EMERGENCY: How to Raise the Window on a Broken Window Motor or Broken window Regulator (No new parts).

1991-1997 GS300 or Aristo



For a cheap quick method (if you don't care about drilling holes in window regulator), you can do the mickey mouse method.

Mickey mouse method
If you know the window regulator has failed completely, and can't be repaired. The easiest thing to do is to cut the window cable wire, and SLOWLY drill a hole through the wide flat metal portion of the window regulator without drilling through your door.




Then get a block of wood and have someone push the window closed, while you prop the wood block up against the bottom of the glass's bracket. Then drill a screw through the hole in the metal slide into the block of wood.

So now you have a propped up glass window from inside the door, until you can get around to fixing it.
For a less destructive, and less risky method, but a bit more involved, read below.
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Safe Method


Yes there is a way to get your windows back up to the closed position if the window motor fails.
This will buy you some time to save up for the new window regulator and new window motor.

This just happened to me a week ago and my rear left is being held up at the moment. The motor for this arrived yesterday from amazon.com. I originally ordered the wrong side in the rear. Make sure that the picture online matches the motor you are going to change exactly. Left and Right motors look alike but they are mirrored images of each other.


Rear Right Window Regulator and Motor - 1991-1997 GS300/Aristo[img]



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Rear Left Window Regulator and Motor - 1991-1997 GS300/Aristo



look closely at the 2 pictures, and notice the curvature of the long "ruler like" metal piece in both pictures. Be cautious when ordering the parts based solely off of pictures.



If you can afford the $120-$140 for an aftermarket window regulator, BUY IT! I tried to save money and spent 2-3 days, at 5-6hrs each day taking apart, oiling, cleaning, and trying to get the cable tension pulley on the window regulator to align perfectly with the window motor. I even installed a micro bolt and nut to secure the plastic cable guide on the top of the window regulator securely in place to ensure that the regulator would still work.

And when it finally did align (scraped, and cut hands), the motor still did not work (when attached to the window regulator). This even after I had opened the motor, cleaned the rotor windings and channels, cleaned the stator and commutators, and greased the damn thing. The motor worked pretty good on a 2 amp bench power supply, but when I would connect it to the window regulator, it did not work. I even installed it into the car thinking the higher amperage delivered by the battery would remedy this and it did not. So to sum it up (if there is no visual indication of failure upon inspection...broken clips, etc.).

SAVE AND BUY A NEW WINDOW MOTOR!


AND POSSIBLY A NEW WINDOW REGULATOR, unless.....
If the existing window regulator looks fine, you can use it on a new window motor provided that you:

A) pry the tab and take off the round cover on the NEW window motor, and remove the white transfer gear and the black 3 cogged holder (see below - this will allow the square shaped metal block on the opposite, and inside the window motor, to spin freely)

B) slide the cable pulley out of the existing/old window motor with out it letting the cables unravel and hold it securely.

C) then place the cable pulley into the new window motor housing making sure to align the square shaped cutout on the pulley with the protruding metal block that is inside the window motor.

D) Now insert the white transfer gear and the black 3 cogged holder back into the window motor, and put the window motor covers back on both sides.

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This site link may also help as a reference for the installation of a completely new window regulator and window motor.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...s-1st-gen.html


For the rear window this is what I did:
(assuming all of the plastic guides, and clips are not broken, and the failure is because of a dead motor.
If the plastic guides[2 of them] for the cable are broken you could try to fix them, if that does not work, see the mickey mouse option at the top of this post)


1)
first you must pop/pry out the window switch from the wide and rounded end/corner with a flat head screwdriver. When sticking the screw driver between the switch and the leather be careful not to catch and crack the wood grain if it is still in tact. Once the window switch is out, unplug the electrical connector attached to it.

Once this has been popped out, remove the 2? screws at the bottom of the door, and 1 screw inside the rubber bumpstop (on the outer most corner of the door) that bolt the leather interior side of the door to its metal frame. There may be another screw or 2 that I am forgetting right now, but please, do a thorough search on "speaker installs" or something similar to see exactly how many screws there are.

2)
Once you separate the actual leather rear door assembly (basically take the inside door off to where you can see your stock speaker enclosures/pods) from the metallic door frame, you will need to disconnect the small electric plugs for the door open courtesy light, the speaker, the window switch(unplugged at the start of this), and the electric window motor.
I think I have photos, and if not I will try to take some after work.


