Door Glass Fell To The Bottom Of The Door!
video description
I have a Chevy Express van where the rear door latch broke years ago. I was only able to find a Dorman replacement. On a recent camping trip. it literally fell apart, not broken, just fell apart. Nothing like fixing a door latch in the wilderness.
Date: 2023-07-19
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Comments and reviews: 19
Garth
Good job, no collateral damage and all put back as it were!
Dorman window regulators are an upgrade from OEM in my DYI experiences. Not only that, lifetime warranty so if they fail, the shop or customer won't be buying any more regulators. We had one Dorman regulator fail wherein the cable rolled over a nylon/plastic pully and that can happen only once as the groove is then widened and rolled out due to plastic characteristics. If they had used metal, that wouldn't happen but they might be more prone to higher noise levels.
When we used the more expensive OEM regulators, they weren't worth the gamble and extra cost especially when Dorman has an upgraded design from OEM known flaws and their warranty.
This job would have been about 500 at the dealership and these regulators with their components are prone to fail. Their design is fairly good for saving weight however, the cable routing and pulleys used need more refinement due to their high failure rate.
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Good job, no collateral damage and all put back as it were!
Dorman window regulators are an upgrade from OEM in my DYI experiences. Not only that, lifetime warranty so if they fail, the shop or customer won't be buying any more regulators. We had one Dorman regulator fail wherein the cable rolled over a nylon/plastic pully and that can happen only once as the groove is then widened and rolled out due to plastic characteristics. If they had used metal, that wouldn't happen but they might be more prone to higher noise levels.
When we used the more expensive OEM regulators, they weren't worth the gamble and extra cost especially when Dorman has an upgraded design from OEM known flaws and their warranty.
This job would have been about 500 at the dealership and these regulators with their components are prone to fail. Their design is fairly good for saving weight however, the cable routing and pulleys used need more refinement due to their high failure rate.
reply
Tommy
My father and grandfather were both killed by a window regulator. Gramps was working on one when the car rolled over his legs. My dad ran out to my screaming grandfather and quickly placed a jack under the car to free him. While doing that, my father suffered a massive coronary and died before he hit the ground. He fell on the jack handle which released the jack, crushing my gramps head. Soon after I arrived home from school only to be greeted by a horrifying scene; the door panel didn't have the holes to adjust the window clamps as this GM did. It took me the better part of the afternoon to finish the job. I wrote GM about the incident, which led to them adding the holes so future replacements and adjustments would be easier.
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My father and grandfather were both killed by a window regulator. Gramps was working on one when the car rolled over his legs. My dad ran out to my screaming grandfather and quickly placed a jack under the car to free him. While doing that, my father suffered a massive coronary and died before he hit the ground. He fell on the jack handle which released the jack, crushing my gramps head. Soon after I arrived home from school only to be greeted by a horrifying scene; the door panel didn't have the holes to adjust the window clamps as this GM did. It took me the better part of the afternoon to finish the job. I wrote GM about the incident, which led to them adding the holes so future replacements and adjustments would be easier.
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Pete
As a backyard hacker, I have done dozens of regulators and power door lock actuators. Engineers assigned to cococt these contraptions must be limited to C- students exclusively. The cable acuated type was definitely a step backward, they just don't last. I replaced the regulator on my daughter's Town and Country. Every time, the same cable failed. It required removal of an entire interior section of door, After removing the door card, and including removal of the door latch and a half dozen wiring harnesses, speaker and more. The window wasn't bolted to the regulator, you had to pry it off of two plastic clips. The only good thing was, by the third time, I was able to the whole job start to finish in less than an hour.
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As a backyard hacker, I have done dozens of regulators and power door lock actuators. Engineers assigned to cococt these contraptions must be limited to C- students exclusively. The cable acuated type was definitely a step backward, they just don't last. I replaced the regulator on my daughter's Town and Country. Every time, the same cable failed. It required removal of an entire interior section of door, After removing the door card, and including removal of the door latch and a half dozen wiring harnesses, speaker and more. The window wasn't bolted to the regulator, you had to pry it off of two plastic clips. The only good thing was, by the third time, I was able to the whole job start to finish in less than an hour.
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autos
As usual another xlnt video. I've done in bunches of regulators in Toyota vehicles probably due the OEMs are good for about 15 years and and the extremely cheap Chinese replacement components (usually found on eBay for under 40) last about 5 years. Here in Los Angeles, California the switches seem to wear out faster than the regulators. And yes, due to our great weather here and the use of a Garage, it's common to see 25-30 year old vehicles including foreign ones still on the road. Usually it's the expensive replacement emission components that drive these vehicles into the wrecking yards.
