I think that is the problem with my '89 Cougar's power window, driver side. As always, I try to see on UA-cam any repair tips before tackling any job. So glad I found this. Excellent hack. Thanks.
I just wanted to leave a quick note to say thank you. This video saved me close to $200 in parts for my Ford f150 windows. With the information in your video, I was able to repair my original window motors, instead of having to replace both the motors and the regulator (since I could not buy just the motor in my area). Thank you! 😊
There is a lot of speculation about how and what this mechanism is for and how it goes about doing it's job. After a detailed examination of the mechanical window operator from a 1994 Ford Explorer the following is my opinion of the design intentions of the maker. The electronics associated with the window operation system is basically a current threshold sensor. When the current supplied to the motor exceeds a predetermined design level, the electronic controller turns off the power to the motor. The panel switch resets the sensor when the window is requested to move and the process starts over. The three barrel shaped parts, that many in these comments are replacing with nut or whatever, I still believer to have been produces from a carefully calibrated formulation of urethane. The comment in the video concerning the destruction of the "balls" at the 4:14>> point in the video is totally incorrect. The metal gear with three cam shaped bumps on the underside is seated in recesses in the nylon gear and limited in it's rotation with respect to the nylon gear. With the "balls" (I shall call the barrels hence forth) out of the mechanism the nylon gear cannot fully rotate without carrying the metal gear with it once the space allowed in the design has been traverse. Therefore it does not offer any resistance overload protection. That would be a poor design in any event by depending on a component that ages and the properties over time are, to some extent, unpredictable. However, the design is cleaver and in spite of the of the barrel material properties instabilities, a fail-safe system has been created. The barrels are a deceleration cushion and timing system. When the motor is moving the window the design of the current sensor permits the motor a specified range of current for that function. If the window tracks get dirty and stiff the current required to move the window MAY exceed the threshold of the sensor and shut down the motor at any point. The current sensor is part of the safety device. The elastomer barrels in the gear assembly provide a stop cushion at the end of travel and give a short period of time for the electronics to respond before the cams run out of room. When the window hits the end of travel, the nylon gear keeps turning and squeezing the barrel shaped elastomer parts which puts extra demand on the motor to the point of tripping the electronic current sensor before the cams on the underside of the metal gear come to the end of the available travel built into the nylon gear recess in which the metal gear resides. In order to simplify the problem of what value to set the current sensor at and eliminate a number of variables that the current sensor has to deal with, a large balance spring is in place to adjust the current, under normal conditions, for window going up to be the same as the current for window going down. Replacing the elastomer barrels shaped cushions with anything that does not compress at the correct rate totally defeats the design purpose of the system and will damage the system and may compromise the safety of the system, for at this point, unforeseen reasons.
Just went out to fix mine, and somebody evidently had seen your video before. There were nuts inside of it but they were too small so they just were shoved to the side and didn't work. I replaced them and now it works beautifully. Hahaha
The protection of the plastic ball pieces is so you dont break the glass if the stopper switch malfunctions and the window continues to go up, they should strip out before the window glass breaks
I've been fixing those safety plugs for years on my 1973 LTD and my 1990 Crown Vic. I've been making my own using a 7/16ths in plug cutter, (for wood) cutting plugs from a sheet of 1/2in thick Poly type of plastic I got from Mac's hardware. Those plugs just break up over time, even in the windows that aren't used much. On my 1990 there is a small c-clip that you must take off to get the metal gear off the shaft, great video. Anyone feel free to ask me any questions, I'll be glad to share anything I know.
Great job man. I fixed one with my father before I saw this video. We cut down a bolt and used it in the same fashion that you did with the nuts. But the nuts look much easier because he don’t have to cut anything.
I Was Trying To Find A Video On A 2007 Jeep Liberty Drivers Door Window Motor Video And Came Across Your Video. I Never Did Find A Video Like This For My Sons Jeep Liberty. I Saw That I Had Commented On This Video 9 Years Ago, WOW! Time Sure Flies By.
Thanks for posting this. I replaced both gears in the back windows of my '89 Town Car. I had bought all new parts for $15.99, made it easy to just pull everything out of the motor, clean it out and replace.
Oh and I just purchased 2 brand new window motors for my 91 F150. 100.65 cents at O Riley's It has over 420,000 miles It deserves new motors. I just rebuilt the e4od transmission. That's what made think of the check balls. But you got it fixed so good job.
thank you for this video, it saved me 70 bucks, doorman sells a wheel and the 3 little plastic cylinders for like 12 bucks now, but that old grease is what caused the problem since plastic is a petroleum product it broke down and probably is what caused the slow hard friction on the window motor.
overall this video was quite helpful. i do have one question. why did you take the time and effort to clean up the plastic gears inside the motor assembly and left the metal drive cog which actuates the window lift mechanism, clogged up with detritus ? it would seem that the metal cog would not mesh well with the window lift mechanism and would be yet another failure mode you would have to deal with on down the road.
