RandomTLS

Hey guys, I haven't worked on cars a lot but I'm not sure where to start. So my rubber brake stop, for the brake lights, broke the other day leading to my car battery dying. I got that replaced and got a jump from a friend. The problem now is that all my windows work except for the rear drivers side window. I initially got it to open at the same time as all the others but now it wont budge. I can hear a clicking sound and it sounds like the motor is moving as well. Just the window itself isn't going anywhere??

01acls

Unless the bolts that mount the window regulator to the window came off then you will need to replace the window regulator assembly.

Take the door panel off and see. You will probably fine the cable broken or the gears are worn out.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to AZine.

Probably a broken plastic gear. You will likely have to replace the window actuator. It's only like $50 aftermarket.

Arkady

Yeah, as the other guys said it's likely the regulator. Happened to me too after my gf slammed the door real hard haha.
It was about $30 at a pull-apart if you want to take a light gamble... easy fix too.

batnastard

Do you have to take off the white plastic sheeting to access the motor and regulator assembly? Is it worth trying to put the sheeting back on?

Arkady

Yup, but there's little tabs so you don't have to remove ALL of it,... easier if you just do that though. I just taped the sheeting back on afterwards, but I don't really know if it's important. Karanx7 or one of the other more senior members here may know how important that sheeting is lol

Iggy

It's a vapor barrier to keep moisture on the window side of the door panel, not critical but will help keep things dry on the interior side. As these things age the seals around the windows do shrink a bit and allow a little rain water into the door. I recommend taking a good look in all 4 doors for any signs of corrosion.

Arkady

Hey Iggy, on the topic of moisture, I've been slowly patching up leaks in my windshield as I notice them with a general outdoors silicone caulk. It's been working great but I was wondering if you knew of any issues that might come up from me doing this? Or anything I should watch out for?
The leaks that I'm talking about are around the edges of the windshield, not in the glass itself - just for clarity :P

01acls

Try to use only an Urethane base glue on the automobile's windshield and/or on any automobile's stationary glass. If the correct glue is used the glass becomes part of the automobile's structure. To protect the occupance during an actual rollover.

Depending on how wide or long of an area that's leaking you might consider having the windshield reset by a professional.

Arkady

Hm, I didn't even though about the fact that the glass would be supporting some of the weight - I assumed it was all in the frame of the car but it definitely makes more sense that the glass would hold some up as well.
By "reset", you mean they'll just pull it out, basically re-do the grommet lining thing, and place it back in? Not replace the entire glass? I'm just not trying to spend too much money on my $2k TL is all, lol.
Might even try the glass reset myself if I can find instructions on it online,....

01acls

"Reset" means to redo the whole windshield by cutting the windshield out of the car, cleaning any loose glue off and then reglueing it back into the windshield opening.

Of course when working with glass there is always a chance of breaking it when disturb.

In most cases you would just cut out the area that's leaking and then reglue. All bare metal needs to be sealed to prevent rust formation with a one step windshield primer/adhesion promoter.

Not recommended to reset the windshield your self unless you're familiar with the process.

Arkady

Dang, thanks for all the info 01acls.
Theoretically speaking, if someone had a car like mine where just parts of the windshield were leaking, they could pull up the rubber grommet thing on the edges, find where the glue lost connection and is causing a leak, clean that area off from debris and maybe do a bit of sanding and the priming, and then re-glue? Doing a partial re-glue like that wouldn't be as secure as regluing the entire thing though, I'm sure.
One of my buddies had this done on his vehicle a while back, I'll ask him how much it cost him.
Worst case scenario I'll just squish some more of the silicon in there cuz it's been doing a good job on the other parts of the windshield! lol

Sorry for hijacking the thread ya'll

Iggy

The molding around the windshield isn't actually what seals the glass to the car. Their purpose is to cover the gap between the edge of the windshield and the body of the vehicle. They also channel water down the sides of the windshield to the drains on the sides of the firewall. I do not recommend taking the trim off as you will have a bitch of a time getting it back on properly. Call around to your local glass shops, they could do the job in 30min. Some have mobile service that will come to you.

There may be corrosion going on where it is leaking which is why the glass really needs to come off and the entire seal area cleaned and treated for new adhesive. My humble opinion anyway.

01acls

Arkady,


Upon closer inspection of the windshield molding it's very hard to located the exact location of the leak because of the style of the windshield molding. The molding that is use to finish off the windshield is actually wrap around the windshield protecting the edge of the glass so really hard to pull out because glue will be over flowing on to it. Even if you do get it out then it's even harder if not impossible to slip back under the glass as before since the glue will almost always be in the way.

It's probably best that you hire a professional as stated by Iggy.

However, if you want to try and located the general area of the leak just use 2" masking tape and tape off the molding, windshield, and the body all at the same time. There shouldn't be a leak if you tape the whole windshield off (sides and top). Run water to confirm and then remove the tape from lowest to highest, and then the top. You should be able to find the leak this way.

Arkady

Iggy and 01acls, thank you for all the information! You guys are both very knowledgeable on this.

I was picturing the molding to be a bit different, but after reading what you guys have said and taking a peek at my car before work today, I can see how DIYing this would be a lot harder than I thought.
How did you guys learn all this stuff? Just plain ol' hands-on experience, or is the repair manual for our car really that good? :P
I'll call a local shop later this week and see if I can get a quote for the repair. If it's not too expensive, if they're down with it I'll stick around and watch so I can see the process.
If their price is higher than I'd like I'll grab the silicone tube and get back at it ;P