To Make Your Power Windows Faster: A lot of people just lube up the runners once a month with graphite powder, This makes a very solid improvement but the underlying problem remains. These windows were not designed to NEED dry lube at all. So if you recondition them properly, once. and use the dry-lube as well, you can get them running very fast indeed and if you do it right it will stay that way for years. All i had to buy was oil, degreaser, graphite powder sandpaper and grease. in other words less than $50 for all four windows running like theyre brand new. So naturally. I Thought This process may interest some of you. Most of the time when a window motor (or any electric motor for that matter) slows down or stops working it's just got brush dust clogging it up and needs a contact polish and some oil. And of course if you go to a wrecker and replace them theyre still gonna be 20 years old and you have the same problems. If you buy reconditioned regulators then your paying somebody $120+ per door to do for you what is explained here for free Things You Will Need. * Star head Screwdrivers * Flathead Screwdrivers * Grease * Graphite powder (dry lubricant) * small spanner * 280 grit sandpaper * 400 grit sandpaper * oil (high tef oil in a spray can is the best IMO) * more grease * Plyers/crimping plyers * about a day (including remove and re-fit to do all four) Things you MAY need. * Replacement Brushes * Replacement Bushes (these can be found on the shelf at any auto-electrician) * Rubber Mallet (or block of wod) * Clamping Plyers * Soldering Iron/Solder Process. NOTE: The front and rear motors require the exact same reconditioning process but are NOT Internally identical and parts are NOT interchangable between front and rear motors. so do them one at a time eh? For the rear doors i'm afraid you have no choice but to drill the rivets and take out the whole regulator and cable. But don't pannic, if you do them one at a time you can use the other door as a reference to put the cable back correctly and it's actually not too bad. (don't mess around with rivets when your putting it back in either... just get some bolts). For the Front doors i recommend taking out only the motor, removing the whole reg may seem easier at first but they are a biiiitch to get back in and you'll probably scratch your tint if you try. The motor is held on by 3 bolts that are threaded towards you. Get a small spanner and put both your arms inside the door behind the motor and you can get to all three quite easily. Once the motor is out and separate from the reg: 1. gently pry off the front cover using a flathead screwdriver. do this slowly so you dont break too many of the tabs as it needs to go back on. (see pics below) 2. unscrew the motor from the gearset using a star head screwdriver Slowly wiggle it out so not to damage the seal or the gears. The front bush will fall out too. 3. Check that the front bush sits well around the shaft and has little or no play, if-so then no need to replace it. 4. Place a large flathead screwdriver against the plastic (where the wires are attached) and with your hand gently hit it a few times so the brush plate comes out. 5. Take the shaft out of the motor. (it is NOT fixed in place with anything and should simply slide out of the rear bush) If the shaft is stuck in the motor: keep turning it and squirting oil and degreaser down into it until it loosens up and hopefully you can pull it out. If all else fails you can grab the shaft with some clamping plyers then gently hit the case off with a hammer, but if you do it is VERY important that: 1. Clamp the shaft in between the split ring and the gear thread. (DO NOT clamp it on the end where the front bush goes or you'll never get it back on.) 2. Don't hit the casing too hard when hammering it off (I recommend a rubber mallet or a bit of wood). These motors have permenant magnets in them and if you break one, goodbye motor. Also: If the shaft was stuck it is because of rust on the bottom of the shaft inside the rear bush. IF one of your motors was like this then you need to pay extra attention to cleaning out the bottom bush and sand that end of the shaft a little, Just enough that it spins freely again. 6. Check the split ring on the shaft. Use the sandpaper to sand it shiny and smooth this is where the brushes will contact so it must be perfectly flat. (you can use a lathe for this but you need to be extremely gentle if you do) make sure the split lines on the side of it are smooth and clean (you can run a small flathead screwdriver or a knife between them to get out any metal filings.) 7. Put the brush plate back on the split ring and check that the brushes are firmly held against it. (at least 3-4 mm of pressure on each side.) If not then replace the brushes as the harder they are pushed against the split ring the better contact the motor has. 8.Check the rear copper bush in the motor housing. make sure there is little or no shaft play in it. (if there is, replace it) 9. While the motor is apart, degrease everything and allow to dry (or just blast it with an air compressor it'll dry instantly) 10. Re-Oil the bushes front and back, put the motor back together (you will need to use a small screwdriver to push the brushes back into place) then slide it back into the gearset (you will have to wobble it around a fair bit to get it to slide into the front bush) 11. heavily grease the gearset (but not so much that the case is completely full, leave it some room to move) 12. With the cover still off, hook up some wires and get it moving. (polarity doesnt matter, it just swaps for up or down) Make sure it is running smooth and not whyning too much. (there is a screw in front of the front bush that allows you to adjust the pressure on the shaft, you may need to loosen this slightly) 13. Put the cover back on, use some strong cutting or crimping plyers to squeeze the tabs so it is firmly held on again (you can use some sikaflex as a gasket if you like but be careful not to get it in the gears) 14. Lube up the window runners with the graphite powder and heavily re-grease the gears and sliders in the front doors. (there are 2 sliders on the bottom of the window and also a third one, facing away from you inside the rear of the door, This third one needs the most grease and can be easilly overlooked because you can't see it.) there is also a coil spring in the front doors designed to help the motor lift the window back up. If this spring is rusty then hit it a few times with a hammer and oil it aswell or it can slow the windows down. (for back doors just heavily oil the gears and pulleys and put the graphite on the window runners) [note] when you put the motors back in the doors cut off the old corroded plugs and put on some shiny new ones (or just direct solder the wires) for a better connection. your windows should now be very fast and very smooth and if you used enough grease then also a lot quieter. No more helping them up with your hands Peace. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I love you lol!

