Installing 328 window regulators in a 308

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login So, this last week I had to install a new window regulator motor in one of the rear doors of our ”dog hauler” Suburban. Super easy and complete total setup for under $100. Got me thinking about my 308 window regulators as that was going to be the next project I tackled. Which led me to the archived threads and saw that the question about using a 328 window regulator setup in our 308 has been asked a few times before with no real consensus other than someone mentioning the doors were designed quite differently from one another. Took some pictures off the Marlanello website of door diagrams and have to say, don’t think this would be a big deal at all to retrofit other than the price of 328 regulators or probably the same price as a complete door anymore. Just food for thought.

 

Lol Oh, Im not sure anything will come of it. Just got me thinking. You make a very good point to consider however, would be just the luck to have something break and not be able to find the replacement part once you put everything into motion. Probably burn in hell for mentioning this but I couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to graft the Chevy window mechanism into the 308 with little effort. Not saying I’m going to do this but some solutions start from very strange places.

 

Judging from the diagram above, they look identical.

 

This is where I found the Suburban glass mounting system to be really helpful. They just have two clips with rubber inserts that pinch against the door glass in the same locations that you tighten up with a 10 mm nut and just mount to a rail. You use the same window channel for travel and basically a generic set up similar to the 328. Would be very easy just to find two of the clips incorporated into the 328 assembly if in fact the mounting holes in the 308/328 glass were different

 

Just to be clear I’m not suggesting that this Chevy window regulator will bolt up. just that it serves as a whole lot of ideas and motivation. I would be very much up for looking into this and Prototyping a window unit. Would be fun! As many of you already know, my 308 made the trip to Idaho a couple weeks ago to verify/correct a couple issues that I came across with regard to Cam positioning that I didn’t feel comfortable correcting myself so unsure when I will get it back. Told Mark that I didn’t care if he had it until spring. I’m not really thrilled about towing it back over the mountain passes in the winter.

 

Thought it worth mentioning that all comments or anyone willing to help solve this issue is welcome to participate. Lots of members here with fabrication skills. Think of it as the 308‘s community equivalent of a Covid vaccine. LOL “ these slow windows are killing me.“

So I ordered up one of these regulators last night. Complete unit for $50 us. These were made to fit 2007 - 2013 Chevy Tahoe, Escalade, suburban rear doors and from first view seems to be a good starting point for a DIY retrofit. Also included a YouTube link to how these actually mount to glass and inside door structure. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

These units would require drilling six new 3/8”mounting holes in the interior door structure. That seems to be as evasive as it gets, except for removing the current 308 window cable and roller system. Would not have to mess with the window channels at all. We would have to address up/down window travel stop points but that would be very easy. Probably need to address how far inward off the interior door structure this new unit sets which seems simple also. last item would be sourcing a new plug end to supply power to the motor. One of us could supply a paper template of where to drill the holes and that would be about it. All of this completely reversible should you want to go back to stock configuration. These units also have a very close resemblance to the ones used in a 328 and a fraction of the cost.

 

The regulator I ordered has a mild arc to the travel guide portion of it. It’s exactly the same set up I replaced in one of our suburbans last week. Didn’t seem that it would be that hard to increase the arc if need be using a homemade jig of some sort. If it does turn out to be and issue, there are two other regulators with considerable more arc available. That said, I’m not sure how much this plays in to the arc of window travel as the window is going to follow the curvature of the front window channel, Also the current cable pulley system contributes no arc whatsoever.Don’t think the length of the regulator is a big issue as I can just drill a hole and place a bolt/ rubber block in the travel assembly at the point where I want the travel to stop. Judging from the unit I replaced in the suburban, everything dimensionally looks really close to what I need. Years ago I started a company that built off-road vehicle accessories which we sold all over the United States and Australia. Really miss the design and prototyping phase of it. This little project should be fun and looking forward to it, just wish my car was in the garage so I could get started.

 

Thanks Tommy. I’ve done enough metal I’m confident I can incorporate the correct arc into the travel mechanism. Will keep you posted

 

Thanks for the heads up Brian! The regulator I ordered should be showing up in the next few days. I could go pull a measurement off the regulator in the rear door of the suburban but I don’t feel like pulling the door panel off again. Unsure what the measurement was but they weren’t very large at all. Will also call T Rutlands Monday and ask if they can pull a measurement on one of the 328 regulators. I did look up a picture of a 328 regulator on eBay Motors this morning and noticed they have very little arc to them. I thought briefly about just installing two of them in my car but they look pretty flimsy to me. (no offense meant to any 328 owners out there)

 

The Miata window regulator was one of the first I thought of but I don’t like the way the door glass secures to the travel guide. Requires mounting holes in the door glass it seems? Chevys method of pinching the glass between two rubber mounting points is much more user friendly.

 

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good to know, thanks! That’s Basically how Chevy secures their door glass to the regulator less the rubber insert and 10 mm nut/ bolt