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Power Window Bushing Replacement

literally ten seconds after i posted this i got it lol, and by the way my 7/16 hex nuts i bought were WAY to big! looks like im off to autozone!
 



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any sugestions on how to remove the c-clip? i dont want to break it,but am having troubles removing it with my smallest flat head i have,and if i do manage to break it what are the chances of it still working without a c-clip?

I just used a pair of needle nose pliers, laid them flat and placed each end on the points of the clip, gave it a little tap, and it pushed right off, easy stevie!
 






just got my front drivers side done!i had major problems with only two things,one being i didnt have a 1/2 inch dril bit so i had so "create" my own hole with a smaller drill bit,and two i had issues lining everything up once it was all put back together when i was bolting it back to my door my brother had to help me on that one lol. other than that it was a piece of cake! it probably saved me hundreds! i still have my drivers side door to do,hopefully it wont take me as long as it did today but with me once i do it once i can usually do it much faster the second time.Autozone,advance auto parts and orielys didnt have the gear plugs,they all wanted to sell me the whole window motor and the regulator wich is BS they were all asking $70-80.00 so i politely told all of them to go shove it up there you know what.I called napa and they had some,but only one set so i said what the hell i might as well do one now and the rest later.They had them for $8.99 wich wasnt too bad.They were really freindly and it actually seemed like they knew what they were talking about.Well i feel like i have written a book so im out!:thumbsup:thanks everyone!
 






when i was bolting it back to my door my brother had to help me on that one lol



When you do your drivers side, try using a magnet to start the bolts when reassembling. I have one of those telescoping pen/pocket size magnets. It worked like a charm. Look at the triangle shape the bolt holes make, and you can see on the dr panel how to line up the motor, hold in place, start bolts, tighten 95% with nut driver, tap the window switch to line up gear, and tighten down all the way. :)
I was thrilled to do it myself after reading the threads on this, cant wait to tackle other jobs.
 






Ill try that way when i tackle the drivers side,I have to wait untill next week when i have time to do it.Thanks for the tip!:thumbsup:
 






...I just used my thumb on one end of the c-clip to stop it from spinning...I used a flathead on the other side till there was enough room to pry it out...Mine came out real easy...:dunno:
 






You know, I had to replace my entire motor on the front door (quit altogether), so I went to the junkyard and got a used motor, and did the bearing swap before it was installed, and it's going like it's a brand new motor.

Ironically, as soon as I did that, my rear windows went out in succession. Driverside Rear went out in May, Passengerside rear just started acting up. This'll be done as soon as I can find someone in town who will let me use their drill for a couple hours.

Thanks again for doing this writeup, the money you'd save in this alone would pay for an elite membership.
 






just got my front drivers side done!i had major problems with only two things,one being i didnt have a 1/2 inch dril bit so i had so "create" my own hole with a smaller drill bit,and two i had issues lining everything up once it was all put back together when i was bolting it back to my door my brother had to help me on that one lol. other than that it was a piece of cake! it probably saved me hundreds! i still have my drivers side door to do,hopefully it wont take me as long as it did today but with me once i do it once i can usually do it much faster the second time.Autozone,advance auto parts and orielys didnt have the gear plugs,they all wanted to sell me the whole window motor and the regulator wich is BS they were all asking $70-80.00 so i politely told all of them to go shove it up there you know what.I called napa and they had some,but only one set so i said what the hell i might as well do one now and the rest later.They had them for $8.99 wich wasnt too bad.They were really freindly and it actually seemed like they knew what they were talking about.Well i feel like i have written a book so im out!:thumbsup:thanks everyone!




HOLY GIGANTOR PARAGRAPH BATMAN!!!



Hey josh. I could mail you my dewalt to use for a day
 






I've said it before and I'll say it again... Best site ever!!! did my driver side today with the pics in hand, better than the manual. Took about an hour and a half maybe two.

Check out the fuel relay if anyone is having battery troubles, this site helped me fix that as well!!!!
 






...Glad you were able to resolve 2 issues on your X...Let's hope they are all as easy to fix...:D
 






i had this same problem on my bronco ll and i didn't know what the pieces were supposed to look like 'cause it was all ground into little pieces. i took the rubber bushing from a shock mount and cut it into 3 equal sized triangles and put it in place and it has been going now for over a year without any problems.
 






well guys thanks for the tips I'm going to attempt this after I get outta work. A buddy's motor's stopped working and is gonna trade me some Diamond headlights and corners for two window motors! Wahoo!
 






