Power Window Fail

dun_roamin

New member
Hi,

My driver side power window fell down into the door as I was opening/closing it. I removed the door panel and found that the control arm that moves it up and down had fallen off the rail attached to the bottom of the window. This was due to a plastic part that holds the control arm having broken.

Does anyone know where I can get that small white plastic part? People talk about using shower door rollers from home depot, but ideally I'd like to get the original part.

Thanks!
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
Welcome.

The Search function, although cumbersome and not always useful, shows several useful threads with various options for repair.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3170651

Here are the more recent threads from that search, but you may also want to look at the older threads as well.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59311&highlight=Door+window+roller

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14821&highlight=Door+window+roller

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16098&highlight=Door+window+roller

1. Plastic part is apparently not available except as part of motor and rail assembly. Thus, the various cheaper shower roller or bolt/washers fixes.

2. A manual regulator designed without a plastic part may be cheaper but rivets need to be drilled out to be used. Fellow Westy owner Autocamp figured this out.

3. A power assembly replacement or a manual assembly replacement can be found at Europarts-Sd.com for much cheaper than Mercedes/Dodge.

4. Fellow Westy owner Autocamp posted details on his blog.

http://eat-drink-men-women.blogspot.com/2012/09/tatyanas-power-window.html?m=1

-----------

Please follow-up and post whatever you find and do. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

onemanvan

Active member
I had the same problem - my solution probably looks a bit kludgey but it's been working fine for two years now. Less expensive than purchasing a new window regulator assembly. Some assembly required:)

large nylon spacer 5/8" OD 1/8" thickness
small nylon spacer 3/8" OD 1/4" thickness
 

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Last edited:

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
Part numbers?

A. Track Rollers?

There are various things which look they might work. Maybe things called "cam followers and track rollers," but no one has apparently posted an exact part.

https://www.mscdirect.com/webapp/wc...er/Cam-Followers-Track-Rollers?navid=12104104

From the various forum threads/posts, probably looking for:

Outer Diameter:

0.625" or 5/8" (about 16mm)

Inner Diameter:

???

Thickness of Wheel:

???

Attachment Bolt:

8-32 bolt, 1/2" long
(8 means diameter, 32 means threads)

B. Carriage Bolts or Mushroom Head Bolts

Posters have suggested using a carriage bolt. Autocamp suggested something similar. A mushroom head bolt may be a better fit as not as angular?

https://www.esmaxfasteners.com/c/51...ead-bolts/mushroom-head-bolts-din-603-brass-/
 
Last edited:

Wasaabi

Sprinter Westfalia #133
I used the $4 shower door roller from Home Depot trick. I had to shave the roller plastic down to almost the metal. I tried various parts hoping to get to onemanvan's solution, but couldn't find the parts locally while rushing before our last trip. The shower door roller works well, although with all the plastic shaved off I don't have high confidence in longevity. At least I know how to fix it if it fails again.

Maybe before our big winter trip I will remember to stock up on the parts mentioned above just in case. Since this problem happens with no warning, and the plastic piece that breaks is now at a certain weakness with age on our Westies, keeping a set of the suggested parts on hand as spares is a good idea. FYI for those whose window falls into the door and need an emergency fix (eg, at night in cold rain), you can take the door panel off to retrieve the glass in about 5 minutes, then use tape over the frame to keep the window up in the track while awaiting the fix.
 
I made a simple single piece out of delrin plastic that has worked beautifully for two years. I actually made two of them and stuck the second one in my parts bin in case the passenger side fails. I will try to take a picture of it and post it this weekend.
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
This Arizona company repairs power windows and also makes custom replacement parts. If someone does call them and finds out if they have a replacement part (see OneManVan's post with dimensions), please post. Thanks.

http://powerwindowrepair.com/
 

SondraRose

New member
I had the same problem - my solution probably looks a bit kludgey but it's been working fine for two years now. Less expensive than purchasing a new window regulator assembly. Some assembly required:)

large nylon spacer 5/8" OD 1/8" thickness
small nylon spacer 3/8" OD 1/4" thickness
Love it! Your post is just in time; our original failed after a camping trip on washboard roads.

Could you share your sources for the parts, please?

Oh, and a wave from Tucson! My parents live in Benson.
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
A poster found a replacement part made in brass. The part looks like the rectangular plastic piece which breaks. The replacement brass piece is bolted on using the same type of bolt used by OneManVan. You will still need to cut and drillout the original rivet.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=595442&postcount=42

[Quote:]

I didn't have the time to hunt down hardware and fabricate a fix for this, so I went for this overpriced but nice looking solution (still far cheaper than the dealer.) Got it on eBay, listed as "1995-2006 DODGE MERCEDES Sprinter window crank motor lift regulator repair kit", it's a brass piece manufactured in Estonia, post needs to be cut off and punched out of the arm, kit includes a replacement bolt and special nut. I hope it arrives soon. $34 with shipping.

[End Quote.]

Original link above has photos. Ebay link is below:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-2006-D...ash=item544e415bfd:g:1pMAAOSw4-hZqv~j&vxp=mtr

1995-2006 DODGE MERCEDES Sprinter window crank motor lift regulator repair kit
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dun_roamin

New member
Here's what I ended up doing.

- 3d print the plastic part, 3d model found somewhere on this forum
- Bring the regulator to my garage, heat up 3d part until it stretched over existing rivet
- As part was a little malformed, use heat gun again on 3d part until it naturally fell back to its original shape
- Install regulator, use lots of grease, good as new!

Fingers crossed it lasts a few years.

Thanks for all your help!
 

SondraRose

New member
We bought the brass part off eBay mentioned in a previous post and used it very successfully!

We took the screws out of the regulator assembly and moved it slightly so we could get the slider into the window track, then screwed it back in. A ten minute job and $35. Yay!
 

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