Lubricating TR Window Motors

I finally decided to tackle my incredibly slow window problem today. I removed the passenger side window motor using the procedure in the workshop manual - fairly straightforward, although I'm not looking forward to restringing the cable around that stupid Rube Goldberg pulley mechanism.

At any rate, I disassembled the geared portion of the motor, and as people have suggested, the OEM grease had turned to a sticky goo that reminded me in consistency of leftover epoxy that had cured. There were certainly no lubricating properties left, and in fact I'm amazed the mechanism moved at all. I had to cut a lot of the 'grease' out with a razor blade and now the parts are soaking in GooGone before I take the Dremel and wire wheel to them to clean them the rest of the way.

My question is, once the mechanisms are cleaned up and I'm ready to reassemble, what grease do you guys recommend for lubricating the mechanism? Clearly anything is better than what came out, but is there anything particularly well suited to the job?

 

Thanks, Tom. I admit to being new to this - where is a good place to get the products you recommend? Will they be at any AutoZone/PepBoys or do I need to go somewhere more advanced?

 

I haven't taken any pics yet, but I will on the reassembly and the driver's door. I'll also post the drawing from the workshop manual that shows the cable routing. The workshop manual's description of the procedure is only about 7-8 lines. I searched the archives yesterday and there was nothing useful on the windows, so maybe it's time.

There is no special tool to remove these door panels - it's not like an American or Japanese car that uses those crappy plastic push-in fasteners. All you need to pull the TR door panel is a phillips screwdriver and a 10mm socket. I'm not sure where you can get a paper workshop manual anymore, but electronic copies (.pdf) are available on eBay all the time. Those are actually a little nicer because you can print out just what you need and not worry about getting grease and stuff all over it.

I guess I'd better subscribe so I can post pictures...

 

I'm going to do this over a couple of posts to make things easier. First, get the materials you will need:

Phillips Screwdriver
1/4" Ratchet Handle
8mm & 10mm sockets
ratchet extensions
electrical tape
Goo Gone or similar solvent
Dremel tool with wire brush wheel
Toothbrush
Grease - moly or lithium
Rags
Sharpie pen
Spray Silicone Lubricant
small piece of VERY stiff styrofoam
Razor Blades
Piece of 2x4" wood, about 14" long

This procedure took me about three hours per window, but the results were worth it. My passenger side window went from taking 11+ seconds on average to go up to about 4 seconds on average. My driver's side window went from about 7 seconds average to about 3.5 to go up (times taken with engine on). They still sound like an asthmatic emphysemic, but they work a lot better.

 

Remove 7 phillips head screws around outer edge (see red arrows)

Remove 1 phillips head screw from door pull (see red arrow)

Pull out door pocket (pressure fit – be gentle so you don’t scratch the leather)

Remove two 10mm bolts from door pocket hole (see yellow arrows)

In door pocket hole, release green plastic clip which holds door release cable to door (see green arrow).

Lift door panel up gently to unhook it from door at top ridge. Pull door panel SLIGHTLY away from door so you can see where the lock rod attaches to door at top. Release green plastic clip which holds lock rod to door (see green arrows).

Pull door panel gently away from door to expose wire going to ashtray light. Pull wire gently from rear to pop it out of amber light housing (it’s just a pressure fit). You may also need to pull the mirror wiring out of the door panel. On one of my doors it was stuffed in there (but not connected to the panel in any way), on the other door it was inside the door itself.

Gently peel off plastic liner and set aside for reuse.
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Lower window using switch.

Loosen allen bolts in each lower corner of window enough to pop the wire out of the clamps. Slightly retighten to keep all the pieces together.

Carefully slide the window up in its tracks by hand and place the 2x4 under it to support it out of your way. If you cut a channel in the end of the 2x4 it will be safer since the glass can’t slide off one side if you bump the wood while working.

On the large gold pulley support at the bottom of the door, locate the three 10mm bolts that hold it to the door (see yellow arrows). Using the Sharpie pen, mark the bracket around the edges of each washer to note alignment. Then loosen the 3 10mm nuts. This should allow enough slack to pop the cable off of a pulley.

Unthread the cable from each pulley and draw down to the bottom of the door.

Release the motor wiring by removing the 8mm bolt holding the cable clamp to the door. Remove wire clamp. Release the motor wiring by unclipping the two white plastic locks. Mark one pair using the Sharpie, electrical tape or cable markers since both motor wires are gray. Unplug the two motor wires.

Unbolt the motor from the door by removing three 8mm nuts and washers in the forward middle (see pink arrows). One one door these nuts were obvious. On my other door they were buried in gooey weatherproofing and had to be dug out. Push motor screws back into door and remove motor. Be careful not to snag wiring as you go. Gently pull cable out to completely free motor assembly.
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You don’t actually do anything with the motor itself, which is sealed (the gold SPAL part). You re-work the gear assembly. First note which opening in the gear assembly the cable is coming out of – you will need to remember this when you rebuild the gear assembly.

