DIY: Cheap rattling window fix

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Foe
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DIY: Cheap rattling window fix

Post by Foe »

Refusing to pay $25 for a single piece of platic I thought Id have a go at fixing my rattling window with felt or something.

Used the guide on www.ftodiy.co.uk and got the worn bit out. Found that its really easy and effective to just take out the window guide and give the metal fingers a few taps of the hammer. This narrows the gap caused by the worn plasic and will probably last just as long as a new bit of plastic. Just take out the plastic before using the hammer as my flatmate broke his plastic. He just glued it back in and it worked though (pretty dodgee :).

Did it a few days ago and its been so good to drive with the windows down again :)
Last edited by Foe on Mon Dec 13, 2004 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kazbah
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Post by kazbah »

Thanks Foe for that web site. I have issues with both the driver side window rattling and the passenger side central locking. This site covers both of these problems and some!!!!! Now just have to round up the pit crew for some maintenance work :roll:
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mrStumpy
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Central locking fix

Post by mrStumpy »

There are a couple central locking fixes around, but I found this one here:
http://www.mivec.co.uk/q_and_a/q_and_a.htm

Havnt tried this one yet myself. But I think ill have a go at it over the christmas break.


Q. My central locking is a bit sticky - what can I do?
A. This is a solution, courtesy of Peter Sarsota


Removing the door panel.
First remove three black plastic popper covers and the screws behind them. Two on the rear edge adjacent to the door mechanism and one at the front in the panel dashboard recess. Remove screw just below inner door handle and then slide the plastic cover that it held on forward whilst pulling away from door. Remove the large screw that is now exposed. Remove the plastic plug just above the door pocket and remove the screw behind it. Carefully lever the panel away from the inner door skin using a screwdriver at the bottom and then pull the panel off the door. Disconnect the plugs for windows and speakers. Carefully pull the plastic off the door and remove the one inch wide black plastic disc adjacent to the locking mechanism just above the rubber door stop

Removing the lock mechanism
An inspection lamp is really useful now! Look inside the door and you will see where the rods for the internal handle and lock joint the locking mechanism. They are held in place with green (may be orange) plastic clips. Easiest way to remove them is to follow the rods with your hand towards the lock until you feel the plastic clips, push the clips up off the rod then push the rod towards the outer door skin. Next you need to disconnect the two rods for the outer Handle and lock. These disconnect at the handle and lock end (You cannot disconnect them at the Locking mechanism end) The lock rod (shorter of the two) is held by a similar plastic clip. Again follow the rod up until you feel the clip, push the clip off the rod and push the rod back.Now the really fiddle one. Unless you have very small hands and rubber arms you will not be able to get a grip of the top of the last rod. Pull the rubber out above the lock on the end of the door where the door and window meet. Look down though the hole you should see the rod and clip, use a screwdriver to prise the clip open and remember the plastic disc you took off, there was a hole behind it. Put your finger in the hole and push the rod out of the clip. Undo the three screws around the door lock, hold onto the lock or it will drop to the bottom of the door. Manoeuvre the lock mechanism behind the window guide and out of the door. Disconnect the cable plug.

Fix the locking motor
Remove the 6 little screws that hold the circular cover onto the locking mechanism. Don't lose the rubber seal.
Inside you will see cogs, a little motor and a green disc shaped electrical component. The problem generally seems to caused by the grease in the unit melting and getting into the motor this in turn causes the disc shaped component to overheat and break down reducing the power to the motor stopping it turning fast enough. Easiest way to check is to lift the motor up at the top so the spigot does not engage with the cog and plug the unit back into the car, Every press of the remote button (note you will have to hold the interior light switch in or it will not try and lock/unlock) will result in the motor turning slower and slower every time you press and the disc shaped unit geting very hot !
DO NOT TEST WITH THE UNIT OPEN AND THE MOTOR ENGAGED OR ALL THE BITS WILL COME FLYING OUT !! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Two ways to resolve this.
1) Very fiddly. Un-solder the two connections to the motor (Make sure you mark which way round they go) Place the motor in a vice spindle down and lever the two metal tabs off the plastic end plate. The motor will now come apart. Gently clean the brushes and conductor with a degreaser. Use two opened paper clips to hold the brushes out the way while you put it back together and tap the metal tabs back into place. Re-solder the two connections.
2) May not resolve the problem. Un-solder the two connections to the motor (Make sure you mark which way round they go) and then spray electrical board cleaner (Not WD40) into the motor several times. Wait until cleaner has evaporated and then reconnect motor.