3)
Then you will see what looks like a 2" wide (slightly curved outward) flat metal bracket (orientated up and down), with an electric window motor, linked to it. The motor is mounted to a black, sheet metal stamped, cross member, that is orientated horizontally perpendicular (left to right) to the 2" wide flat metal bracket. (see DRAWING SKETCH #1 and BRACKET PHOTO below) with a "bicycle brake like" type of wire on both the top and bottom of the bracket. On both ends of this bracket, this wire and shielding runs at a ~45 degree angle to meet at the window motor's pulley housing. (see sketch below).

BRACKET PHOTO




DRAWING SKETCH #1



If you look at the sketch, you will need to remove:

A) the 2-10mm bolts(purple color in sketch) holding the glass window to the window lift bracket(be careful not to let window drop down in the following steps)
B) the 2-10mm nuts(green color on sketch) securing the flat metal bracket in place.
C) 2 or 3 (I believe)-10mm bolts(or nuts) that hold the cross member bracket(black in color in real life) in place
D) the 3-10mm nuts(red color on sketch).


Now you will have both the window regulator and the window motor as one unit in your hand still attached to each other.



4)
On the electric motor, you will want to pop the round top off that covers the motor's worm gear and transfer gear.
You can use a flat head screwdriver for this and pry at 1 of the 2 securing fingers that hold this cover in place.
see key point in photo #2
PHOTO #2



see flat head in photo #3
PHOTO #3







Once you have the cover off and can see the gears, you will need to remove the "C" clip ring. I used a small pick and a flat head to kind of bend it out of place. You can even use a phillips screwdriver and a flathead screwdriver as well to do the same thing (place the point of the phillips screwdriver in one hole of the "C-clip" and use the flat hed to pry the other end out).
SEE PHOTO #4







Now you must lift the black 3 cogged holder(3 cogs are on the inside, facing the white transfer gear) and the white plastic nylon(?) transfer gear out of the housing.






5)
Now you should be able to freely slide up and down the window lift bracket(the part the window bolts to and rests on). Lay the window regulator on a flat surface, and slide the bracket as far up as it can go. Now slide it down anywhere from ~0.1 to 0.2 inches (~2.5mm to 5mm). This adds a small gap so that later upon re-insertion of the window regulator into the door, the window regulator's 2 frame bolts will align with the door frame way easier. The photo below shows what happens if you don't do this.







6)
Now put the white nylon transfer gear, and the 3 cogged holder back into the housing, insert the "C"-clip and bend it back(if it is too hard I wouldn't worry about it), and place the round metal housing cover back on. Pry the 1 of 2 fingers on the round metal housing cover back so that it is securely in place.



7)
Take the window regulator, and window motor (both still connected as 1 unit) and insert them back into the door space without bolting them back up.

Next you will perform a trial run and lift the glass window up, making sure to align the glass window in its black plastic guide channels built into the door frame.
SEE PHOTOS #6 AND #7
PHOTO #6




PHOTO #7





When you have confidently lifted (by hand) the glass window up and down a few times without it getting caught in its plastic guide channels. Then you must lift the glass window all the way up with one hand, hold it pthere and line up the window regulator right below it. Once the window is resting on the regulator's window lift bracket(keep an eye out so the glass window does not slip off and fall while doing this) and the 2 mounting holes are aligned, then insert the 2-10mm window bolts and secure them.
WINDOW LIFT BRACKET







Now you can lift the whole window regulator and your window will follow. At this point make sure the window regular's 2 threaded posts align with their holes, and place the nuts onto them. Here is a picture of one of the threaded posts not aligned.








Now put all bolts, nuts, items and plugs (EXCLUDING THE WINDOW MOTOR PLUG! DON'T CONNECT THAT PLUG!) in the reverse order of how they were removed.

If you connect the window motor plug back in, you run the risk of forgetting and accidentally lowering your window. And if this happens you will have to do this all over again. Or if your window motor is seized up, you could short something electronically by forgetting that the motor is bad.

You can plug the window motor plug back in after you have bought and installed new parts.


EDIT: Also, if you have installed the new replacement parts and want to test the window motor and window regulator before putting the panels back on the door, you must connect that window's raise/lower switch back to the harness in order for the front drivers window control switch to raise or lower that particular window during testing.

I hope this helps you or the next guy, as I tried to remember everything I could
Let me know how it goes.






KEYWORDS: broken window motor window regulator stuck down roll up roll down seized[/img]