Passenger window alignment nightmare

[Rich]

Thanks for all the tips (and pics). I finally got the front guide out and it does look rippled down the spine and has a twist at the end.. Ordered new front guide. I'm going to adjust everything just a bit when the new guide comes in. After getting the front guide out I can see the front portion of the carrier looks worn.. The driver side guide shows these "stops" that hold the guide as it rides up and down. I'm wondering if the guides are worn causing excessive movement. The glass does not look like a blast to remove & replace (let alone glue new carrier to new glass). I'm hoping for some improvement with the new guide and some adjustments... Well see. Stay tuned.

You're right. It's not a picnic. From memory this is a way to adjust one or both of the drop glass guides:

a. Start by getting the carrier onto both guides simultaneously. For some hints about how to do that read this linked thread while you wait for your parts to arrive.
b. Don't mount the regulator to the carrier yet....for adjusting the guides you'll raise the glass by hand. Drop the regulator down to full-open position so it doesn't scratch the glass while you're aligning the guides.
c. Each guide has two adjusting nuts, one that orients it on the door beam and one that tilts the curved rail. Leave them both a bit loose at this point.
d. Run the drop glass/carrier up by hand until it snugs into the felt channel. Use blue tape on the outside to hold it up, connecting the tape to the fixed glass (mask the tape from the painted channel rail first so it won't peel any of the paint off later).
e. Wiggle the rail and the bracket a bit til you think they're aligned to the carrier with the glass up. Tighten the rail and bracket nuts.
f. Pull off the tape and check that the drop glass goes up and down smoothly by hand. Be careful not to let it fall all the way down. It's very hard to re-load it onto the guides from below. If the glass doesn't run smoothly and lift into the channel at the top then try again and adjust the guides with the glass up.
g. With the glass and rails aligned move the regulator to the half-up position, reconnect the regulator bracket studs to the carrier and secure them.

Done.

This is all easier to do if you create a door-to-rear striker pin rope that will keep the door halfway open while you face it while sitting in either of the seats with your legs over the door sill. My rope has an adjustable loop at the bottom that loops under the striker pin and a metal hook at the top that engages one of the door cutouts. A light metal chain can work, too.

[krs09]

You're right. It's not a picnic. From memory this is a way to adjust one or both of the drop glass guides:

a. Start by getting the carrier onto both guides simultaneously. For some hints about how to do that read this linked thread while you wait for your parts to arrive.
b. Don't mount the regulator to the carrier yet....for adjusting the guides you'll raise the glass by hand. Drop the regulator down to full-open position so it doesn't scratch the glass while you're aligning the guides.
c. Each guide has two adjusting nuts, one that orients it on the door beam and one that tilts the curved rail. Leave them both a bit loose at this point.
d. Run the drop glass/carrier up by hand until it snugs into the felt channel. Use blue tape on the outside to hold it up, connecting the tape to the fixed glass (mask the tape from the painted channel rail first so it won't peel any of the paint off later).
e. Wiggle the rail and the bracket a bit til you think they're aligned to the carrier with the glass up. Tighten the rail and bracket nuts.
f. Pull off the tape and check that the drop glass goes up and down smoothly by hand. Be careful not to let it fall all the way down. It's very hard to re-load it onto the guides from below. If the glass doesn't run smoothly and lift into the channel at the top then try again and adjust the guides with the glass up.
g. With the glass and rails aligned move the regulator to the half-up position, reconnect the regulator bracket studs to the carrier and secure them.

Done.

This is all easier to do if you create a door-to-rear striker pin rope that will keep the door halfway open while you face it while sitting in either of the seats with your legs over the door sill. My rope has an adjustable loop at the bottom that loops under the striker pin and a metal hook at the top that engages one of the door cutouts. A light metal chain can work, too.

Thank you for the step by step - need all the help I can get. Quick and maybe weird question. The one thing I did notice is I kind of have to push the window up into the channel. Once its fully seated in the channel you have to give a good tug down to break it free. Maybe normal, Maybe tight/warped felt channel, Maybe bad glass (doubt it) but it does have some resistance when fully in the up position. Weird??

[Rich]

I don?t know if normal includes stickiness when closed. Mine both close tightly but the regulator drops the glass on either door without drama or hesitation, stickiness. Never tested the tightness by hand with glass loose. Am sure some resistance or snugness is actually good. What you don?t want is the drop glass to be so tight that it pulls the black metal glass run channel down off the fixed glass when you open it. Which is probably one reason the glass run channel is so hard to jam up onto the fixed glass.

Are you reporting this with the drop glass carrier mounted to both of the guides or not? If yes then is the drop glass at least aiming directly into the middle of the felt channel just before it engages? If it is on the guides but misaligned to the fixed glass see if you can adjust the guides and their brackets to improve the aim.

Is the black felt in the upper channel brand new? It may loosen its grip a bit with the window closed over time.

Thank you for the step by step - need all the help I can get. Quick and maybe weird question. The one thing I did notice is I kind of have to push the window up into the channel. Once its fully seated in the channel you have to give a good tug down to break it free. Maybe normal, Maybe tight/warped felt channel, Maybe bad glass (doubt it) but it does have some resistance when fully in the up position. Weird??