Window Motor Replacement

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RustyH

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I've got a 98 Expedition with a bad drivers door window motor. The window is stuck in the up position. The instructions say to lower the window down and remove it from the tracks before removing the window motor. Since the window is stuck in the up position, does anyone have any suggestions. I've already drilled olut the rivets and replaced them with bolts to hold it for now, but I've got to get this done soon. Any help would be appreciated.
 

CactusMatt

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Window Stuff

OK, I have this EXACT same problem. And I could really use some help. My 2000 EB Expy has the passenger window stuck down -- and the main rain is still in my future!

The thread here: Expedition Door Panel Removal in this 'How to' section on removing the door panel is pretty good. I was able to follow the instructions to the letter to get the panel off. The only difference for me was that the 'Courtesy light' section did NOT have a panel screw on my 2000 model.

I found a real good link here Just Answer Power Window Electrical Debug for determining if this is an electrical problem. The reference here is for an F150 Lariat, but the wire colors and description of debug technique are spot-on for my expedition. I was even able to use the 'jumper' techniques for giving direct connections to the window motor -- good stuff.

So now I am absolutely sure that this is not an electrical problem. Either the motor is dead, or the regulator is otherwise stuck or jammed up. And this is where I am stuck! I can't see squat inside the door -- there's no room with the glass down! I can't get my hands underneath the glass to pull it up, or I would.

The top of the regulator is bolted to the door, the motor appears to be riveted --although I only surmise that from what I can feel, on the lower-left (when facing the inside). There's really not enough room to get much of my hand or arm inside the door through the main opening -- let alone my over-large noggin.

At this point, I'd be satisfied with getting the window up, and wedging it up with some wood or similar.

Any other suggestions? Do I have anything to lose by un-bolting the top of the regulator assembly from the door, and attempting to fumble it loose inside? Will this give me enough clearance to manually raise the window?

Thanks for any help at all here.
 
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RustyH

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Here's what I can tell you I've found out. The motor is attached to the regulator (the part that moves the window up and down) and the regulator, as near as I can tell, is rivited to the door. On the drivers front door, the regulator is held in place by six rivets. ALL the rivets need to be drilled out before the motor can be replaced. The regulator is bolted to the window guide on the front drivers door by two bolts. I don't know about the back window, but I'm sure it's the same. Tomorrow,(Saturday) I'm placing a brace inside the door to hold the window up and will unbolt the regulator from the window channel and hopefully remove the regulator and motor.

I have a professional account at my local Checker Pro Shop, so I'm getting a replacement motor for around 50 bucks. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
 

CactusMatt

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OK, Here's some more information.

A. The regulator looks like this:
ExpWindowRegulator.JPG


B. As you can see from this image, the motor bolts to the regulator on the funny looking structure attached to one of these 'scissor arms', and the motor then engages the regulator via a toothed gear. Then other 'scissor arm' attaches to the bottom of the window itself. When the motor turns, the gear moves one arm up or down, effectively it 'scissors' this structure up or down, dragging the window with it.

C. It's still possible that the gear is simply slipped off the regulator gear-teeth, or otherwise jammed because of dirt or foreign object. It's also possible that the window is out of it's side channels, or a channels is munged. But from what I can see -- which is not much, these look fine.

D. You can buy regulators for $50 off the net at a number of places. Like This place for instance. Motors are closer to $80, so it sounds like you are getting a pretty good deal.

E. Since the regulator and motor are effectively bolted together with the six rivets you described above (and cleary visible attachment points on the regulator image above), there's no reason not to take the whole shebang out and test en masse. Especially since you have to drill out the rivets to remove either the regulator OR the motor. I figure to simple use bolts with lock-nuts to re-secure that assembly.

F. Oh, and my stuck window is the front passenger window, not the rear; so your experience will be mighty helpful to me. In particular, how -- exactly -- is the window attached to the regulator? If I can de-attach the regulator from the window, I can slide the window up. This will give me enough room work on the motor/regulator. There are some small cut-outs in the bottom of the door that may allow this to be done, if I know what to look for.

Anyway, let me know what you find tomorrow.
 
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ELVATO

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Hmm, the instructions I have make no mention of the 6 rivets. Here's what I have:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As with all how-tos, these are for informational purposes only. I assume no responsibility if you break anything.

Front Door Window Regulator Motor
Removal and Installation

1. Raise the front door window glass to the full up position.

2. Remove the front door trim panel. (Linked above, or just search for it in the how to section.)

3. Remove the door speaker.

4 Position the watershield aside.

5. CAUTION: Make sure the electrical connector is positioned aside before drilling.

To access the power window motor bolts, use a 19 mm (3/4-in) hole saw with a 8 mm (1/4-in) pilot to drill three holes at the existing drill dimples on the door.
5-3.gif

6. Disconnect the front door window regulator electrical connector.
6-2.gif

7. Remove the bolts and the front door window regulator motor.
7-2.gif

To install, reverse the removal procedure.
8. Cycle the window glass to make sure the gears engage.
 
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RustyH

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You have an 03, I've got a 98....probably changed the way they install and secure the power window assemblies. You need to drill three holes to access the power window bolts....I needed to drill out six rivets and unbolt the regulator arm from the window, remove the entire assembly, then remove the motor from the regulator, install the new motor and use new bolts to reinstall the regulator. I guess that's why the stealership wanted $300 bucks to do the job!
 

ELVATO

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Should have made it clear. Those are instructions I have for a 2000 Expedition. Regulator motor removal for an 03 is done in 3 steps and no drilling ;)

Granted, for the rear door, it does mention drilling out 4 rivets, among other things.
 
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RustyH

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I picked up the motor today, but didn't get a chance to do any work on the truck. The motor is attached to the regulator with four one-way phillip head screws....I gues once it's one, it dosen't come off. The six rivets I drilled out hold the regulator in place. I think what I'm going to do to make the reinstall (and future removeal, if needed) easier, is this. I've got six flange bolts and nuts, with locking washers. I'll tack weld each of the flange bolts to the regulator, so when it's installed, the threads are coming through the inside of the door out. That way I won't have to try and get a wrench inside the door to hold the bolt in place. After installing the locking washers and flange bolts, I'll dremel off any excess threads. That should make for a fairly clean and low profile install......I hope. More to come
 

CactusMatt

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OK,

My 2000 Expedition is EXACTLY as ELVATO describes it above. The problem is:

The front passenger window is stuck DOWN, and I can't get it up (and since when is this a recipe for happiness?), so I can't get past 'Step 1' in the instructions above. Any suggestions on how I force the window up without breaking anything? If the window is up, BTW, there's a lot more room in there. The added bonus is that if the window is up, I won't leave marks in the glass when I start drilling.

Best,
Duck-taped, and cardboarded.
 

ELVATO

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Take the door panel, speaker, and water shield off. Take off the connector and see if you get power to the motor. If you do, try to push the button while try to lift on the glass at the same time. Try to move it up with something that covered in a cloth. You don't want to be sticking your hands in there in case comething breaks and unwinds.
 
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