Window Regulator Replacement. How-To w/ Pictures.

How common is it for gen 2 rear windows to fail.. I've been putting my rear window off for awhile and went to replace it today after I heard my passenger side front make the dreaded popping noise of broken plastic. Figured I should fix the rear since I have the regulator in the trunk. I'll have to order one for the passenger front though. . All ready did the drivers front so that should be easy.

I tore into the rear door to fix that today but the only issue was the damn dowel pin fell out of the glass, regulator is fine. I put it back in using the old dowel and regulator since the dorman kit did not come with a new one. The dowel doesn't seem to want to seat fully. I put it in from the door skin side and used my fingers to push the center pin into the bushing but I'm not sure I got it all the way in. should it be flush or have a little bit of a lip? Any tips for seating it fully if it should be flush? No instructions where in the kit either. It seems to be working ok no but there is a bit more play in the glass when compared to the other side ... Knock on wood since that's the only one I haven't messed with yet.
 
It seems to be common for the cable type regulators to fail in many (most?) cars from the early through mid 2000's. It could be worse. Changing out the ones on my BMW is a bigger headache because of the way they seal the doors.
 
SoulSoak said:
Hey I just got off the phone with Pioneer customer service. I told them what the unit is doing and they gave me a case number after I forwarded my reciept from sonicelectronix for proof of purchase through authorized retailer, and they gave me an address of a local shop to get it diagnosed and repaired. If it can't be repaired then I'll get a new replacement unit. Not bad for a phone call. :)
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I know this is off-topic and a bit old now, but was that unit by any chance a double din X4700BS?
 
I installed a new regulator but now the window only goes down 1/3 of the way and pulls back down when it goes up. Holding it a second time makes it close. Initializing doesn’t work. I used a dorman regulator with the oem motor. I saw something online about deinitalizing the motor by pulling fuses before indexing. I can no longer find that but is anything possible without taking apart the door again?

Edit: found this Sparky's Answers - 2004 Lincoln LS, Power Window Problems going to try it
 
This job is a nightmare! Had the clips break on the drivers door when my wife was driving it when her car was having starting issues. I had to tape the window shut so she could continue her day of work. Used T-rex ferociously strong tape. What a mess that made after the window worked its' way down and left goo everywhere. Now after struggling with the regulator and finally figuring this shit out I find out that I have the wrong clips. I ordered the passenger door side, duh. Also took a while to figure out that the cable was all looped up in the motor take up reel and that was why it was too short to route over the pulleys. More aggravation to come when I get the correct clips I am sure.
 
jerryg2112 said:
This job is a nightmare! Had the clips break on the drivers door when my wife was driving it when her car was having starting issues. I had to tape the window shut so she could continue her day of work. Used T-rex ferociously strong tape. What a mess that made after the window worked its' way down and left goo everywhere. Now after struggling with the regulator and finally figuring this shit out I find out that I have the wrong clips. I ordered the passenger door side, duh. Also took a while to figure out that the cable was all looped up in the motor take up reel and that was why it was too short to route over the pulleys. More aggravation to come when I get the correct clips I am sure.
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There is a really cool YouTube video DIY ...after watching it was a piece of cake
 
you most likely only need the plastic clips not the regulator. Dorman makes good clips of this car. Don't OEM the clips, they are cheap and weak. Had to replace all four OEM clips.
 
Turns out I was right. More aggravation was to come:). I finally got the thing fixed after another couple hours. Couldn't find any useful videos on YouTube. Things I learned. Take out the whole door panel right away since it is easier to work on. The cable is very tight when routed properly and you cannot stretch it over the last pulley by hand. The pulley has a stepped design where you put the cable on the smaller part and as you rotate the pulley it threads onto the larger part.
 
So last night I'm rolling my window up and down and admiring my handywork. How smooth and quiet it is and then cracking noises followed by a window that is stuck half opened. Today I find that the cable has come off the track. This is the mess I found.
IMG_20200219_095048430_HDR.jpg


The motor has been removed and you can see the cable is kinked and it is also frayed in another spot as well. First piece of advice I am going to give is if your window stops functioning correctly do not keep trying to roll it up and down. All you do is make a mess of the cable and unwind it. I got it rewound and back together but it didn't have enough tension to keep it from winding wrong and coming apart again so I added another spring where you see the cable coming in on the left. All put together again. If it fails I am just going to order up a whole new regulator assembly.
 
joegr said:
It will, and you will be. After the first time it comes off the reel, too much damage is done.
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Yeah I'm not too optimistic. Going to use the window as little as possible for now. Want a day off from working on the car. Have other projects to do.
 
AmsterDutch said:
There is a really cool YouTube video DIY ...after watching it was a piece of cake
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It's finally time for me to replace my regulator on the rear passenger side. Can you please link to this video? Thank you.

Once I get it open I'm going to take a look at what's going on in there for fun and education but it sounds like it's not a part that is meant to be repaired.

My issue is that when I roll down the window 99/100 times the window stays in place unless I physically push it down (doesn't require much force to do this) or drive over a bump then is slams down (and will presumably shatter one of these days). It does however always roll up just like normal; this is why I can live with the problem. If anybody has an idea why my window behaves like this I'm all ears. If there's something I can do without taking apart the door (and probably breaking any number of impossible to find plastic bits) to make it roll down like a good boy that would be fantastic.
 
joegr said:
That sounds like it might just be broken clips (still requires you to take the door apart).
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2XCVP...colid=NYWIPDC1U0QF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Do note that the door panel clips on the LS seem to be way more reusable than most other cars.

