From: Wally Plumley [wplumley@bellsouth.net]
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2000 8:22 AM
To: 928
Subject: [928] Re: More on my window problem - any ideas?

At 03:48 AM 11/30/00, Finlay, Ian wrote:

>Hi all.
>
>With my drivers window stuck in the closed position (it's right hand drive)
>I took off the door panel last night to see what was going on. I can hear
>the motor try to turn when I press the window switch, and the lights dim
>very slightly if the engine isn't running. I therefore believe that the
>switch is OK. It looks like there is a separate gearbox on the end of the
>motor - can anyone confirm this, and could it be stuck somehow?

A reversible electric motor drives a reduction gearbox, which moves a large 
gear segment with a lever arm attached. The lever arm has a nylon roller 
riveted to the end that runs in a horizontal track attached to the bottom 
of the glass.

The usual window problems are:
Electrical
  - Bad window switch - the most common problem.
  - Fuse.
  - Relay.
  - Thermal breaker inside the window motor (often repairable).
  - Bad connection to the motor armature (repairable).
  - Broken wire.
Mechanical
  - Broken nylon roller at end of arm. (Replaceable separately - cheap 
parts, not too easy.)
  - Loose bolts holding window lift unit to door. (POs and techs sometimes 
don't torque enough.)
  - Worn motor bearings.
  - Dry lubricant in gearbox, worn gearbox.
  - Loose/worn nylon window guides.
  - Loose window guide tube.
  - Worn, damaged window guides at top.

I'm sure that the Listmembers can add to this.

>  I tried to get the two 10mm bolts out that hold the motor in, but they 
> won't turn
>easily with a spanner. Is there a trick to it, or do I need more brute force?

I think that there are four, and they are very tight. They need to be. No 
trick. The two screws that hold the motor together and to the gearbox are 
also hard to remove.

BTW, it is possible to remove the window lift unit from the door intact.

Use extreme caution to hold the window in place. It can injure you if it 
falls on you, or can damage the car. You will need to manually raise and 
lower the glass while you are doing the repairs.

Wally Plumley
928 Specialists