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

brino

Confirmed Tool User
Staff member
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
9,042
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:

tarped.jpg

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

and immediately saw the spool where the cable winds was messed-up:
spool1.jpg

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:
plastic_front.jpg

Back side:
plastic_back.jpg

Here are shots of the good and bad guides:

plastic_guide1.jpg

plastic_guide2.jpg


plastic_guide3.jpg

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
 
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......

aluminum_part1.jpg

I set it up on the lathe to drill the required holes......
aluminum_part2.jpg


......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:
repair_part.jpg

....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):
aluminum_part3.jpg

then I cut the bottom slot for the cable to enter:
aluminum_part4.jpg

...and the part really looked like the part (after filing):
aluminum_part5.jpg

Here's the part cut-off from the bar:
done1.jpg

done2.jpg

done3.jpg

done4.jpg

a couple pictures still to come.....

-brino
 
Last edited:
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
 
Excellent work!
 
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
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 ;))
 
Back
Top