2006 Lincoln LS Workshop Manual Door Trim
2006 Lincoln LS Workshop Manual Regulator
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Oh man, thanks for this info! Another reason I keep putting this job off is that I don't want to be commuting on the freeway in 105 degree heat with a stuck open window...
 
There are two sold in a set and side specific. Cheap enough to order ahead of time and eat the cost on if it turns out to be more. If you are going to do it it's better to do it before it breaks and the cable gets kinked.
 
lsismore said:
It's finally time for me to replace my regulator on the rear passenger side. Can you please link to this video? Thank you.

Once I get it open I'm going to take a look at what's going on in there for fun and education but it sounds like it's not a part that is meant to be repaired.

My issue is that when I roll down the window 99/100 times the window stays in place unless I physically push it down (doesn't require much force to do this) or drive over a bump then is slams down (and will presumably shatter one of these days). It does however always roll up just like normal; this is why I can live with the problem. If anybody has an idea why my window behaves like this I'm all ears. If there's something I can do without taking apart the door (and probably breaking any number of impossible to find plastic bits) to make it roll down like a good boy that would be fantastic.
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Just Google Lincoln LS window regulator removal and replacement...this should bring up the video ...Joe gave you everything you need with the workshop manual...that will be link Joe gave you will be golden and make this a breeze
 
Funny thing happened today. The freaking window started working like normal. I guess all I had to do was buy the parts! joegr, do you have a link to the "Remove the rear door trim panel. For additional information, refer to Section 501-05 "? It didn't work. Thanks for the other ones though, very helpful. And yeah, I ordered two of the clips, so I guess that means I'll get four.

I figure it will stop working again soon.
 
joegr said:
The first link I posted in #138 above worked. I just verified it.
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Both links you posted do work, sorry about that. (I got confused when the links on the pages themselves didn't work, but it doesn't matter since you provided both pages - thank you, sir!)

And no big surprise but the problem came back this morning.

Nothing important below, just thinking out loud...

I know I need to take it apart and figure it out myself but until then here's what I'm pondering:

Looking at a motorcraft regulator on amazon here and I have to wonder why the hell is is half as much as this aftermarket one?

Why are the regulators for the front and rear are so different. Aren't they doing the same thing? Is it because the front window is larger with a longer base?

What could cause the window to go up fine 100% of the time but only get pulled down correctly 5%? I'm thinking it's because the glass rests on the clip when it's all the way down but it isn't connected to the clip so it can't get pulled down - sorta like I can push up a shade with my open hand but can't pull it down if I can't grab onto it. That makes sense. But why would it sometimes get pulled down? Maybe since it was 100+ degrees yesterday the heat caused the clip to slightly swell enough to grab the glass. I dunno.

My wife's been working nights at a hospital and I'm driving her so she doesn't have to take an uber. Once she's done I'll crack it open. Until then I don't wanna risk f-ing it up and having to drive on the freeway with an open window. At least by then I should have the parts. Gonna order the motorcraft regulator in case I need it. Until then I'm just philosophizing like a damn fool.
 
vvvvv
AmsterDutch said:
Just Google Lincoln LS window regulator removal and replacement...this should bring up the video ...Joe gave you everything you need with the workshop manual...that will be link Joe gave you will be golden and make this a breeze
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I did find a few videos but they're all for the first generation LS. Dunno it that matters much. Gonna list em here so they're easy to find for the next guy:

Lincoln LS Window Regulator Repair 2000-2002

How To: Replace 2000 Lincoln LS Window Motor and Track

Lincoln Ls 02 driver-side power window regulator motor remove

Lincoln ls minor window problem.
 
It looks like the first one is without the motor, and the second one is with. You don't need the motor. You know yours is working, and they rarely fail.
71Mhgug4lpL._AC_SL1105_.jpg


The plastic clip shown, has two slots that the cable passes through. Between those two slots in a metal slug on the cable. This slug is what keeps the plastic clip moving with the cable. If the lower slot is broken off, then the cable (and slug) can move down without dragging the window with it. If the upper slot is still good, then it will still catch the slug every time the cable moves back up. Of coarse, there could be other failure modes with similar results.

Yes, the front glass is bigger, so there are two slides and two cables and two clips. The rear regulators are single slide and single clip. I can't remember for certain, but I think that the glass just clamps in, so it could be that the clamp just needs to be reapplied and tightened. (I have worked on regulators that clamp on to the glass, and on some that rivet to the glass. Between Ford, Jaguar, and BMW, I can't remember clearly which is which...)
 
AmsterDutch said:
The door regulators are pretty much the same
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Yes, the regulators mostly are. The front motors are different, as are the details of getting the door panels off and getting to the regulators, which is a lot of the work involved...
 
lsismore said:
vvvvv


I did find a few videos but they're all for the first generation LS. Dunno it that matters much. Gonna list em here so they're easy to find for the next guy:

Lincoln LS Window Regulator Repair 2000-2002

How To: Replace 2000 Lincoln LS Window Motor and Track

Lincoln Ls 02 driver-side power window regulator motor remove

Lincoln ls minor window problem.
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We aren't going anywhere if you have any questions when you get into it ...just asks and we all will guide you through
 
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