Thanks, this will work for my 1991 ford 250. Like the last part too, showing were to drill to get to the motor bolts. This only the second video that did not require drilling out the rivets and taking out the entire assembly. Much easier. Thanks again!!!
Ford has been using this same window lift mechanism for at leat 25 years, and this fix works great--and cheap. Instead of metal nuts I use a peice of nylon dowel of the appropriate size, then I cut three pieces to length (1/2" or so) with a hacksaw and put them in with grease and they work as good as new.
thanks for the video jennie. the drum shaped nylon inserts are available on amazon for about $9. i ordered them today and will report back on the install and operation. since these suckers are in a 1997 lincoln it makes sense that they would be at the end of their service life. this is my new first response to failed window actuators. i had a similar condition on my washer machine...the little nylon pawls that cause the agitator to go one way only were toast and i replaced them for about $5. good old youtube! BTW, i ordered an extra set
What wonderful , great info! Helped us fix 1990 F350 driver's side window! We used 5/16 cable stops (from Ace Hardware) in ours and is working perfectly! The 7/16 lock nuts were too big for ours. $2.50 Fix! Thank you for taking the time and spreading your knowledge THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU And what a great car-first Class!
Nice video, let me say the following. The original plastic nut failure is designed to protect the plastic gear, thats why it fails in a reasonable period of time. If you install iron nuts, for sure, in the near future the plastic gear will be broken or the glass could be stucked in a closed or open position. I am suggesting to elaborate this 3 plastic nuts using a piece of nylamide. Better results.
I have an 88 Crown Vic and the one side doesn't do anything, but the other side makes the winding noise and is stuck up. I know the one side has power going to it because at night I noticed the headlights dim very slightly when I try to use it.
Thought you'd like to know that I took apart my broken window motor (89 Bronco II). Not sure if this was stock or if a previous owner had done this, but the ball bearings were metal and it was the large plastic ring that cracked and caused the malfunction.
Hey man your video helped me out a lot I love it! I watched your whole video on how to fix the window motors and what you did on yours I did to my window motors too and it actually works great 👍😎
a piece of dowel rod with fuel line around it works the best, cut it to i think 3/8". it's been awhile! (sorry) a little better than using metal bolts that can eat the plastic, as the rubber on the fuel line has some give!
Not ever having disassembled a new window drive, I can't say with 100% certainty how, and of what materials makes up it's construction, however, being a machinist and over 45 years I have designed and built a lot of machinery for industry, I can comment with some degree of authority on the design of this device. Safety first. It is, in my experience, it in not common to design a self destruct safety device unless there is absolutely no other way to go. Self destruct designs are usually reserved for s large system where life or death situation would be set up in the event of a device failure. Such as an elevator cable breakage where there is no concern whatsoever about saving any portion of the system vs compromising the effectiveness of the safety action taken during the event. After examining the shapes of the components and realizing what the demands of the application are, and applying my several decades of experience, I am offering the following statement After examining the shapes of the components and realizing what the demands of the application are, and applying my several decades of experience, I can make the following statements based on my observation of your presentation. Yes, a child's neck in a closing window could definitely be a life or death situation. However, determining the forces involved and calculating the breakage point of a particular plastic in the configuration that is demonstrated in this design would pose many obstacles to jump over during the development of the device. One would need to establish a relatively precise stress point and select a material that will fracture at exactly the right time and under specific conditions. This type of material would have to resemble glass which would not be suitable for the rigors of the application. This would very difficult to get it to work and not be reliable. I think the design needs more latitude. I suggest that the designers took another route. If the thing that goes in the space is hard, what is the point of all the details in the design?? There are simpler ways to make a breakaway self destructing drive. An elastomer (compressible material like rubber) has a broader window of tolerance to stress. The material can be tailored to exhibit specific compression rate properties similar the the compression rate of a coil spring like the ones on your engine valves, but in three dimensions instead of lineally. Speculating from the shape of the cams on the underside of the output gear I would suggest that the components that fill the gap between the cams and the triangular body in the driven gear are barrel shaped to distribute the driving force over a larger area than would be the case with spheres (or nuts) and are possibly fabricated of a carefully formulated urethane that can allow the cam to compress the urethane barrel at the needed torque value and slide on past to the next cavity continuously until the motor is stopped by whatever means that may occur. The lubrication allows the cam to slip over the surface of the elastomer without abrading the material. I would think that the lubrication would probably be silicone based for stability and longevity. By adjusting the shape of the barrel and the shore (stiffness of the material) of the elastomer it would be relatively simple to tune the system to required performance and be repeatable over thousands of units plus be inexpensive to produce. So where is the fault causing the material to breakdown? Possibly the lubrication was not thoroughly evaluated for compatibility with the specific formulation of the elastomer. I can't really think of any other explanation for the consistent failure of the system given the way in which it fails. The crumbly remains shown in your program suggests that the material is, or was, urethane because when urethane breaks down that is exactly the way it happens. Crumbs. This may be just smoke, but that is what my experience tells me.