Remove the three silver Phillips head screws from the gear casing. Remove the casing lid. Remove the upper wave washer.

Gently pull silver gear out of motor by pulling straight down from the motor. Don’t lose the little brass guides which will slide off each end.

Pull big plastic gear off casing & pull metal separator plate off casing. Be amazed that your window worked at all with that green crud everywhere. There will be another wave washer underneath.

Using a razor blade, scrape as much of the green crud off of everywhere you can without damaging the plastic. Then soak all pieces in Goo Gone for a while. Clean and repeat as necessary.

For removing the crud from the metal and plastic gears, use the Dremel tool with wire wheel and the toothbrush. When using the Dremel, be gentle with the pressure so you don’t damage the big plastic gear. Soak with Goo Gone and repeat as necessary.

Soak a rag in Goo Gone and clean the cable.

Dry all parts thoroughly so solvent will not attack new grease.

Thread the cable back through the metal separator plate. Carefully wind the cable from one side towards the middle, going into the grooves in the plastic. You can see which way each end wants to wind. Go about halfway and stop, holding the cable taught so it doesn’t unwind. Then start winding the other end towards the middle. Again – you can see which way it wants to turn. When you get to the middle, make sure you stop when the two cables are parallel. DO NOT OVERLAP THEM – they must not bind each other when the gear turns. This part is the trickiest and you may need to wind or unwind a couple of times to get it right.

Maintaining constant pressure on the cable to keep it from unwinding, place the big plastic gear back on the motor casing and snap the metal separator plate over the pegs in the casing. Be sure that the cable is sticking out of the same opening in the casing that you noted before disassembly.

Cut out a piece of the stiff Styrofoam about ½” high and 3.5” wide. Cram it into the opening where the cable is coming out, essentially pinching the cables up against the plastic pegs of the casing. This has to be as tight as possible or the cable will unwind when you reinstall the motor and you’ll have to do it again.

Place the brass guides back on the vertical gear and slide the vertical gear back up into the motor. The flat sides of the brass guides should be against the separator plate. Place one of the wave washers on top of the gear axle. Leave the other out as it promotes drag.

Using a finger, liberally grease the gears and the axles. Then put the upper gear casing back on and reinstall the three screws. I used moly grease on one door and lithium grease on the other. I think the consistency of the lithium grease is better, but I don’t know if one has other benefits or drawbacks.
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Using the spray lubricant, thoroughly lube all the pulleys and the window track. Make sure all the pulleys spin freely.

Gently put the motor back into the door, taking care not to disturb your Styrofoam. Reinstall the washers & 8mm nuts. Plug in the motor wires taking care to match the pair that you marked previously (or your up/down on the switch will be reversed). Temporarily wrap them in electrical tape until we can test the setup.

Restring the cable around the various pulleys according to the shop manual drawing I included below. Be careful to observe where the cable passes in front of or behind itself in various places. The easiest thing to do is get the cables over all the pulleys first, and then see what you have to twist or reverse to make the crossovers correct. The drawing is for the left door – obviously the right would be a mirror image. There is one error in the drawing to watch for – they show the motor canted counter-clockwise about 15-20 degrees more than it actually is. As a result, they also show the cable exiting the assembly with one above the leftmost mounting screw stud and one below it. In reality, the motor is canted such that both cables exit between a pair of studs.

When the cable is correctly strung, align the big gold pulley rack at the bottom so that the 10mm washers match the lines you drew with the Sharpie. Then retighten all three washers. At this point your window cable should be pretty taught. If it’s not, something is either mis-strung or you didn’t wind the cable on the gear properly.

Remove the piece of Styrofoam from the gear assembly. It’s ok if you break it up getting it out – it’s done its job.

Remove the 2x4 and gently lower the window until it rests on the pulley rack stops. Put the key in the ignition and try the window button. The motor should wind smoothly in each direction, stopping by itself at the upper and lower limits. It is normal for the middle two pulleys on the rack to shift on up-down transitions.

If all is moving as it should, then hold the switch in the down position until it reaches the stops. Turn the key off. Loosen the allen-head cable clamps at the lower corners of the window and reinsert the cable into the clamps. Retighten the clamps, but don’t overtighten or you can break the glass.

Start the car and test the window again. The reason for starting the car is that you may have drawn down the battery voltage with the courtesy lights and you need to have good voltage for the system to move the glass. The window should move as normal and should be a good deal faster than it was.

Leave the window in the up position and turn off the key. Remove the electrical tape from your window motor connections and reinstall the white plastic locks. Put the cable clamp back around all the wiring and re-attach it to the door stud using the 8mm nut you took off earlier.
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Follow the Reverse of Step 2 above.

For your convenience, I have created the whole of the above with the pictures in the right places as a .pdf file (thanks to FarmerDave for that idea). It should also be more printer friendly. I apologize for the multiple sections but the site won't take one big .pdf.
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