Front window comes out of vertical channel - solved

[429CJ-3X2]

I searched through 14 pages and didn't find a thread addressing this problem. '97 Mountaineer - My son rolled his driver's window down to clear the water off it before leaving for work yesterday. The window got stuck 1/2 way down. When I took the door panel off, I found the window was out of the front and rear vertical channels. It's still firmly attached to the regulator. I got it back in the channels, tested it a few times, and put the door back together. Tested it again, and it came out again. I took the door apart again, got the window back in place, and watched the window as I operated the switch. It seems like the front channel is twisting outward as the window comes down, causing the glass to come out. The bottom of the channel is firmly bolted to the door, and the top seems solid, too, but I don't know how it attaches to the door. The rear channel doesn't move. Before I put the door back together again, I got my big Channellocks on the front channel and tried to twist it. I don't know if I accomplished anything or not, but it was dark and time to quit for the day.

Can that front channel be removed without a lot of hassle so I can straighten it? Is the problem elsewhere, like maybe the regulator is bent? I noticed the regulator track was dry right where the wheel is when the problem occurs. I can't imagine the regulator assembly is bent. That's pretty heavy steel. When the glass stays in the channel, the window goes up and down smoothly.

Any ideas?

 

[toypaseo]

Grease the window regulator tracks inside the door. My passenger window would either go up, or go down, and start going crooked, and tend to go out of the door window channels. Greased the regulator tracks, and worked as normal.

 

[410Fortune]

The side guide channels clip on at the top and bolt to the door at the bottom with a gold 10mm
The bottom is adjustable in and out,
Adjusting how tight the guide is to the glass

You need to clean all the rubber channels all around the glass and clean and re grease the power tracks and nylon slides then adjust the vertical channels and she will be good as new

 

[C420sailor]

Sometimes, if the glass jumps out enough times, it’ll never work right again. It’ll develop channels in the track that will derail it.

Give the whole thing a good inspection for such defects.

If that checks out, it may just need a good cleaning, lube, adjustment. Some use white lithium grease, I like to use silicone spray in the channels.

I had a window that was just totally f’d. The hinge points on the regulator were boned, and the channel had derail spots in it. I replaced the channel with a good used one from the JY, and installed a Motorcraft regulator. Greased it all up, good as new…

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Thanks for the responses! The first thing I did was spray silicone in front and rear channels, which I think I had done in the summer when the passenger window was sticking. This window has been working fine until yesterday. I put plenty of grease in the track, but that one spot was hard to get to with a tube. My spray grease is empty.
While I was getting the glass back in the guides the first time, the battery went completely dead. It was over 7 years old, but had started the Mountaineer even in -10 to -15 degree weather recently. Given it died when it had a minimal draw, it likely had an internal problem. I had to interrupt working on the door to go get a new battery, which took way longer than it should have. It was almost dark by the time I got back to work, and I didn't think to get something to smear grease in the front of the track. It was also raining off and on.

I did think of shimming the bottom of the guide with washers to move it out a little. A small wedge-shaped washer might be better yet. This is the first the window has had this problem. I don't think there's any damage to the guide - yet. It's January, so this issue isn't the priority some others are right now. I just wanted to start the thread while it's fresh on my mind.
Thanks!

 

[410Fortune]

Dont Lube the rubber channels until you have thoroughly cleaned them out

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I finally got back to this today. It's supposed to be 80 this weekend and his a/c doesn't work. I put 2 foam washers (I don't know what they're really for, but they were ideal for this) between the front channel mount and the door to space the channel a little inward. I noticed the glass was/had been jumping out of the channel when the lift mechanism was horizontal - when it's the longest. I spayed some lithium grease in the pivot points and silicon spray in the channel. I was out of both when I first tackled this in January. That got the window going smoothly all the way up and down, but the motor struggled a little when the lift mechanism was at that horizontal point.

With the window functioning reasonably well, I moved on to replacing the floppy door handle. In another thread, unbolting the rear window channel at the bottom was suggested so you can see the yellow clip. I did that, and in the struggle to get the rod out of the door handle, the window track fell out. Great, another complication. Once I got the door handle replaced and figured out how to get the top of the window channel reattached, I positioned the bolt for the channel mount right where it had been, and found the window now goes up and down without strain at any point. Even though the glass was coming out of the front channel halfway down, I'm now wondering if the cause was at the top of the rear channel. Anyway, window and door handle are now working as they should.