The edges of those nuts are going to wear the big plastic gear out. Bad choice to use nuts instead of something with smooth sides. Just saying for future viewers.
Just performed this repair...the nylon cylinders were available at O'Reilly's auto parts in a plastic clamshell hanging in with the emergency repair parts. They were $8.99 for 3 and needed to be modified by sanding one side of each cylinder flat until they fit.
For 7 dollars you need 3 nylon bushings for all 4 Mustang windows.Nuts will bind up and mess up the motor.Doorman window sells this and is a 15 minute fix per window.
@@RobertoSantiagoRodriguez could this have happened with my motor? I put nuts in place of those plastic pieces that were crushed, about a week ago. I tried to roll my window up, after rolling it down last night, no go. I took it out, tried re plugging it about 2 times, started backup.. Could those nuts be shorting out something, even tho it's surrounded by plastic? Or is it just something in the motor. The motor is about 7 years old, but shouldn't they last longer than that? Thanks in advance.
@@dee1380 Hey sorry to hear that, Dee! Ford put the 3 plastic pieces to protect the motor or a person. If something gets caught in the way of the window going up or down, like a child's head or hand, the plastic things break and the motor stops. With metal nuts motor would keep running perhaps crushing whatever is in its way. Not sure if your motor was original or replaced with an AutoZone part but the steel nuts alone wouldn't cause motor failure.
Not plastic hard type rubber rollers that way it has a little give before window shatters or plastic gears strip from to much stress when window makes contact with top window seal
The rubber drive bumpers are urethane and crumble over time. Originally when they were still flexible rubber, they compress under excess pressure and allow the drive to slip. Buy replacement bumpers...your fix will snap the teeth off the nylon gear on the first use when the window hits full up or full down.
Hi, thanks for the vid, I get the idea that most cars, especially Ford models uses this type of set ups. I just wanna make sure before I attempt, I know what I'm dealing with. My car is Ford Focus Ghia 1999. When I press the button, I hear the rolling sound, but the window doesn't move, is my problem similar to yours? thanks
I don't think it does, the motor just keeps pushing as long as your finger is on the button but it doesn't have enough torque to easily strip out the pieces.
i have the same problem but i took off the metal cover as there was a lot of broken pieces inside it now after getting the brushes and springs in place , i put the cover back on and it won;t go on where i can screw on the four screws , the magnet is strong . iv'e tried so many times but can't do it . can anyone help me here . I hate to have to buy a new motor
Guys, don't use this method. I just opened my motor and someone had put nuts inside. The white plastic gear is now cracked. Dorman makes the replacement plastic plugs. These plugs are a safety feature - they break if something (like someone's head or arm) gets caught in the window.
Nice I did this to my 89 F250, but I dug thru my box of extra stuff and found some plastic sleeves (from and old TV repair guy that used to won my house b4 me...
Dude OMG your a total life saver, you described the exact thing that my window in my 85 t-bird is encountering, do you think that my power windows motor is the same as in your car?
@@MattHammock yeah i just did the fix over this last weekend and it was the exact same problem, the only hard part on my T-Bird was getting the motors bolted back in
These "balls" "cylinders" or whatever you want to call them or replace them with, are essentially the same as the little cogs sometimes refered to as "dogs" that are in some washing machine agitators and work basically the same way. They too will wear away
Since I entered my original comment I have had the opportunity to examine one of these units up close in person and while some of my earlier remarks I believe to be valid, some are definitely in need of correction based on the new found knowledge from the close examination of the system. I will enter a new comment soon with additional insight. The new information is: That while the total window mechanism AND the associated electronics act in combination as a safety device, the mechanical unit in and of itself is not a safety device at all in any way. Its purpose is no to protect the glass or a body part in the opening. It is a very cleaver device. I will explain soon. Thanks.
3 nuts works fine. Been doing this for years no problems at all. Some of this is over kill. Some take 7/16 some take 10 mm. Either way find the ones that fit then, that problem is solved for good.
You could have took a 716 bolt cut it into three times dropped it off in there and it it will work also work good because it would have been around and made it real good
Wow Mr science must be high. How about the plastic check balls from a transmission rebuilt kit. I haven't smacked one with a hammer or tried to crush one in a bench vise. Seems like they might work.
Gotta admit, man,you look like a real creeper posed in the back seat in the beginning of this video. But thank you. I going to see if this is what's wrong with my vehicle now. I had no idea what was going on with my window,but you've given me a place to start. Thanks again.
Cut off cylinders of 7/16 high temp hot glue stick 7/16 inch long works perfectly and costs even less than the nuts. Way too much grease! And in the wrong place, the spots with the three interference driver plugs do not need to be greased. Put lube only on gears and axle.