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As usual another xlnt video. I've done in bunches of regulators in Toyota vehicles probably due the OEMs are good for about 15 years and and the extremely cheap Chinese replacement components (usually found on eBay for under 40) last about 5 years. Here in Los Angeles, California the switches seem to wear out faster than the regulators. And yes, due to our great weather here and the use of a Garage, it's common to see 25-30 year old vehicles including foreign ones still on the road. Usually it's the expensive replacement emission components that drive these vehicles into the wrecking yards.
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Tom
A-ha! At around 18: 00, you spilled the beans and told us this was a Dorman part. I was wondering when you said that the 3rd bolt wasn't quite lining up - that was when I thought of Dorman. Last year, when the driver side rear window dropped into its track on a rainy evening, on my 2003 Saturn L series, I found out that eBay had some, priced pretty low but might not have as many cycles in it as that Dorman. The worst part was having to keep the window taped shut for the few days it took for the new one to arrive. It's sure easier when you don't have to wait for the part.
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A-ha! At around 18: 00, you spilled the beans and told us this was a Dorman part. I was wondering when you said that the 3rd bolt wasn't quite lining up - that was when I thought of Dorman. Last year, when the driver side rear window dropped into its track on a rainy evening, on my 2003 Saturn L series, I found out that eBay had some, priced pretty low but might not have as many cycles in it as that Dorman. The worst part was having to keep the window taped shut for the few days it took for the new one to arrive. It's sure easier when you don't have to wait for the part.
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Steven
Changed the regulator in my daughter s Chevy Cruze, similar procedure but the Cruze uses a double cable design. What all these seem to have in common are weak nylon mechanisms that grab the glass. If the glass is stuck due to ice, etc. the motor is strong enough to snap the nylon mechanisms while drawing the window down. I spray the window tracks with silicone spray and have instructed my daughter to scrape the ice away from the edges of the glass before opening. Used the OEM replacement.
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Changed the regulator in my daughter s Chevy Cruze, similar procedure but the Cruze uses a double cable design. What all these seem to have in common are weak nylon mechanisms that grab the glass. If the glass is stuck due to ice, etc. the motor is strong enough to snap the nylon mechanisms while drawing the window down. I spray the window tracks with silicone spray and have instructed my daughter to scrape the ice away from the edges of the glass before opening. Used the OEM replacement.
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Larry
Seems the up-down noise level was a bit louder than it should be. maybe a little white lube on the slider? Seems GM Direct can't supply a regulator for you, NLA (discontinued) so you will be buying Dorman, NAPA or Echlin
You'll be saving money anyway
Eric makes this look easy but you know every clip on the door panel is gonna break- in that case some Velcro with adhesive backing will save you- that plastic is 18 years old
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Seems the up-down noise level was a bit louder than it should be. maybe a little white lube on the slider? Seems GM Direct can't supply a regulator for you, NLA (discontinued) so you will be buying Dorman, NAPA or Echlin
You'll be saving money anyway
Eric makes this look easy but you know every clip on the door panel is gonna break- in that case some Velcro with adhesive backing will save you- that plastic is 18 years old
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Jordan
Probably going to make a trip in bring my truck to you because i cant seem to figure out why the torque converter clutch randomly unlocks for no reasongoing down the highway. Then 3 or 4 miles later it locks back up. No slip detected. Shifts are normal and done with in. 200 to. 400 of a second. When it is locked up however it shows only 97. 9% locked on the computer. Idk. I just cant figure it out!
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Probably going to make a trip in bring my truck to you because i cant seem to figure out why the torque converter clutch randomly unlocks for no reasongoing down the highway. Then 3 or 4 miles later it locks back up. No slip detected. Shifts are normal and done with in. 200 to. 400 of a second. When it is locked up however it shows only 97. 9% locked on the computer. Idk. I just cant figure it out!
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Harvey
The Citroen DS has hydraulic windows that are almost silent and very quick. The hydraulic system ran the transmission, windows and suspension. I only got one ride in a DS, but it was literally the smoothest and most comfortable car I've ever experienced. The other end of the comfort spectrum was a '64 Freightliner I drove in my brief career of trucking, but our '53 Chevy 3600 pickup came close.
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The Citroen DS has hydraulic windows that are almost silent and very quick. The hydraulic system ran the transmission, windows and suspension. I only got one ride in a DS, but it was literally the smoothest and most comfortable car I've ever experienced. The other end of the comfort spectrum was a '64 Freightliner I drove in my brief career of trucking, but our '53 Chevy 3600 pickup came close.
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Starchface
When you went to call the customer you must have been reading my mind. Brilliant. I imagine the conversation went something like this:
Hi Bob. It's Eric O. at South Main Auto. I've been looking at your Buick. The issue with the window is that
Read my lips Eric O. I don't care. Fix it. Fix it now. Click. And for us old-timers, a nice dial tone at the end.
