Power Window Track Fix

[trsfa]

To date, this repair has held up. It's been quite a few years.[/B]

I was able to grind off the end of the pressed shaft that held the glide in place on the end of the traveling arm. By clamping the shaft with vise grips and prying it out with a small pry bar, it came loose. I found that a 3/16" by 1" binding post, by Everbilt, stock number 284 706, found at Home Depot, fit well enough to replace the old shaft. I used one of the 5/8" rubber seats as recommended, for a glide. Its working nicely. I will report back if there is an early failure, and will try to get pictures posted once I have time.

Cheers

 

[220629]

I posted some window assembly lube information in Cheap Tricks.

Lube Your Window Tracks and Parts
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?p=721255#post721255

It includes these videos.

This is a power window Youtube video. It shows the trim removal and the bend trick to get a power window working after the plastic slide cracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_EpfpdpUlc


This Euro Cab Chassis double side door(?) model video has a different door panel from NAS aka NAFTA T1N's. It does show the manual crank handle release method at 1:10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a-e5WBohn4

vic

 

[drmoreau]

I am driving my second 2006 chassis T1N. My first one did not have any window failures up to the time I sold it at 260K miles. The current Sprinter has 135K miles but the driver window roller died recently. Rather than replace plastic with plastic I went with the brass unit sold on Ebay. It's a bit spendy but 1/3 the price of a new entire regulator, which is what my local stealership wanted. The part is here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-2006-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It was pretty easy to install and seems pretty bomb-proof. Hell, we are digging up brass Etruscian urns from 1000 BC. Plastic, not so much.

When I get some mojo going I am going to order another one to fix the passenger side proactively.

 

[220629]

...

When I get some mojo going I am going to order another one to fix the passenger side proactively.

Save yourself some money. Just don't let passengers operate that window. It will never wear out.

vic

 

[Matt Foley]

I'd like to take this opportunity to detract any comments I may have made in the past disparaging JB Weld.

 

[MillionMileSprinter]

Hey guys. I have made a self lubricating teflon piece to replace the part that breaks.
Heres the post with my YouTube video: https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74590
And here's a link to the piece on my website: https://www.millionmilesprinter.com...repair-for-1-side-passenger-or-drivers-window

 

[glasseye]

So, today, as I turn right exiting my driveway, I select "UP" on my driver's side window.

"CLANK".

The window is now halfway closed and is completely disconnected from the button on the armrest.

***time passes***

The window is now taped in the full "up" position and I've spent the last hour reading this thread.

All ready to tear into the door tomorrow morning.

What would me 'n Frito do without you guys?



**update** Plastic roller fail, just like everybody else.

Considering either the alexk243 metal slug with a slot or the ebay brass part solution.

My track was clogged with congealed grease the consistency of tar, just like others' reports. What did you guys use instead? White lithium grease?

 

[glasseye]

Any advice on what type of grease to use to lube the window regulator track?
I don't want it to solidify like the OEM stuff.

 

[sikwan]

Any advice on what type of grease to use to lube the window regulator track?
I don't want it to solidify like the OEM stuff.

I used this...


https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Line-Premium-Grease-Fluoropolymer/dp/B01G5VFCEQ


...but an older version of it. Not a recommendation, but something I had around and have had good luck with. I would use anything that is available to you that is water resistant.

 

[Garandman]

Any advice on what type of grease to use to lube the window regulator track?
I don't want it to solidify like the OEM stuff.

I used Lubriplate 130A.

But any light lithium grease should be fine.

 

[220629]

I used Lubriplate 130A.

But any light lithium grease should be fine.

Lubriplate is an excellent choice.

I used regular old *modern* wheel bearing grease to lube the 2004 and 2006 tracks. In my experience modern wheel bearing greases do not dry out or harden.

If the tracks are periodically lubed, I see no reason that the bend the arm trick and using the metal button only won't be good. The T1N's are old. A greased metal button as a slide will outlast the service life of an old T1N.

Lubing the tracks isn't difficult.

Lube Grease Window Track and Parts
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75849

vic

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

I bought the replacements and realized I needed to drill out the remaining broken part in the actuator arm. Forgive the lack of accurate terminology. Time was short, so I slightly bent to arm enough to keep it in the track and with a little lithium grease, away I went.

The only time it has popped out was when a mechanic slammed the door. That was a one time lesson. These doors do not have to ever be slammed shut. If I ever feel so inclined, I will drill out the offending piece and install the Ebay piece. Bouncing around Baja last winter did not affect this temporary fix. Only a careless mechanic has caused me to go back in there and push it back into place.

 

[220629]

A compilation from two separate threads.

Bending the Arm and Lubrication.

...
Edit: got it done with a small zip tie around the plastic piece that broke. But after bending the arm, the zip tie is superfluous - the arm is now pressing tightly into the track on its own accord and there's no way it's going to come out of the track.

If not bent in enough apparently a slammed door can knock it loose.

I bought the replacements and realized I needed to drill out the remaining broken part in the actuator arm. Forgive the lack of accurate terminology. Time was short, so I slightly bent to arm enough to keep it in the track and with a little lithium grease, away I went.

The only time it has popped out was when a mechanic slammed the door. That was a one time lesson. These doors do not have to ever be slammed shut. If I ever feel so inclined, I will drill out the offending piece and install the Ebay piece. Bouncing around Baja last winter did not affect this temporary fix. Only a careless mechanic has caused me to go back in there and push it back into place.

After reading a lot of things here & on Youtube, we just bent the arm toward the outside of the door - it's pretty springy so we put a block of wood behind it & then used a pipe-wrench for leverage and bent it so that it holds the stud in the window-bottom track where the broken plastic slide used to be. The window rides up & down on the stud, rather than a 'fancy' slide.