There sooo many ppl doing this and oh my god no one as common sense the plastic spaces are meant for safety so if someone puts their hand in the windshield it will break those and not the person's hand so when you try to roll up your window and someone sticks their hand in the window it will either break the person's hand or break the complete gear setup in the motor and u will definitely have to replace the motor
I had to do this to my 95 Thunderbird and as I see this guy do this I did it and why don't you do it right the parts are only $13.00 and both doors only take 45 mins each to do and do it right.
+Luis Gonzalez I tried at O'Reilleys-they didn't know what I was talking about...as if the plastic bearing replacements were something they never heard of. Went to the self-help replacement parts aisle and there they were called " Window Guide Assortment Part # 744110, on the back of package are called "Window Regulator Gear Plugs" can look it up under www.DormanProducts.com.- for those that need to. They were too big-so we used 5/16 cable stops from Ace instead.
lol I've always fixed this problem with nuts. i once had a guy pay me 40 for doing that. took about 20 minutes, taking my time, and about $0.25 in hardware. i only took what he offered.
Oh you are so evil lol, well done :-)) First class bypass ha ha . i suppose if you wanted some safeguard a low value resistor could be placed in the motor feed wire and a relay coil across that resistor, the relay contacts could be wired to the door switch. Daft thoughts lol.
I replaced those plastic things several times on the 80's panthers i've had. they just kinda collapse over time and get ground up inside that little housing.
Considering how cheap the replacement bits are, i just bought a couple sets online and kept them in my car's toolbox for whenever another one shit out on me
Your idea of using steel nuts to replace the original plastic cogs sounds good, but it's very dangerous. Ford used plastic parts for a reason. They are designed to sacrifice themselves if a body part (human or dog for that matter!) gets in the way of a closing window. This way a hand, paw or head doesn't get hurt (too much). Problem is the three original Ford plastic cog parts deteriorate over time. Go to your local auto parts store and find the Help! parts section. They have a pack of new plastic cog bushings which retain the safety Ford built into the system, and they fit properly unlike your nuts.
I think that is the problem with my '89 Cougar's power window, driver side. As always, I try to see on UA-cam any repair tips before tackling any job. So glad I found this. Excellent hack. Thanks.
I just wanted to leave a quick note to say thank you. This video saved me close to $200 in parts for my Ford f150 windows.
With the information in your video, I was able to repair my original window motors, instead of having to replace both the motors and the regulator (since I could not buy just the motor in my area).
Thank you! 😊
Excellent, Jennies Garage.
From your idea, I 3D printed some spacers like the nut.
Thanks, 100%!
There is a lot of speculation about how and what this mechanism is for and how it goes about doing it's job.
After a detailed examination of the mechanical window operator from a 1994 Ford Explorer the following is my opinion of the design intentions of the maker.
The electronics associated with the window operation system is basically a current threshold sensor.
When the current supplied to the motor exceeds a predetermined design level, the electronic controller turns off the power to the motor. The panel switch resets the sensor when the window is requested to move and the process starts over.
The three barrel shaped parts, that many in these comments are replacing with nut or whatever, I still believer to have been produces from a carefully calibrated formulation of urethane.
The comment in the video concerning the destruction of the "balls" at the 4:14>> point in the video is totally incorrect. The metal gear with three cam shaped bumps on the underside is seated in recesses in the nylon gear and limited in it's rotation with respect to the nylon gear.
With the "balls" (I shall call the barrels hence forth) out of the mechanism the nylon gear cannot fully rotate without carrying the metal gear with it once the space allowed in the design has been traverse. Therefore it does not offer any resistance overload protection. That would be a poor design in any event by depending on a component that ages and the properties over time are, to some extent, unpredictable.
However, the design is cleaver and in spite of the of the barrel material properties instabilities, a fail-safe system has been created.
The barrels are a deceleration cushion and timing system.
When the motor is moving the window the design of the current sensor permits the motor a specified range of current for that function. If the window tracks get dirty and stiff the current required to move the window MAY exceed the threshold of the sensor and shut down the motor at any point. The current sensor is part of the safety device.
The elastomer barrels in the gear assembly provide a stop cushion at the end of travel and give a short period of time for the electronics to respond before the cams run out of room. When the window hits the end of travel, the nylon gear keeps turning and squeezing the barrel shaped elastomer parts which puts extra demand on the motor to the point of tripping the electronic current sensor before the cams on the underside of the metal gear come to the end of the available travel built into the nylon gear recess in which the metal gear resides.
In order to simplify the problem of what value to set the current sensor at and eliminate a number of variables that the current sensor has to deal with, a large balance spring is in place to adjust the current, under normal conditions, for window going up to be the same as the current for window going down.
Replacing the elastomer barrels shaped cushions with anything that does not compress at the correct rate totally defeats the design purpose of the system and will damage the system and may compromise the safety of the system, for at this point, unforeseen reasons.
