Want some opinions on fixing doors and Windows; pictures inside

[CopperNick]

Sorry, the mechanical regulator that I have will not work for you as it is for a 4 door. I'd have to do a physical side by each but think it wuld be the length of the "X" arms that would prove to be different. Apart from that, I am not certain what side or door it is meant for and that spring of doom that I mentioned has already been popped off as a prelude to being re-installed on another regulator by way of a repair. All that aside, I am physically up here across the 49th parallel in the land of the Frozen Chosen and while I would cheerfully pack it up and send it on its way, the cost of getting it over the border, mainly the shipping costs plus the fees for the stack of paperwork that both sides want to be given before it can be sent on its merry way would likely come close to what a salvage or pick a part way closer to you might want.

Most of which being why I offered pictures, them I can post pro bono.



Nick

 

[arlowf]

Sorry, the mechanical regulator that I have will not work for you as it is for a 4 door. I'd have to do a physical side by each but think it wuld be the length of the "X" arms that would prove to be different. Apart from that, I am not certain what side or door it is meant for and that spring of doom that I mentioned has already been popped off as a prelude to being re-installed on another regulator by way of a repair. All that aside, I am physically up here across the 49th parallel in the land of the Frozen Chosen and while I would cheerfully pack it up and send it on its way, the cost of getting it over the border, mainly the shipping costs plus the fees for the stack of paperwork that both sides want to be given before it can be sent on its merry way would likely come close to what a salvage or pick a part way closer to you might want.

Most of which being why I offered pictures, them I can post pro bono.



Nick

Thank you sir. At this point I'm just trying to understand which pieces do what I'm the door. Because I got one guy telling me I have a bad regulator and that's why my window won't stay rolled up; and I got another guy telling me it's the rollers that run inside the track that keep the window from rolling itself down and I just need to replace those.
Nobody seems to be able to answer which one it is.

And yes, I would greatly appreciate a picture of your inner door workings splayed out, if they match the inner door workings of an 86 Monte Carlo. You mention a spring? Some people are saying there isn't supposed to be a spring and others are saying their should be a spring. I don't see a coil spring inside my door but I may just not be looking in the right place.

 

[ELCAM]

You need a new regulator which being manual is not available at the moment.

Several vendors have this setup but that's all I can find. For used parts there is a lot of passenger side manual ones but not drivers side. Pretty sure there were manual reproductions in the past perhaps someone will offer them again soon.

https://www.opgi.com/window/window-hardware/2-window-bolt-in-power-window-kit/power-window-kit-1978-88-g-body-2-window-l240279.html

 

[arlowf]

You need a new regulator which being manual is not available at the moment.

Several vendors have this setup but that's all I can find. For used parts there is a lot of passenger side manual ones but not drivers side. Pretty sure there were manual reproductions in the past perhaps someone will offer them again soon.

https://www.opgi.com/window/window-hardware/2-window-bolt-in-power-window-kit/power-window-kit-1978-88-g-body-2-window-l240279.html

Not what I wanted to hear, but what I already had concluded and probably needed to hear.
That guy telling me it was the rollers really got my hopes up.

$720 bucks to fix a damn window not staying up.

 

[ELCAM]

Did you look in the bottom of the door to see if the spring was in there?

 

[arlowf]

Did you look in the bottom of the door to see if the spring was in there?

You mean as in fallen down? No... but I will. I've read like three places on forums that gbody Monte Carlo manual regulators don't have a spring. Is that wrong?

 

[CopperNick]

No, not wrong, just not stating the whole matter in its entirety. By the middle 80's most doors had power windows so the regulator mechanism had no need for an external counterbalance spring to help with the coming and going of the window. The motorized system does have a spring but it is internal in the drive housing and Should Not be F***** with unless you have those X arms securely clamped because if they aren't and you pop the bolts out of the housing and the internal spring releases its energy............... We-ell, think super sized scissor blades working at the speed of light... Snip, snip, now you have fewer fingers to count with. And yeah, I do speak from experience..............

For many older models, the manual or hand crank version was the default that came with the car unless otherwise optioned so that version of the regulator came with the spring. Best example of this would be the 78-80? G-Body, any make of it. By around 83 or so, the doors started getting the power version (anyone with a better sense of the actual date, please feel free to interrupt me here) as things went from interior plebian to interior more luxurious.

Pictures?? Yeah, can be arranged with a little re-arranging of the floor. Gimme a minute or two here.


Nick

 

[arlowf]

No, not wrong, just not stating the whole matter in its entirety. By the middle 80's most doors had power windows so the regulator mechanism had no need for an external counterbalance spring to help with the coming and going of the window. The motorized system does have a spring but it is internal in the drive housing and Should Not be F***** with unless you have those X arms securely clamped because if they aren't and you pop the bolts out of the housing and the internal spring releases its energy............... We-ell, think super sized scissor blades working at the speed of light... Snip, snip, now you have fewer fingers to count with. And yeah, I do speak from experience..............

For many older models, the manual or hand crank version was the default that came with the car unless otherwise optioned so that version of the regulator came with the spring. Best example of this would be the 78-80? G-Body, any make of it. By around 83 or so, the doors started getting the power version (anyone with a better sense of the actual date, please feel free to interrupt me here) as things went from interior plebian to interior more luxurious.

Pictures?? Yeah, can be arranged with a little re-arranging of the floor. Gimme a minute or two here.


Nick

So, to dumb it down for me... my 86 manual window Monte Carlo should have a spring, right?

 

[CopperNick]

Uh-huh.



Nick

 

[69hurstolds]

As stated, power windows have no spring on the regulator. Manual windows do, as it's right on the backside of the gear assembly, but as long as you don't try to take the gear assembly apart, you'll be ok. In the pic below, you can see the spring shown on the back side. You'll need to remove your door panel most likely to see it, but you're more likely to be able to do a reacharound on it and feel to see if it's there, or if it's broken, or whatever. If your window crank spins around when your window drops, it's likely the spring broken/missing. If it doesn't, then it's probably some broken linkage or tooth engagement issue where the assembly is so wobbly that it just jumps teeth and essentially falls. Or a combination of both.

Power windows have been around for ages. It's just that people weren't as lazy back in the 60s/70s and the price of the option itself was kind of cost prohibitive (in relation to the times) on many cars. When the A/G-bodies came out, it was akin to spending about $900 in today's dollars for power side windows alone. By 1986, they were almost half that, while it cost you about 1.5 times more for the car itself, so it became more practical. I think the economy mindset was different back then, as what was considered "luxury" items weren't ordered. But all throughout the 10-year G-body run, power side windows were always an option.

Anecdotally, In my early days, if you had a 68 442, and it had power windows in it, it was a car for "pu$$ies". People forget that zillions of cars built in the 60s and 70s were no-frills, A to B vehicles people just drove as the family car. Power windows were at home in Caddys, Electra 225s, Lincolns, and 98s. Today, you can get power all sorts of stuff standard even on entry level models.