You know, I had to replace my entire motor on the front door (quit altogether), so I went to the junkyard and got a used motor, and did the bearing swap before it was installed, and it's going like it's a brand new motor.

Ironically, as soon as I did that, my rear windows went out in succession. Driverside Rear went out in May, Passengerside rear just started acting up.

Thanks again for doing this writeup, the money you'd save in this alone would pay for an elite membership.

Head lights are the same way. When one goes, the other follows within a month or less.

I just saved whatever the going rate of a window motor yesterday by following this thread. Thanks 85Dave!

No bragging but did exactly what Blacksheep Josh said, became an Elite Explorer!
 






Just wanted to say that you can go to Walmart and get the ball bearing youuse to shoot in a sling shot and use them. i think I payed like $5.00 for a pack and you will have enough for all 4 doors. they are steel and won't wear out. I did mine about 4yrs ago and haven't had a problem out of them yet. Very good thread wiyh all the pic.
 






Just wanted to say that you can go to Walmart and get the ball bearing youuse to shoot in a sling shot and use them. i think I payed like $5.00 for a pack and you will have enough for all 4 doors. they are steel and won't wear out. I did mine about 4yrs ago and haven't had a problem out of them yet. Very good thread wiyh all the pic.
I'm guessing they are made out of a soft material that gives when it gets to the end of the travel and saves the gear teeth (shock absorber). It crumbles rather than staying in pieces to allow the gear to continue to rotate saving the gear teeth when they fails.
 






Very nice post. Been there done that on three of my doors. Wish I would have had your post available when I did my first one. Would have saved me alot of time.
Henry
 






Replaced my front driver's side window motor yesterday, Had the new motor sitting around for 3 years lol, just didnt get around to it till yesterday. Took me about 20 mins to drill the half inch hole, take out 3 bolts, remove the old motor and install the new one. Works beautifully :) I have to do the other 3 doors next, but im going to buy the gear/bushing kits from Autozone for the rest of the motors, save some money. I believe a whole new window motor cost me about $30 when i bought it, not too bad either way.
 






I don't know if anyone else drops those screws in the door trying to get them back in. I was a little dim the last day I did this and just kept on trying until they were all in the door except the one I managed to get installed.

I envisioned having to put it all back together to go to the hardware store to buy a retriever gizmo. Then, I noticed an open tube of silicone sealant on my bench. I put a glob on the end of a pencil, and had them all back in hand in a few minutes. Some of the sealant stayed on the screws, which held them perfectly in my socket and I got them all in like I knew what I was doing. Voila!
 






When I removed the 3 bolts holding the window motor in, I used a magnet (the ones that extend, looks like a pen) to keep the bolts from falling into the door, you can buy one for a couple dollars at any walmart, auto store, or maybe dollar store. That's your best bet.
 



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Power Window Motor Service

I had a passenger side front door where the window would roll down but not come back up. After some time, it even stopped going down. I followed the steps listed above but since my Explorer was a 97, there were a few differences but nothing major. Listed below is what I found and just wanted to provide these observations for additional info.

Thanks for all the great pics with step by step instructions. I followed these to a T for my 97 Explorer XLT and it was simple and easy. The only exception was that my motor did not have the circlip on it. I did drill out the dimple and lo and behold, there was the third bolt. The bolts were very small hex heads (6mm) and these three bolts plus one screw (T-20 torx) hold the cover plate of the motor where the gear is exposed. It was easy to see that they redesigned this motor to where the cover plate acts as the unit that will hold the gear assembly in place. Once I removed the three screws that attach the motor to the door, I was able to work the motor out thru the speaker hole. The wiring harness was easy to disconnect as it was on the front side of the door attached there with a clip.

Using the T-20 screwdriver, I removed the final screw holding down the cover plate and the plate easily popped off. I could see yellowed fragments of the gear bushings but no round bushings at all.

To pop the gear out, I just used a flathead screwdriver to pry up on the gear and it easily came up.

I cleaned this up, put a little lithium grease at each of the three corners where the bushings will go to hold them in place and dropped in the three round bushings into their respective corners.

The gear easily pressed into place and the cover went back on and by reassembly in reverse order, it all went back rather quickly.

My thanks to all that have provided their expertise and tips on how to fix this motor. Great job and save me big bucks!
 






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