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Technical Stripped window regulator repair

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by LongroofRon, Jun 6, 2021.

  1. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    Hopped in my wagon, went to roll the window down and it just went chunk-chunk, and the window didn't move... makes sense after 300+ thousand miles I guess. I pretty much always drive with the window down, so this was unacceptable. Basically rendered the car useless to me, I couldn't stand it. I sourced out another one at a junkyard, but it was used, so it was probably wore in the same spot anyway. Thus I decided just to fix my regulator, mostly because I'm cheap. Took some pictures along the way and figured I'd do a little write up on it
     
    ClayMart likes this.
  2. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    So here's the problem area. The rest of the teeth were okay, so I'm just going to fix the ones that were real bad. 20210530_130146.jpg
     
    fauj likes this.
  3. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    I cut out a piece of some similar thickness steel, clamped it to the bad area, and sprayed some dykem steel blue over it to transfer over the location of the teeth. 20210530_130826.jpg
     
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  4. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    I cut out the area in the old regulator to fit the patch in, and tacked in the new piece, making sure to line up the pattern of the teeth. 20210530_132318.jpg
     
    '40ford, Ford52PU, fauj and 1 other person like this.

  5. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    With the new piece on place I put a center punch mark for each tooth, in approximately the middle of the gullet for each tooth. 20210530_133007.jpg
     
    gary macdonald, Ford52PU and fauj like this.
  6. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    Next I dug through the drill bits and found one whose diameter matched the gullet of the tooth, and drilled out each center punch. 20210530_133524.jpg
     
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  7. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    I cut of the excess of the patch, to a little larger than the major radius of the teeth. 20210530_134505.jpg
     
  8. Budget36
    Joined: Nov 29, 2014
    Posts: 13,174

    Budget36
    Member

  9. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    I used a cutoff wheel to cut to the bottom of the tooth and rough it out, and them sanded the top of the teeth a little closer to their final height. 20210530_135115.jpg
     
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  10. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    I finished off each tooth with the file. A little tedious, but if you go one at a time you can test it as you go using the teeth in the crank. And just like that it's ready to go back together. The gears mesh pretty smooth, especially once it's in the door again, its hard to feel any hiccups. 20210530_140915.jpg
     
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  11. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    Just a quick demo, hopefully that will help someone fix a part they don't want to, or just can't buy.
     
    BigRRR, Budget36 and leon bee like this.
  12. Just missed tech week!
     
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  13. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 8,801

    Marty Strode
    Member

    Now that's tenacity ! Good job.
     
  14. mohr hp
    Joined: Nov 18, 2009
    Posts: 929

    mohr hp
    Member
    from Georgia

    That's pretty good. Lotta patience there. As an alternative, if you have a similarly worn spare, how about splicing in a good section of the spare's teeth from where it is less worn-to save effort?
     
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  15. brading
    Joined: Sep 9, 2019
    Posts: 704

    brading
    Member

    Nice job you have made of that repair. You certainly have got patience
     
    LongroofRon likes this.
  16. Well played! Especially since it's the kind of repair that requires a bit of forethought and planning and not a lot of specialty tools and equipment that you may not already have in your shop. :cool:

    Wonder if this could have been done by clamping your repair plate onto the back of the regulator in an area where the teeth are still in good shape? Then, with the proper size bit, bore into the repair section using the existing teeth as a drill guide.
    :rolleyes:
     
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  17. larry k
    Joined: Feb 23, 2009
    Posts: 547

    larry k
    Member

    I just mig welded up the damaged teeth bigger than they needed to be , and ground and then filed them to size using the good ones as a pattern ,looks and works good .
     
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  18. 56MercMan
    Joined: May 22, 2008
    Posts: 131

    56MercMan
    Member

    Looks good. The way I have repaired them in the past is just to weld onto the existing metal then shape the weld into the teeth. Has been holding for over 10 yrs now with electric windows.

    Looks like @larry k did the same and beat me to the response.
     
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  19. Great work, very creative! Thanks for sharing!
     
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  20. jimmy six
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,802

    jimmy six
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Restoring a car at $100 an hour is the reason some stop or never should have started. Your repair is they way I think. How can I do this myself? I just replaced a refrigerator part I had repaired 3 times that wasn’t available until lately. Call me cheap or resourceful but I will try almost anything and always have.... my dad was the same.
     
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  21. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

     
  22. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    Oh true, that would probably be a better way to get a good transfer of the teeth profile. Just have to line up the edges, but the radius would be the same
     
  23. LongroofRon
    Joined: Nov 1, 2020
    Posts: 53

    LongroofRon

    Exactly. Having a car that you can't buy parts for really taught me that lesson, but I'm glad I kept that mindset.
     
  24. F-ONE
    Joined: Mar 27, 2008
    Posts: 3,271

    F-ONE
    Member
    from Alabama

    Kudos..to you.
    This is actually fixing something rather than replacing it. In the era of crappy replacement parts, more of us will need these types of skills.
     
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  25. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    All I can say is WOW, that is quite an effort and pretty well all hand done.
     
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  26. Fortunateson
    Joined: Apr 30, 2012
    Posts: 5,331

    Fortunateson
    Member

    Nice job! Mart at Marts Garage on YouTube just posted a video onthe weld up the worn teeth and file process. Man, the HAMB is so full of useful tech and great humour I don't know why non car people aren't members!
     
    LongroofRon likes this.
  27. Good job on the rebuild. Agree that a home repair not only saves money, but gives great satisfaction in saving a part.
     
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  28. A lot of time and effort, with a great result..well done.
     
    fauj likes this.
  29. trollst
    Joined: Jan 27, 2012
    Posts: 2,108

    trollst
    Member

    Showoff.....I'd never have thought of that. Simple, so simple, I could do that, great idea.
     
    fauj and Budget36 like this.
  30. Greg Rogers
    Joined: Oct 11, 2016
    Posts: 802

    Greg Rogers
    Member

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