Works great. No cost. Hardest part was getting the door panel back on.

-Oly

Lubriplate is an excellent choice.

I used regular old *modern* wheel bearing grease to lube the 2004 and 2006 tracks. In my experience modern wheel bearing greases do not dry out or harden.

If the tracks are periodically lubed, I see no reason that the bend the arm trick and using the metal button only won't be good. The T1N's are old. A greased metal button as a slide will outlast the service life of an old T1N.

Lubing the tracks isn't difficult.

Lube Grease Window Track and Parts
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75849

vic

vic

 

[biggreen]

All awesome ideas, looking forward to trying one of them.

I have a 2005 158SHC for rent as a camper, received a call last night with the “window won’t go up” 911. Temporary fix was super glue and 3-4 wraps of duct tape cut down to the 3/16” or so width around the shaft.

Back on the road in 30 mins. Whew! Stupid plastic!

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

I used an angle shaped wood shim and some folded up cardboard as a temporary fix to hold the window glass up until I could open up the door innards and bend the arm enough to keep it in the track.

I hardly ever drive with the windows down, mostly due to the window noise, although the Weather Tech wind deflectors do help a lot in that respect when driving around town at minimal speeds.

 

[thefirstboz]

I used an angle shaped wood shim and some folded up cardboard as a temporary fix to hold the window glass up until I could open up the door innards and bend the arm enough to keep it in the track.

I hardly ever drive with the windows down, mostly due to the window noise, although the Weather Tech wind deflectors do help a lot in that respect when driving around town at minimal speeds.

That weathertech deflector is what caused my plastic part to crack!! Just last weekend. Installed them and ran the window up and down maybe 2 times, then heard a pop. Haven’t sent the deflectors back yet; you like them well enough?
Brian Z

 

[jcmadeintheshade@gmail.com]

After a couple of years, not one problem. No scratching the glass, no cracks, nothing. They just popped in. I assume they would pop out just as easily if I ever wanted to remove them. If something popped when running the window up and down, you may have not got the deflectors correctly positioned.

The store might offer some compensation if you are willing to give them a second try. That simple gesture would be a good business practice for them. They do have to be as tight at the top as possible. They are model specific, obviously.

 

[Alphacarina]

Rather than replace plastic with plastic I went with the brass unit sold on Ebay. It's a bit spendy but 1/3 the price of a new entire regulator, which is what my local stealership wanted. The part is here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-2006-DODGE-MERCEDES-Sprinter-window-crank-motor-lift-regulator-repair-kit/362090159101?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The brass (I think it's actually bronze) piece is the only way to go if you're the type that doesn't like 'fixing' things over and over again - This is the way Mercedes should have made it . . . . riveting a plastic piece to the arm which can't be replaced when it breaks is just bad engineering all around - Shame on you Mercedes!!

The replacement part is a little cheaper on Amazon than it is on eBay - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KS6QZH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A few tips on installing it. You do have to get the OEM stud out of the arm to be able to replace it with the bolt and nut in the kit and that is by far the hardest part of the repair. You can grind the riveted head off the stud with whatever you have handy and then it can still be a real bear to get it out of the arm. What worked for me was to raise the window nearly all the way and hold it up with a piece of wood cut to length. Then you can stick the window switch back on the cable so you can lower the arm down well below the window glass. Stick a piece of 2 by 4 about a foot or 18 inches long inside the door, resting on the outer skin. Put a suitably sized socket over the stud on the arm, resting on the 2 by 4 and then you can use a punch or a drift to beat the stud out of the arm. I tried several other things (Vise Grips, prying etc) before resorting to this method and I could turn the stud, but had no luck removing it

Once the new bronze piece is bolted securely to the arm you may find it's bolt is too long and it hits the black steel channel near the top before the window closes all the way - Mine did, so I had to cut about 1/4 inch off the bolt threads to make sure it clears that black steel piece

On my Sprinter, it was the passenger side that broke and I wondered why - Surely the drivers side gets used 10X as often . . . . and then I remembered that when I bought it, the vertical trim piece at the back of the glass that you must remove before you can take the door panel off kept falling off and I'd had to make a trip to NAPA to get more of the nylon buttons that hold it on. So . . . . maybe the drivers side HAD broken first and been repaired by the previous owner?? I took the drivers side apart and sure enough, he must have taken it to the Dealer to get it fixed because the entire regulator had been replaced - New arm with a new OEM plastic piece on it. I'll BET that repair cost him $500 or maybe even more which makes this permanent repair for $50 seem like a real bargain . . . . and it is!

Don

 

[biggreen]

I just repaired mine yesterday. Didn’t take photos but should have.

I had a 3 or 4 inch piece of copper wire, not sure the gauge number but measured 7/32. Flattened it a bit, filed it a bit and bent it around the rivot with channel locks. The ends of the wire squeeze tightly together making it 1-1/2 or 2 inches long. It was necessary to remove the t-30 head screws mounting the regulator to the door then slide the copper fitting into the track with a bunch of grease. The long “U” shaped wire can spin and slide in the track as needed, wont slip out and with a few shaping efforts, works perfectly. Essentially free.

 

[owner]

I just used a Aluminium rivnut type thing with a perfectly sized flange. I found it in my box of tricks but I reckon a thick flange uncompressed rivnut would work too.

Drilled out the rivet, which is actually reasonably soft. Secured it to the arm with a M6 button head bolt.

Presumably the alloy flange will wear down eventually. But it will probably outlast the van.