2003 electric window Kaput
 

Howdy Folks
My drivers side window is stuck half way open. I pulled the trim off and tried to get the window up so I could drive the car. I think the motor is toast. I'm getting power to the motor but it won't go up or down. I'm wondering if any of you folks have replaced the motor yourself ? I don't like to take things apart that I haven't got a book / instructions to go by as I don't want to screw something up. Looks like you have to drill out the rivets holding the motor in. Do the new motors go back together with rivets or do they use bolts / screws? I have a rivet puller but don't think it is one that will work with those rivets. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks MC

P.S. Do any of the Haynes manuals have remove and replace instructions?

RE: 2003 electric window Kaput
 

hey if u have the door panel off and u can see the motor
try tapping on it with a hammer maybe it just hit a bad spot and and needs a tap to get it atleast up
i replaced one once and i just put some bolts in instead of rivets
u should use rivets
unless u dont have the tools
bolts should work
just get some lock washers
well hope that helps

RE: 2003 electric window Kaput
 

Thanks for the reply Beckeruti
I did try tapping it but no luck. Tried to get the window up manually but no luck. Going to stop at the auto store and see if I can get a maintenance manual that could tell me what I need to know, untill then I'm still open to suggestions. Thanks

RE: 2003 electric window Kaput
 

Evening Folks

OK I stopped at the auto parts store and got a new motor and Cavalier maintenance manual. To remove the electric motor you have to remove the door panel, remove the two nuts that are holding the window on the door regulator and remove the window then remove the two bolts that are holding the regulator to the door frame. Drill out the five rivets and then remove the motor along with the regulator assembly. You then have to drill out the three rivets that hold the motor to the mounting bracket assy and then there are two more rivets that attach a small bracket on the end of the motor where the electrical plug attaches to the motor. The new motor comes with screws and nuts to replace the rivets you drilled out that attaches the motor to the mounting bracket. The new motor did not come with new rivets to install the mounting bracket to the door frame. The part number for the rivets according to the Chilton book is 9436175 aluminum peel type rivets 1/4 x 1/2 in size. I'm going to try and reinstall using bolts but the very forward attach hole will require a very short bolt and will be hard to install due to limited access. I will let you know what I ended up doing. Hope this helps others who have to replace their window motor. MC


P.S. Ernie thanks for the help.

RE: 2003 electric window Kaput
 

Evening Folks
I reinstalled the electric motor and it works great. What I did was to get some clip nuts to use on four of the mounting holes and the fifth one I used a nut and a washer. The forward most fastener hole( where your electrical connection is) is the one I had to use a bolt and nut on due to the contour of the door and accessability. Use bolts no longer than 1/2 inch. To install the forward most bolt I took a piece of the gasket material that is used to hold the plastic liner to the door and used that to hold the nut in the wrench and installed the bolt. It is good to have some help when you are reinstalling the window since you are trying to line up the window in the tracks and engage the lower part of the window to the two mounting studs. Like any installation dont tighten up your fasteners untill you have all of them in so that you have a little wiggle room to align and adjust everything. After you have the motor and everything secured give the motor a try before you replace the door trim. The clip nuts can be bought at a auto store or dealership, Lowes or Home Depot probably has them too.

The instructions that came with the motor instructed you to secure the sector gear in the locked position(after you have the assembly out of the door) so it could not move and cause you injury. To secure it you are supposed to drill a 1/4 or 3/8ths hole through the backplate and gear and install a bolt and nut to lock it in place. I looked this over real good and decided it was not necessary for this application and didn't drill a hole. What I did do was to lock them in place using two heavey duty self locking tie wraps that you can buy at the store. I didn't think this was necessary either for this application but better to error on the side of caution.
One other thing I did was to apply some grease to the motor gears and a lite application of grease to the other moving parts.

Ok folks thats is it hope this helps someone else out there. Any questions let me know. MC