replacing 96 cabrio power window cable?

Oct 15, 2005 4 Replies
W

Hi all,



What's it take to replace the cable the window regulator uses? Mine's got what appears to be a broken ferrule and sleeve that guides it into the motor/gear housing. The cable is inside a wound metal sleeve, much like the typical bicycle brake or gear cable (different gauges of course). Where that cable meets the motor on one side it seems to have chewed up the plastic guide as well as lost some of the metal sleeving.



So, can I replace just the cable? Otherwise the motor seems to work well and the rest of the components involved are in fine shape. It's just the cable 'guide' that's crapped out. It appears to be a pretty s***ty design but I suppose some bean counter thought it was "cost effective".



Anyway, can I replace just the cable or is there some other subassembly involved?



I'll say this, however, the way it handles lining up the glass to meet the door/roof gasket is rather convenient. A lot easier to realign than one I adjusted on my brother's Honda. And orders of magnitude easier than one of my old Cadillac Deville's from days gone by...



Thanks,



-Bill Kearney



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L

Can't just get the cables, must get the complete regulator w/o the motor.

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P

I'll be interested to hear if you actually can replace just the cable, because I've never heard of anyone doing it yet. But I would hope so. I just see people buy entire regulators themselves for these type of issues.

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W

Well isn't that just a pain in the ass. I didn't have the thing apart fully enough to be able to tell if the cable had some sort of break in it. I'd need to insert a new ferrule between the jacket and where it meets the regulator housing. And if the cable has any sort of 'molded-on' connectors at the ends that would certainly be a problem. I've never disassembled one of these so I've no idea if it's even possible. But it seems like a tremendous waste of money to have to replace the entire assembly just because the cable's worn.

So, who's got the best price/quality on a replacement?

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M

Thing is, last one I replaced I figured I'd be smart and keep the pieces that weren't worn out so if I had one break again (I've had over 8 of 'em in this car over the years), maybe I didn't have to buy another.

I threw it all away. NOTHING that wasn't on the verge of crapping out.

It's by far one of the cheapest made pieces I've seen in any vehicle excluding the ones that come with the Happy Meal (tm). Even then, we've got some around the house that have lasted longer...

I will say the German sourced part looked better than the original Mexican one. May be that VW changed it slightly to improve longevity? Whether it actually does last longer or not is yet to be seen.

I suspect by the time you pay shipping, the local stealer is going to be hard to beat. I'm willing and anxious to be proven wrong!

Mark '95 Jetta GLS

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