you are a legend. where can u get graphite powder from tho?

Quote: Originally Posted by VLWAGONIT you are a legend. where can u get graphite powder from tho? Repco should have it, or supa cheap Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Thanks. I've been wondering how to get mine working again. The front are very slow in my car.

Well worth doing.do you know if the later commodores eg:VP are the same,dads need doing.

what a fuckin legend!!!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by trypsi Well worth doing.do you know if the later commodores eg:VP are the same,dads need doing. I've never actually seen a vp motor out of the door but i'm pretty sure theyre different. However Once you've done a set you shouldn't have too much trouble adapting this process to other motors. i reckon just get one of them out and have a go man, all the same basic components will be in there, just in a different casing with different gear ratio etc. etc.

Well done there man, something I need to get doing myself Well written and set out article too.

Thanks mate! i needed this. very well done!

DIY article of the year i reckon, well done ! only gripe is wish a few of the pics were a lil clearer. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackVL DIY article of the year i reckon, well done ! only gripe is wish a few of the pics were a lil clearer. Thankyou all for the positive responses! This forum has been hugely useful to me for a number of reasons. Glad to contribute a bit of know-how myself. and yeah, fair call about the pics man, unfortunately i only have 2 cameras, one is on my phone and the other is worth almost 2 grand. I didnt wanna get the beast all dirty, uknow how it is Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Yep, excellent detailed instructions and spot on. Following you're instructions I'vetaken out the passenger side motor, lubed it up and now it's ready to go back on. Making a start on the drivers door tomorrow. I took a couple of pics that might be a bit clearer, but were taken from my phone. Just removed http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5520/partsug7.jpg Fresh lube http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/8...lylubedyw6.jpg (http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/8800/freshlylubedyw6.jpg)

Excellent posting, now I know how to occupy my kids before they go back to school Saves me doing a dc to dc convertor and just dumping 18 to 20v into the motors... *grin* Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Awesome thread mate! I know what I'll be doing next weekend but I have 2 sets to do Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

First of all thanks heaps for the artical Just a question. How do i get the motor out? i cant pull my head around it and it doesnt seem to have any sort of "split pin" in their i try to pull it out and it wont budge... AND is their a way to get the gear out as you can see mine is sorta rooted? Cheers - Chris Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Zansta (Chris): The gear i'm pretty sure is non-removable, I didnt try. Just hit it with heaps of degreaser or maybe some deblock oil and turn it for aages until it loosens up then oil it again and it'll be fine. As for getting the motor shaft out, sorry i didn't address that one in the original post i'll edit and put it up there now. If the shaft is stuck in the motor: keep turning it and squirting oil and degreaser down into it until it loosens up and hopefully you can pull it out. If all else fails you can grab the shaft with some clamping plyers then gently hit the case off, but if you do it is VERY important that: 1. Clamp the shaft in between the split ring and the gear thread. (DO NOT clamp it on the end where the front bush goes or you'll never get it back on.) 2. Don't hit the casing too hard when hammering it off (I recommend a rubber mallet or a bit of wood). These motors have permenant magnets in them and if you break one, goodbye motor. Also: If the shaft was stuck it is because of rust on the bottom of the shaft in the rear bush. IF one of your motors was like this then you need to pay extra attention to cleaning out the bottom bush and sand that end of the shaft a little, Just enough that it spins freely again. I hope this helps mate, let me know how u go. AJ

Ok guys, some advice if yours look's like this on the inside and you want it to look like this Battery acid works a treat, doesn't corrode anything either just spray the outside of the casing with some paint and ya set. Hope it help some people Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

^^^ wow, that's what i meant by rust on the rear of the shaft! LOL even after 20 years it's rare to find one that bad. just shows how much difference you can make by doing this to your motors... that will still run like new when it's lubed up and back together, but any workshop would have thrown it out and charged you your left nut for a non-genuine new one Good pics man, let me know how fast it is when it's back in. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I got finished one today go like the powers of piss. One thing people when putting them (the motors back on the regulators) back together if you have applied voltage with the motor off the regulator, be sure the cog on the motor lines up with the gearing on the regulator correctly, as mine didn't and after about an hour thinking it was an electrical problem it was just the motor not wanting to break a sweat lol.. I'll post up a short video later kids of my achievement today Some original photos have not been recovered yet.