1980 Power Window Regulator Removal

My '80 Corvette needs a passenger window regulator gear replacement. The motor works fine but the teeth on the high side of the regulator gear are worn down.

I have the 1980 Corvette shop manual but it's not really very instructive on precisely how the regulator is removed.

After telling me to remove the door panel and the inner door panel access cover, it then tells me to do the following:

1) Disengage wire harness at motor. 2) Remove inner panel cam. 3) Punch out window regulator rivet center pins, then drill out rivets with 6mm (1/4") drill bit. 4) Disengage regulator rollers from sash channel cam and remove regulator from door.

I've got no problem getting to Step 2 above but I don't know what or where the inner panel cam is. There are no pictures in the manual.

Since this isn't the first window job the door has had, the rivet removal in Step 3 has already been done. There are two nuts left there to remove. No problem here.

In Step 4, I can grope around inside the door and find the 3 regulator rollers in the sash channels, but I don't have a clue as to how they're removed without removing the sash channels.

And lastly, while it doesn't actually say so, I assume the motor and regulator come out as an assembly.

I'd really appreciate any help anyone could give me on this. As I recall, I spend close to $500 for a power window repair in the shop.

Thanks!

Mike

80 Corvette 4-speed
Reply to
Mike
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First off take some 100 mile per hour tape and run a strip the length of the inside of the window taping it to the inter door skin. When you do get it loose you don't need the window to drop. Now take off the bolts and move the assembly out towards the outside. Some of the regulators/motor assemblies are like scissors so watch you fingers. When it comes loose the rollers should come loose from the tracks at a notch or the end of the rail. When you get your repairs made take the time to clean out the rails/guides and re-lubricate them. Re-stake the rollers a bit to cut down the binding the loose fit causes. I did both of '72 doors last fall because they were slow, the rails were full of crap and hardened lube. A31 P/W and U69, radio, were the only options on mine and I've had to fix them both last year. Can't remember the details well enough to tell you what the inter panel cam is and there is no description like that in my GM manual. If you need it I can scan the page and send it to you.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Reply to
Dad

Thanks for the advice! That doesn't sound too complicated. I'm planning on tackling the project this weekend. Will let you know how it goes.

Mike

Reply to
Mike

Somewhat delayed, but I finally did get my regulator/motor assembly out of the door. Because of the jockying required to get the upper rollers out of the horizontal channel I've concluded this is really a job that requires an assistant.

Anyway, the diagnosis is dilapidated teeth on the regulator gear and a deep groove worn into the helical gear on the motor. The later is a simple replacement repair which only costs about $30. The easy repair on the regulator gear would be to buy a new regulator assembly but everything but the gear on mine looks fine. I don't really want to get involved in popping rivets and manhandling the coil spring to replace the gear only so I've become intrigued with the gear teeth replacement option whereby you drill three holes into your existing regulator gear and bolt in a arc segment which has nice new teeth on it.

I would appreciate anyone's advice or experience here.

Mike

80 4-speed -- original owner
Reply to
Mike

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