Window jumping off track

[John U]

Replaced my LH window motor and everything was working well until recently. Seems the rear plastic has left the track. I can get it back on, but I'm wondering how I should adjust the track so it doesn't keep popping off.
Thanks
John

[DrJeff]

I had serious jumping the rails problems with my RH window. I adjusted every bolt holding the rails on that I could find. One bolt in particular (needing to reach through the small (knife-like) openning in the middle of the door) was located at the top 1/3 of the rail. I loosened it to adjust the angle of the rail relative to the door/window frame.

Also one thing that I think made a difference was the wipes or seals that sit on either side of the glass at the base of the window. I used the soft side of a industrial velcro strip. It seems to help guide the glass up the window.

Another trick was to slowly progress the window up the rail step-by step, say 1cm at a time. Then watch to see where the stress/tension builds up - i.e. where is the window pushing/pulling against the rails. That gave me a better clue as to what needed to be adjusted.

[sdg3205]

Worst case scenario is you may need to reposition the glass in the carrier. It sucks but its likely too far forward.

[DMCMW Dave]

Worst case scenario is you may need to reposition the glass in the carrier. It sucks but its likely too far forward.

Yep. Remove and re-glue with the carrier positioned between the two dots on the glass. Huge PITA but will definitely solve the problem.

[John U]

Thanks for all the input.
What a pain in the a$$!!! Adjusted both rails. Ended up moving them toward the back of the car. Window seems to work fine....for now.
That window would be extremely difficult to remove from it's carrier with all that glue or whatever it is!

John

[DMCMW Dave]

That window would be extremely difficult to remove from it's carrier with all that glue or whatever it is!

John

Yes, yes it is.

[DrJeff]

Yes, yes it is.

I used a steel ruler (very thin) with the backing (cork) scrapped off, and a notch cut out of the end (to act as a sort of scoop). I spent probably 2 hours shoving it flat with the glass into the space between the glass and the holder, working both sides. Little by little the adhesive came out, until all of a sudden I was able to pry the glass loose (little victory dance). The adhesive seems to have turned to a concrete lie goo over the 30+ years.

I think it was Martin in the UK that gave me the best trick to reposition the glass in the carrier. [or to use today's advertising language "One guy in the UK used this simple trick to position his window glass."] Fix the carrier (without the glass) onto the door on the rails and connected to the motor's rail. Put adhesive on the carrier where the glass will connect. Place the glass into the window frame (i.e. where you want it to be) as if the window was all the way up. Then slowly use the window motor to bring the mounted carrier up to the bottom of the glass. (this bit took 2 goes for me - may need to guide it a little with your fingers - just be careful to avoid getting pinched) Let the adhesive dry (say 24 hours) and then try the window up/down.

[DMCMW Dave]

I used a steel ruler (very thin) with the backing (cork) scrapped off, and a notch cut out of the end (to act as a sort of scoop). .

It's not that complicated. The glass is marked with two small dimples in the glass to show the location of the carrier. And you'll get it where the designer intended rather than some random location that's kind of close.

window 2.jpg

[DrJeff]

It's not that complicated. The glass is marked with two small dimples in the glass to show the location of the carrier. And you'll get it where the designer intended rather than some random location that's kind of close.

When I removed my glass from the carrier initially, I took note of where the dimples were - having read about the dimples and planning to use those to get the glass back in place. First off they were not evenly spaced with the carrier edges. The front dimple was 1/2cm forward (towards the front of the car) than it should have been going by the dimples. The rear dimple was hidden. When I saw this I was actually pleased because I thought that positioning the window at the correct location would stop my jumping. Tried fixing the window according to the dimples, still jumped, and the window left a gap when up. Pulled the glass out again and used the trick I mentioned. Low and behold the glass was exactly where it was on the carrier when I originally pulled it from the car.

I thought about this in detail (I had lots of time to think as I was chipping adhesive out) and I figured that these cars were designed before 3D CAD and that meant that getting a complex set of three dimensional pieces (like the window rails, carrier, motor rail) to sit correctly relative to each other was as much about having sufficient adjustment points as it was about exacting assembly. The trick may work (assuming the rails are sufficiently parallel) as it shortcuts having to do some of the other adjustments, especially if a PO has already done some 'adjustments' for you. I suspect the dimple method works great when all the other components are in the correct locations, angles, etc. But if the trick works...

[DMCMW Dave]

I suspect the dimple method works great when all the other components are in the correct locations, angles, etc. But if the trick works...

My guess is that your tracks were bent or otherwise out of alignment and your process compensated for that. The tracks are really flimsy.

There was actually a design change made in the track, the modified ones (rear track only) are painted black. They moved the pivot point, and after looking at many it seems to me that they were modified by hand for a huge portion of production.