Window Woes - NOT the regulator!

[The_Greg]

So, I cracked open my driver's side door today expecting to see a broken and irreplaceable window regulator (Only because its better to expect the worst and be surprised than the opposite) and found that the window was getting grabbed too hard in the guide that matches to the A pillar when the door is closed. When the window is rolled down, the back goes down a ways before the front does, and when the channel lets go of the front of the window it crashes down about 0.5" and is loud, annoying, and awful.

So first off, I totally wrecked the plastic piece on the top of the door. Its broken in many places. What a POS.

Second off, the regulator lines looked fine. No cracks, nothing strange with that. Which is strange! So after watching it a couple of times with the door card off I realize the problem. I look deeper and sure enough, the channel that is supposed to hold the front of the window to the regulator track is NOT holding the window; the window isn't even sitting in it because the channel is rotated and the window is sitting on the white plastic piece that carries that metal channel. D'oh! I also found another pin in the bottom of the door exactly like the pin that holds the black metal channel into the front plastic regulator guide. I'm guessing this was left in the car from when it got a new regulator 20k miles ago by some Viper tech in Arizona... Does anyone know if there is a second place for that same pin in that door?

So I ended up adjusting the A arm-area guide thing and using my fingers to pry it apart some because it was squeezing the window too hard and applying silicon to the channel to try and bond it to the window again. Its sitting in the garage curing, I'm hoping that will be enough for many more enjoyable miles with the car.

I'll try and follow up after its all fixed regarding what I do to fix the stupid broken plastic piece and detail what all I adjusted to get the window working better. I also think I might shoot some white lithium grease into that a pillar channel so there's less friction on the window. Stay tuned.

 

[ROCKET62]

Need pictures to fully understand your situation.

Unfortunately - it seems that the only way to appreciate how to remove the door panel is to break that top piece as you (and I have learned.) After breaking that top trim piece - you figure out how it goes together and how it needs to come apart. I've threatened to make a "how to" video / picture detail on the correct door panel removal process - and each time I've taken my door apart, I've always been in too much of a hurry to document the process. Biggest piece of advice to others - 1) after getting frustrated trying to figure out how to un-spring the rearward clip - DO NOT TRY TO FORCE IT - as YOU WILL break that trim piece. To "un-spring" the rearward clip you need to do it from the bottom. Some have mentioned using a long screwdriver to push up on the bottom of the clip as one method. As crazy as this sounds, I use a radiator hose removal tool. This tool is U-shaped and I use my fingers to snake it thru the window track and guide it into the correct spot to push up on the clip from below. After getting the first clip undone - the forward clip seems to free itself based on angling the door panel up from the rear. Here is about the best picture I could find that shows these notorious spring clips:

You must be registered for see images attach

Good luck.

 

[latamud]

I mentioned this in your last post, the Achilles heel thread. You need to slip the window peg into the slot on the plastic piece. Then push the metal c pin into the plastic piece. The window peg has a groove on it that allows the c pin to lock it in. I think I have photos I took earlier in that thread detailing how what you are experiencing ended up breaking the plastic piece on the back side, because it couldn't hold the weight of the front end when it slipped past the front plastic piece and torqued the back one.
You should be able to reach into the door with the window mostly up. Feel under the glass on the forward end and you will feel the peg I'm talking about. Then the plastic riser, feel for the slotted hole in it. You will have to pry the window away from the plastic piece a little. To allow the peg to slip back into the slotted hole. At this point the c clip will slip into a vertical slit in the plastic mount piece. I'm not home otherwise I'd just take a bunch of photos. It might help to slip your cell phone or camera in there too so you can see what you are working with. Whatever you do, don't let the glass slip past the slotted hole,otherwise the rear mount will be the only thing holding up that glass and its just a 1" very thin piece of plastic that will snap.

 

[slysnake]

So first off, I totally wrecked the plastic piece on the top of the door. Its broken in many places. What a POS.

Yes, its a well documented problem. A quick search will show you all kinds of threads on this subject.

 

[The_Greg]

I was so excited to get working on the car today and found that my fix worked, that I just re-assembled everything before I took pictures. D'oh!

But yes, Latamud, you know what I am talking about.

 

[latamud]

I believe this issue is caused when the window rolls up and slips toward the inward side of the rubber triangle. This puts pressure against the C clip and will force the window peg to pop out of place. I took a dab of RTV and put it between the triangle and door seal making them into 1 piece. I used a piece of newspaper as a barrier between the triangle and the glass, also it wedged the trianlge piece away from the glass, I hope this keeps the triangle away for good to guide the glass to the correct side of the rubber, as a wayt to "train" the rubber.

 

[The_Greg]

Those are great ideas. I think I have it solved mostly by just adjusting the triangle (it mounts with two screws and one nut to the door, if you loosen those three you can move it around) as far upwards and forwards as looked right to keep the window out of that triangle channel as most as I could. I think the problem was when it got deep in that channel it just had too much friction to come out. I might have to use your RTV trick though, because its really close to coming in on the wrong side of that triangle but never did during the test usage I was doing last night. Newspaper is a great idea to keep friction down inside that piece... How long have you had that in there? I wonder if rain would deteriorate that newspaper and cause more problems.

 

[Viktimize]

My window got caught pretty bad under that triangle piece and just ripped it right up about 2 or 3 inches. I might try and RTV it back together, but I'd like to get a new one that I can install at the same time I do window regulators.

 

[latamud]

Those are great ideas. I think I have it solved mostly by just adjusting the triangle (it mounts with two screws and one nut to the door, if you loosen those three you can move it around) as far upwards and forwards as looked right to keep the window out of that triangle channel as most as I could. I think the problem was when it got deep in that channel it just had too much friction to come out. I might have to use your RTV trick though, because its really close to coming in on the wrong side of that triangle but never did during the test usage I was doing last night. Newspaper is a great idea to keep friction down inside that piece... How long have you had that in there? I wonder if rain would deteriorate that newspaper and cause more problems.

The newspaper is just to push the rubber away from the glass and keep the RTV from gluing the triangle to the glass. I'm away from home months at a time. When I did this fix I let it sit a couple weeks but I think all it needed was a day or two.

My window got caught pretty bad under that triangle piece and just ripped it right up about 2 or 3 inches. I might try and RTV it back together, but I'd like to get a new one that I can install at the same time I do window regulators.

. If your triangle piece is torn that bad I'm not sure RTV will fix it. I'm using it in a pea size dab to hold two flat pieces together. How much is a replacement? I imagine you could get one on eBay from one of the recyclers for a few $.

 

[Viktimize]

. If your triangle piece is torn that bad I'm not sure RTV will fix it. I'm using it in a pea size dab to hold two flat pieces together. How much is a replacement? I imagine you could get one on eBay from one of the recyclers for a few $.

That's the thing though, I don't even know where to get one aside from going to the dealer and having them look it up in the parts book. I've looked through some vendor sites here and none of them list it. VPA has a rash of odd parts, but no trim piece like this one. Kinda figured if it has happened to me, it has probably happened to more than a few others. But I haven't found any info yet.