Used to cut 45 ACP cases cut to length.
Just went out to fix mine, and somebody evidently had seen your video before. There were nuts inside of it but they were too small so they just were shoved to the side and didn't work. I replaced them and now it works beautifully. Hahaha
The protection of the plastic ball pieces is so you dont break the glass if the stopper switch malfunctions and the window continues to go up, they should strip out before the window glass breaks
I think the worm gear will strip out the other plastic/nylon gear before the glass breaks
I've been fixing those safety plugs for years on my 1973 LTD and my 1990 Crown Vic. I've been making my own using a 7/16ths in plug cutter, (for wood) cutting plugs from a sheet of 1/2in thick Poly type of plastic I got from Mac's hardware. Those plugs just break up over time, even in the windows that aren't used much. On my 1990 there is a small c-clip that you must take off to get the metal gear off the shaft, great video. Anyone feel free to ask me any questions, I'll be glad to share anything I know.
Great job man. I fixed one with my father before I saw this video. We cut down a bolt and used it in the same fashion that you did with the nuts. But the nuts look much easier because he don’t have to cut anything.
I Was Trying To Find A Video On A 2007 Jeep Liberty Drivers Door Window Motor Video And Came Across Your Video. I Never Did Find A Video Like This For My Sons Jeep Liberty. I Saw That I Had Commented On This Video 9 Years Ago, WOW! Time Sure Flies By.
Yes it does. It was a younger me who made this video!
I only have one question? Of which am quite puzzled? Why did he only use a small amount of lubricant I mean I'm puzzled? Why was he holding back..
Lol he was liberal with it eh
That wasn't motor oil? Lol
should have put some of that lube on the center shaft, nylon gears do not need so much. Good video though overall.
Thanks for posting this. I replaced both gears in the back windows of my '89 Town Car. I had bought all new parts for $15.99, made it easy to just pull everything out of the motor, clean it out and replace.
Oh and I just purchased 2 brand new window motors for my 91 F150. 100.65 cents at O Riley's It has over 420,000 miles It deserves new motors. I just rebuilt the e4od transmission. That's what made think of the check balls. But you got it fixed so good job.
thank you for this video, it saved me 70 bucks, doorman sells a wheel and the 3 little plastic cylinders for like 12 bucks now, but that old grease is what caused the problem since plastic is a petroleum product it broke down and probably is what caused the slow hard friction on the window motor.
this fix was simple and easy. after watching this video it was an hr and I had it all back together and working properly. thank you
86hottness Glad you got the windows working, thanks!
overall this video was quite helpful. i do have one question. why did you take the time and effort to clean up the plastic gears inside the motor assembly and left the metal drive cog which actuates the window lift mechanism, clogged up with detritus ? it would seem that the metal cog would not mesh well with the window lift mechanism and would be yet another failure mode you would have to deal with on down the road.
Thanks, this will work for my 1991 ford 250. Like the last part too, showing were to drill to get to the motor bolts. This only the second video that did not require drilling out the rivets and taking out the entire assembly. Much easier. Thanks again!!!
Ford has been using this same window lift mechanism for at leat 25 years, and this fix works great--and cheap. Instead of metal nuts I use a peice of nylon dowel of the appropriate size, then I cut three pieces to length (1/2" or so) with a hacksaw and put them in with grease and they work as good as new.
jmshaw357
Like this idea better since plastic would fail before the motor overheats in case of a problem. Good thinking, sir.
thanks for the video jennie. the drum shaped nylon inserts are available on amazon for about $9. i ordered them today and will report back on the install and operation. since these suckers are in a 1997 lincoln it makes sense that they would be at the end of their service life. this is my new first response to failed window actuators. i had a similar condition on my washer machine...the little nylon pawls that cause the agitator to go one way only were toast and i replaced them for about $5. good old youtube! BTW, i ordered an extra set
What wonderful , great info! Helped us fix 1990 F350 driver's side window! We used 5/16 cable stops (from Ace Hardware) in ours and is working perfectly! The 7/16 lock nuts were too big for ours. $2.50 Fix! Thank you for taking the time and spreading your knowledge THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU And what a great car-first Class!
+Holly G Great to hear! Thanks for the tip about the cable stops.
I can see people with 3D printers make some replacement parts. My local library has a 3D printer and you can print just for the cost of the plastic.
💯 percent great video, thorough and well spoken. Ty buddy I just fixed my window trouble on my 1992 ford bronco👍🏼💪🏽🙌🏼
Nice video, let me say the following. The original plastic nut failure is designed to protect the plastic gear, thats why it fails in a reasonable period of time. If you install iron nuts, for sure, in the near future the plastic gear will be broken or the glass could be stucked in a closed or open position. I am suggesting to elaborate this 3 plastic nuts using a piece of nylamide. Better results.
+Juan Antonio Ayala Piña Good ideas, I agree that the plastic pieces are the intentional weakest link.
