Knobles,
The problem with the motors spinning backwards is the cap is rotated 180 deg. This is the same as swapping the magnets inside the motor.
Sorry it took so long to respond I had to verify it would work first.

 

Did mine this afternoon, took 3 hours in total from start to finish, I had to do both the front doors.

Here is the method I used.

- First off disconnect the battery.
- Remove the panel.
- Remove the plastic cover.
- Remove the wire plugs going to the actuator.
- Pull the plugs out of the way. It helps to take out the plastic support that holds the harness in place (I have pointed it out in the following picture with the black arrow)



- Remove the Torx screws, I used T shaped torx driver, it gives you more leverage compared to L shaped driver.
- Remove door handle, undo the door and lock handle connection coming from the actuator, for the rod that connects the door handle, it would help if you spray some WD40 on it to snap it out of the plastic door handle connector, do not use excessive force as there is a strong chance you might end up damaging it.
- Open the bolt that holds the metal window channel, it runs in front of the actuator, removing it makes it easy for the actuator to come out, that screw is present in the area circled yellow in the following picture.



- Remove the actuator.
- Remove the plastic casing from the actuator that contains the electric motor.
- The toughest part I found in the whole process was getting the casing open without damaging it, I dremeled a couple of spots and used a small flat head screw driver to pry it open, make sure not to use excessive force as the plastic tends to break easily.
- To get the graphite gear from the old motor I used the rivet driver pictured below.


To use it you'd have to cut the old motor open so that you have the gear shaft with the gear with you, insert the back end in the rivet driver and just work it as you would if you were riveting something, the gear comes off cleanly.

-- I used a small rubber hammer to tap the gear onto the new motor.

-- From here just work your way back to assemble and install everything.

Thanks to everyone for their effort, dealer quoted me around 800 to replace both the actuators, my final cost using this DIY was $38, $20 for the two motors and $18 for a torx driver set (which I can always use in future). Here is a picture of the set I bought, notice the shape of the drivers, I strongly suggest you get a T30 of this shape as the 4 torx screws are bolted on pretty solid, I had to use a lot of force to undo mine

 

The easiest way to take apart the actuator casing is to get a single sided razor(like the ones u would use to scrape stickers off a windshield). Put the razor in between where the casing is sealed together. Then hammer the top of the razor which will split casing right at the seal. Go around the whole seal of the casing with the razor and u should have a precision cut in between where the casing meets together. This actually works and is cleaner and less likely to crack the casing than using a Dremel or a flat head screwdriver!

By the way, If anyone is in the Dallas area and needs help with the actuator DIY feel free to hit me up!

Below is a link of the kind of razor i used.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...s/00001668.jpg

 

flathead screwdriver? Who has been using that?

I use a fine chisel. Much easier to hold and comes out nicer. Never thought of using a dremel before.

 

anyone in central Ohio that can help me with this?

 

excellent DIY did one of my rears today

 

I just finished replacing these on my RX and I have leftover motors because I bought more than I needed. FC-280PC-22125 is the part and can sell them for 9 bucks a piece plus actual shipping.

DL

 

so does this mean $200 per door?

1/4 door lock works on my gs 400. That means I have to spend 600$ + the ebay motor???

 

I think it is $200 per door if you want to replace the whole actuator. It's only about $12 per door if you buy the motor and install it in the existing actuator.

 

I broke the black connector that holds the cable for the inside door lock, and now it binds to the point that I can't lock the door with the remote and new motor. Does anyone know if the cable is replaceable or if there is a slotted threaded connector I can replace it with?

I'm going to try to JBweld it for now, but if it doesn't hold, I am hoping I don't have to buy the whole actuator assembly to replace a cheap cable connector.

Any tips on keeping it from breaking snapping it back in?

Was so excited I saved so much money until the connector broke.

 

As per the tips in this thread, I bought a new assembly from ebay and it took a little over an hour to perform. Thanks to all that provided tips.

- The window does not have to come out, however it does need to be all the way up.

- apply a little grease to where the cables connect to the inside door latch.

- dont forget to connect the wires after you install the new part.

These are the tools i used. the wrench was to disconnect the battery. thats the old assembly to the right. I didnt use the L-shaped wrench set at all.

 

I just installed the motor today, and it took me about 3 hours. And yeah take out the battery, I pluged the connectors after i got done installing the motor, and then the window went down on me, and my hand got stuck. but other then that, this worked out great.

 

Man, I've pulled mine out 3 times today. When it's in, I can't use the key to unlock the door. When it's out, evey bar and cable work fine. Even without the inside panel on, the key will not unlock the door. The new motor works great. I didn't move the spring or gear, so it should be back to the zero point. I guess my actuator is going to force me to replace the whole thing.

 

Well I feel SO much better now that I will not have to rolled down my driver door window and open my door from the outside anymore. I never believed that is was the actual acutuator itself that went bad but looking threw this thread sure did help. The issue was an anchor from the cable that's connected to the inside handle of my driver door which became loose and popped out. A small notch with green piece where the anchor sits in cracked a little bit but it was minor. I placed the anchor back in and applied some Gorilla glue to hold in place.

My laptop in the garage logged on to CL using the DIY as my guide:


Here's the little anchor loose out of place:


Back in the notch held with little glue:


Took me a lil over 2 hours to complete and I'm able to open the door from inside and outside.

 

Hi-
I replaced these on my '01 RX300 and I have leftovers. Do you still need these? I can do them for nine dollars a piece + shipping to alberta. I can send pics if you are interested.

FC280PC-22125 Motor DC,
24.2mm, 12V, 13100RPM,
.11A, Bottom Connection