part number is 6N0 839 511
 
ve9aa

ve9aa

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Old thread; I know. Did this repair today and wanted to thank those that gave part#'s and tips. Worked like a charm! In/out/fixed/buttoned up in under an hour.
 
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simbolo

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This image might help someone in the future:



1. Spreader pin
2. Spreader plug
3. Window
4. Lift rail guide slot
 
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