I been meaning to return to this video to give my review. This worked perfectly. Very happy camper. #bringonthesummer
Any idea where the 2 little springs go inside the motor?
been having this issue on my 91 grand Marquis, THANK YOU SO MUCH for being the ONLY person on the internet
I have an 88 Crown Vic and the one side doesn't do anything, but the other side makes the winding noise and is stuck up. I know the one side has power going to it because at night I noticed the headlights dim very slightly when I try to use it.
hey thanks for the fix, window,going strong again, i dont care what some other people on here say, they must be rich or just stupid!
Thought you'd like to know that I took apart my broken window motor (89 Bronco II). Not sure if this was stock or if a previous owner had done this, but the ball bearings were metal and it was the large plastic ring that cracked and caused the malfunction.
excellent video, thank you very much. my windows work again !
Hey man your video helped me out a lot I love it! I watched your whole video on how to fix the window motors and what you did on yours I did to my window motors too and it actually works great 👍😎
a piece of dowel rod with fuel line around it works the best, cut it to i think 3/8". it's been awhile! (sorry) a little better than using metal bolts that can eat the plastic, as the rubber on the fuel line has some give!
Not ever having disassembled a new window drive, I can't say with 100% certainty how, and of what materials makes up it's construction, however, being a machinist and over 45 years I have designed and built a lot of machinery for industry, I can comment with some degree of authority on the design of this device.
Safety first. It is, in my experience, it in not common to design a self destruct safety device unless there is absolutely no other way to go. Self destruct designs are usually reserved
for s large system where life or death situation would be set up in the event of a device failure. Such as an elevator cable breakage where there is no concern whatsoever about saving any portion of the system vs compromising the effectiveness of the safety action taken during the event.
After examining the shapes of the components and realizing what the demands of the application are, and applying my several decades of experience, I am offering the following statement
After examining the shapes of the components and realizing what the demands of the application are, and applying my several decades of experience, I can make the following statements
based on my observation of your presentation.
Yes, a child's neck in a closing window could definitely be a life or death situation. However, determining the forces involved and calculating the breakage point of a particular plastic in the configuration that is demonstrated in this design would pose many obstacles to jump over during the development of the device. One would need to establish a relatively precise stress point
and select a material that will fracture at exactly the right time and under specific conditions. This type of material would have to resemble glass which would not be suitable for the rigors of the application. This would very difficult to get it to work and not be reliable. I think the design needs more latitude.
I suggest that the designers took another route.
If the thing that goes in the space is hard, what is the point of all the details in the design?? There are simpler ways to make a breakaway self destructing drive.
An elastomer (compressible material like rubber) has a broader window of tolerance to stress. The material can be tailored to exhibit specific compression rate properties similar the the compression rate of a coil spring like the ones on your engine valves, but in three dimensions instead of lineally. Speculating from the shape of the cams on the underside of the output gear I would suggest that the components that fill the gap between the cams and the triangular body in the driven gear are barrel shaped to distribute the driving force over a larger area than would be the case with spheres (or nuts) and are possibly fabricated of a carefully formulated urethane that can allow the cam to compress the urethane barrel at the needed torque value and slide on past to the next cavity continuously until the motor is stopped by whatever means that may occur. The lubrication allows the cam to slip over the surface of the elastomer without abrading the material. I would think that the lubrication would probably be silicone based for stability and longevity.
By adjusting the shape of the barrel and the shore (stiffness of the material) of the elastomer it would be relatively simple to tune the system to required performance and be repeatable over thousands of units plus be inexpensive to produce.
So where is the fault causing the material to breakdown? Possibly the lubrication was not thoroughly evaluated for compatibility with the specific formulation of the elastomer.
I can't really think of any other explanation for the consistent failure of the system given the way in which it fails.
The crumbly remains shown in your program suggests that the material is, or was, urethane because when urethane breaks down that is exactly the way it happens. Crumbs.
This may be just smoke, but that is what my experience tells me.
Excellent analysis, I think you're correct.
The window motors in my 89 Town Car in the rear still work but the windows don't go up and down I'm thinking I may have this problem with mine
Great video, i fixed my 92 ford f-150 on both widows, thanks
There is also considerable debris, from the plastic plugs inside around the worm gear and up the shaft.
thanks so much, for the video great video . you saved me the trip to the part store.
glad it worked for you, thanks
The edges of those nuts are going to wear the big plastic gear out. Bad choice to use nuts instead of something with smooth sides. Just saying for future viewers.
Just performed this repair...the nylon cylinders were available at O'Reilly's auto parts in a plastic clamshell hanging in with the emergency repair parts. They were $8.99 for 3 and needed to be modified by sanding one side of each cylinder flat until they fit.
very helpful, I have a 1987 Bronco 2 wich has the same system and it had the same problem.
Great vid man. Thank you.