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When you went to call the customer you must have been reading my mind. Brilliant. I imagine the conversation went something like this:
Hi Bob. It's Eric O. at South Main Auto. I've been looking at your Buick. The issue with the window is that
Read my lips Eric O. I don't care. Fix it. Fix it now. Click. And for us old-timers, a nice dial tone at the end.
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scrambler69
So many videos of new car reviews of base models. and when people see crank windows and they are screaming about manual widows, this is why I love them. Every time my daughter borrows my truck and complains about the manual everything I tell how much I love my unlock with a key, crank window you adjust mirrors, it makes me love them even more.
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So many videos of new car reviews of base models. and when people see crank windows and they are screaming about manual widows, this is why I love them. Every time my daughter borrows my truck and complains about the manual everything I tell how much I love my unlock with a key, crank window you adjust mirrors, it makes me love them even more.
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Derek
On the Firebird forums they always recommended aftermarket window motors that have a life time warranty, the thought process was that the aftermarket motors were a quarter of the price of the OEM part, they seemed to last as long as the OEM part, but if they failed, you had a life time warranty.
I hope the rain cleared up the smoke for awhile.
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On the Firebird forums they always recommended aftermarket window motors that have a life time warranty, the thought process was that the aftermarket motors were a quarter of the price of the OEM part, they seemed to last as long as the OEM part, but if they failed, you had a life time warranty.
I hope the rain cleared up the smoke for awhile.
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Chris
As always another great job with plenty of fine fitting before sending the pegs home with the hand hammer seems I've usually run into bent over or broke plastic pegs the last guy forced into a missed hole you realize this should not require force to remove and reinstall ease it back to where it belongs /wants to go good job made simple
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As always another great job with plenty of fine fitting before sending the pegs home with the hand hammer seems I've usually run into bent over or broke plastic pegs the last guy forced into a missed hole you realize this should not require force to remove and reinstall ease it back to where it belongs /wants to go good job made simple
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Buddy
As a young buck I had this happen to me in my VW Passat driver window. I managed to fish the glass out and used the quick release suction cup from a GPS on the bottom of the window to secure it in place. I got the knack of opening an inch and reattaching it to smoke a cigarette. After about a year I got the regulator done.
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As a young buck I had this happen to me in my VW Passat driver window. I managed to fish the glass out and used the quick release suction cup from a GPS on the bottom of the window to secure it in place. I got the knack of opening an inch and reattaching it to smoke a cigarette. After about a year I got the regulator done.
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Bob
In my experience, most of the really good mechanics I worked with were not good at trim jobs. I think it's because it requires much slower work, a lot more patience in R&R, and doing a lot of checking to get the fit and fasteners right. But once again, Eric shows why he is the renaissance man of vehicle repair.
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In my experience, most of the really good mechanics I worked with were not good at trim jobs. I think it's because it requires much slower work, a lot more patience in R&R, and doing a lot of checking to get the fit and fasteners right. But once again, Eric shows why he is the renaissance man of vehicle repair.
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John
That was pretty easy. Remember the early 80's Caprice with that toothed plastic belt/ribbon that would fall apart? Those sucked. Lots of those windows were jammed up with something to keep them closed back then. It was that and them riding around with the wipers that wouldn't turn off.
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That was pretty easy. Remember the early 80's Caprice with that toothed plastic belt/ribbon that would fall apart? Those sucked. Lots of those windows were jammed up with something to keep them closed back then. It was that and them riding around with the wipers that wouldn't turn off.
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FScott
Eric actually rolled the window down when cleaning the window to get the very top side of window. No idea how hard it is to get professional detailers to do this one simple step for a complete job of window cleaning. Eric O does it just out of his standard practice.
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Eric actually rolled the window down when cleaning the window to get the very top side of window. No idea how hard it is to get professional detailers to do this one simple step for a complete job of window cleaning. Eric O does it just out of his standard practice.
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Dave
Hey, you are one of the best videographer out there. at times you make kistakes, but most of time you are trying to get us the best view of what your doing, and some stuff, like the top of gas tank, you cannot get the video camera to, we understand that
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Hey, you are one of the best videographer out there. at times you make kistakes, but most of time you are trying to get us the best view of what your doing, and some stuff, like the top of gas tank, you cannot get the video camera to, we understand that
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byrd203
pro tip wash the window at the leglator area as well get rid of the crap there not having dust and junk there helps the window go up and down better plus looks cleaner if I had the full glass access I would clean it completely while it was accessible
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pro tip wash the window at the leglator area as well get rid of the crap there not having dust and junk there helps the window go up and down better plus looks cleaner if I had the full glass access I would clean it completely while it was accessible
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