Test again by connecting to the car. Motor should now turn quickly. If not then electrical componect is probably knacked. If this is the case just bypass the electrical component using a very short piece of wire. Needs to be short or you will not get the cover back on. I just soldered a piece of wire from one leg of the electrical componect to the other. Test again by connecting to the car. Motor should now turn quickly. Reduce the amount of grease in the unit especially above the motor (to stop it happening again) Put it all back together making sure the cover fits correctly. (It should fit flush all the way round without pressure. If not then the cog spindles are not located in their holes correctly.) Very important or lock will not work properly !!

Replacement is the reversal of removal. Except that you when you reconnect the outside door handle rod, do not lift the handle up. Check carefully that the rod is correctly engadged in its clip. Careful the clip is easy to break.I am unsure why the electrical component is there. General concensus seems to be that it is to protect the motor from an overload or to reduce noise picked up on the radio. So it may be that the motor will fail earlier than normal. It is up to you. Take the risk or lock your doors manually ! Peter@sarsota.force9.co.uk
http://ftogpxfs.blogspot.com/
cb
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Post by cb »

That hostile smoker site is down.
Does anyone have any pics or info i wanna give it a go cheers!
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FtoSam
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Post by FtoSam »

Anyone else got a guide for this?
Image

If you need good deal on photography, let me know.
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Post by I8A4RE »

Yeah mine are fucked too and i havent had any time to research this so ill be interested any info anyone has
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vipfto
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Post by vipfto »

check out the complete fto site Simon
Window fix DIY guide is there very simple to do mate
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cb
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Post by cb »

How to: Replacing electric window guides / removing the door panel.

Why?
When I picked up my car the drivers door rattled like hell, it was the kind of sound that would make you take your car straight back and demand a refund! Luckily for me it turned out that this is a common problem on the FTO and the part to blame is very cheap to replace!
I ordered the part from CoordSport (see links page for contact info) & the part numbers were: MB321765 & MB321766

Not a particularly difficult job and definitely worthwhile!

How?

1. Okay, so the first step is to remove the door panel. This is a straight forward job, it is held in place by 6 screws.

First remove the 3 outer screws (circled, 2 on outside edge of panel and 1 on inside towards hinge.) - most of these screws should have small plastic covers over them.

Next remove the big plug and screw just underneath the door handle inside the map pocket.

Finally remove the small screw which holds the door handle / lock cover in place.
2. Next remove the door handle / lock cover by pulling the door handle out and sliding it off.
This reveals the 6th screw (circled) which is holding the top part of the door handle in place.

Once these screws have been removed the door panel should just pull off, it is held in place by a number of plastic clips which you just need to unpop as you work your way around.

Don't forget to unplug the wire from the electric window controls.
3. Your door should now look something like this picture (well actually with a bit of luck it'll look a bit neater than this with the weather sheet properly in place!)

The part to be replaced is located in the circled hole towards the front of the door but before you can see it you need to adjust the window.

Remove the window controls from the door panel (held on by 3 screws) and re-connect to the power cable in the door. You can now move the window up and down again.

At this point it's best to remove your door speaker to give you better access to the window guide.
4. Lower the window until this piece (circled) comes into view. It's a metal 'U' shaped piece with a plastic inside. The plastic wears down and become loose around the guide rail that it runs along.

To confirm that this is the piece at fault just reach in and push against the glass, you should be able to make it rattle back and forwards (it's quite obvious if this is the piece that needs replacing.)

The window guide is held in place by a single (10mm) nut, unscrew it and you can remove the worn part. Don't worry, the glass won't go anywhere while your doing this!

Now just attach the replacment part and bolt back in place, piece of cake! (if you've got midget sized hands)

All guides are suggested methods only, any modifications or work is carried out at owners risk. Hostile Smoker.com will not be held responsible for any problems or damage caused as a result of following one of these guides.

Thats all I found I want pics!
cb
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Post by cb »

Has anyone got any pictures or next time they take their door off they could take some? Im a bit of a n00b!
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knowhopetattoo
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Post by knowhopetattoo »

Pictures I don't got but I did this last week.......the piece you need to remove is at the bottem front part of the window, attached to the window with a 10mm nut.
It's a small bracket thingy....and it just slides over the long runner that's bolted to the inside of the door.
Bit of a crap place to get it off.....it's better to go at it from below with a 10MM ring spanner.

This job's a bit fiddly but well worth the half hopur or so that it takes to do it.
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