I’d like to know if maybe my window motor is just dirty
Excelente video. Me ayudo mucho para mi Ford. Saludos desde México.
For 7 dollars you need 3 nylon bushings for all 4 Mustang windows.Nuts will bind up and mess up the motor.Doorman window sells this and is a 15 minute fix per window.
Merrick Gould
Agree, the plastic rollers would fail before the motor burns up. The metal nuts will not and motor will over heat.
@@RobertoSantiagoRodriguez could this have happened with my motor?
I put nuts in place of those plastic pieces that were crushed, about a week ago.
I tried to roll my window up, after rolling it down last night, no go.
I took it out, tried re plugging it about 2 times, started backup..
Could those nuts be shorting out something, even tho it's surrounded by plastic?
Or is it just something in the motor. The motor is about 7 years old, but shouldn't they last longer than that?
Thanks in advance.
@@dee1380 Hey sorry to hear that, Dee! Ford put the 3 plastic pieces to protect the motor or a person. If something gets caught in the way of the window going up or down, like a child's head or hand, the plastic things break and the motor stops. With metal nuts motor would keep running perhaps crushing whatever is in its way. Not sure if your motor was original or replaced with an AutoZone part but the steel nuts alone wouldn't cause motor failure.
@@RobertoSantiagoRodriguez Autozone.. Kinda figured that wasn't an issue.. Thanks for responding..
On location in my Ford....😂😂 That made my day.
Not plastic hard type rubber rollers that way it has a little give before window shatters or plastic gears strip from to much stress when window makes contact with top window seal
The rubber drive bumpers are urethane and crumble over time. Originally when they were still flexible rubber, they compress under excess pressure and allow the drive to slip. Buy replacement bumpers...your fix will snap the teeth off the nylon gear on the first use when the window hits full up or full down.
Yes, that is a flaw in this fix. the replacement plastic parts are a better choice.
Hi, thanks for the vid,
I get the idea that most cars, especially Ford models uses this type of set ups. I just wanna make sure before I attempt, I know what I'm dealing with. My car is Ford Focus Ghia 1999. When I press the button, I hear the rolling sound, but the window doesn't move, is my problem similar to yours? thanks
How does the motor know when to stop turning so as not to strip the plastic clutch that disintegrated to begin with?
I don't think it does, the motor just keeps pushing as long as your finger is on the button but it doesn't have enough torque to easily strip out the pieces.
Why not just use nylon nuts?
Nylon breaks down with heat and time. So the steel nylon locknut type would be good... if not just simple nuts or ball bearings.
By the way , you don’t need that much grease
That was very innovative. Great video
+sailorpluto315 thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it.
Went a lil overboard on the grease lol
What about a marble?
i have the same problem but i took off the metal cover as there was a lot of broken pieces inside it now after getting the brushes and springs in place , i put the cover back on and it won;t go on where i can screw on the four screws , the magnet is strong . iv'e tried so many times but can't do it . can anyone help me here . I hate to have to buy a new motor
My local O'Reilly parts store stocks the plastic replacement discs for like $5. While not free, this is a reasonably priced, more proper fix.
good to know, thanks!
D.R. Rocco what are they called. So the guy at the counter knows what I'm taking about lol.
Guys, don't use this method. I just opened my motor and someone had put nuts inside. The white plastic gear is now cracked. Dorman makes the replacement plastic plugs. These plugs are a safety feature - they break if something (like someone's head or arm) gets caught in the window.
Nice I did this to my 89 F250, but I dug thru my box of extra stuff and found some plastic sleeves (from and old TV repair guy that used to won my house b4 me...
you should check out Ace hardware they carry all kinds of nuts bolts and plastic things
Yeah I like ace, they seem to be a little more knowledgeable than the lowes and home depot types.
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such an awesome video, very very informative, thank you
Dude OMG your a total life saver, you described the exact thing that my window in my 85 t-bird is encountering, do you think that my power windows motor is the same as in your car?
I can tell you I just did my 92 super coupe and it's the same idea.
@@MattHammock yeah i just did the fix over this last weekend and it was the exact same problem, the only hard part on my T-Bird was getting the motors bolted back in
These "balls" "cylinders" or whatever you want to call them or replace them with, are essentially the same as the little cogs sometimes refered to as "dogs" that are in some washing machine agitators and work basically the same way. They too will wear away
Since I entered my original comment I have had the opportunity to examine one of these units up close in person and while some of my earlier remarks I believe to be valid, some are definitely in need of correction based on the new found knowledge from the close examination of the system.
I will enter a new comment soon with additional insight. The new information is: That while the total window mechanism AND the associated electronics act in combination as a safety device, the mechanical unit in and of itself is not a safety device at all in any way. Its purpose is no to protect the glass or a body part in the opening. It is a very cleaver device. I will explain soon. Thanks.
Thinking outside the box .
GREAT VIDEO!!!!!
Thank you for your help
Well I’ll be giving this a try tomorrow
3 nuts works fine. Been doing this for years no problems at all. Some of this is over kill. Some take 7/16 some take 10 mm. Either way find the ones that fit then, that problem is solved for good.
Ball bearings work great
Super! thank you for the lesson.
You could have took a 716 bolt cut it into three times dropped it off in there and it it will work also work good because it would have been around and made it real good
This will bind and can hurt someone. The plastic is so it wont crush someone in the glass. This is on many newer ford products!
CARQUEST sales the pack of plastic buttons. Don't use to much lube or it will turn almost into a paste after a while.
You could have made some cylinder shaped objects by cutting old bolts to the right length. What about filling the cavity with JB Weld?
Wow Mr science must be high. How about the plastic check balls from a transmission rebuilt kit. I haven't smacked one with a hammer or tried to crush one in a bench vise. Seems like they might work.
Very helpful, thanks.
Gotta admit, man,you look like a real creeper posed in the back seat in the beginning of this video. But thank you. I going to see if this is what's wrong with my vehicle now. I had no idea what was going on with my window,but you've given me a place to start. Thanks again.
THAT was funny!
you can cut a heavy duty plastic coat hanger into three 3/8 lengths and it does the trick too!
Thanks that was great fix
I use a piece of leather from a old belt worked fine
Cut off cylinders of 7/16 high temp hot glue stick 7/16 inch long works perfectly and costs even less than the nuts. Way too much grease! And in the wrong place, the spots with the three interference driver plugs do not need to be greased. Put lube only on gears and axle.
Mine just thunks repeatedly when fully rolled up.....
Nylon balls are available 1/16" - 1" from McMaster-Carr
There sooo many ppl doing this and oh my god no one as common sense the plastic spaces are meant for safety so if someone puts their hand in the windshield it will break those and not the person's hand so when you try to roll up your window and someone sticks their hand in the window it will either break the person's hand or break the complete gear setup in the motor and u will definitely have to replace the motor
The nylon worm gear would break long before.
Thank You! You're super smart! ;)
SWEET GREASE OF AGES!
well done...... well done.
+rome seveneightsixnine Thanks!
Good fix job done cool car by the way i like the old American cars
thanks, I really like the car.....except when it's time to put gas in it :)
Well done
I had to do this to my 95 Thunderbird and as I see this guy do this I did it and why don't you do it right the parts are only $13.00 and both doors only take 45 mins each to do and do it right.
Idk where your at but here in Oklahoma none of the local parts stores carry em.
They sell the gear plugs at most auto parts stores.
+Luis Gonzalez I tried at O'Reilleys-they didn't know what I was talking about...as if the plastic bearing replacements were something they never heard of. Went to the self-help replacement parts aisle and there they were called " Window Guide Assortment Part # 744110, on the back of package are called "Window Regulator Gear Plugs" can look it up under www.DormanProducts.com.- for those that need to. They were too big-so we used 5/16 cable stops from Ace instead.
Another thing that could be the weakest link is the window itself!
Rattle spray paint cans, cut one open, u will find plastic ball, (the rattle) 3 cans u got your parts....
Not enough grease
You did not use enough GREASE!!!
lol I've always fixed this problem with nuts. i once had a guy pay me 40 for doing that. took about 20 minutes, taking my time, and about $0.25 in hardware. i only took what he offered.
Oh you are so evil lol, well done :-))
First class bypass ha ha .
i suppose if you wanted some safeguard a low value resistor could be placed in the motor feed wire and a relay coil across that resistor, the relay contacts could be wired to the door switch.
Daft thoughts lol.
that's a good idea, or even a fuse would probably work. oh well it's back together now and that thing was a pain to take off!
I replaced those plastic things several times on the 80's panthers i've had. they just kinda collapse over time and get ground up inside that little housing.
Considering how cheap the replacement bits are, i just bought a couple sets online and kept them in my car's toolbox for whenever another one shit out on me
Sweet
Decided to stick their dogs head in the door and roll it up? That got dark lol
DON"T use nuts. You can buy or make 'plastic buttons'
I used buttons made out of a nylon dowel--cut into 1/2 lengths with a hacksaw. cheap and effective.
You can use 3 marbles, glass balls from shaker spray paint cans, nuts, etc. All works where as plastic nylon breaks down with time.
I used ball bearings from an old wheel bearing hahaha
Good idea!
Your idea of using steel nuts to replace the original plastic cogs sounds good, but it's very dangerous. Ford used plastic parts for a reason. They are designed to sacrifice themselves if a body part (human or dog for that matter!) gets in the way of a closing window. This way a hand, paw or head doesn't get hurt (too much). Problem is the three original Ford plastic cog parts deteriorate over time. Go to your local auto parts store and find the Help! parts section. They have a pack of new plastic cog bushings which retain the safety Ford built into the system, and they fit properly unlike your nuts.
Old nylon cubes disintegrates.
tnks !!!!