I'm replacing both the LF door power window switch and power door lock switch since they both require numerous attempts to make them work, they're both worn out. I also am replacing the LF door window glass molding since it is worn out so bad that the felt that slides against the window stops it dead in it's tracks and when it does move (when wet or sprayed with WD) the whole window is somewhat loose. In other words, does not come up level always, (rising glass is lower towards the front of the door).

I've had to grab it with my hands several times to get it moving. Yesterday after this harsh winter and numerous frozen window events throughout, I hit the switch and it would not even come up until I played with it for some time. I left it in the up position fearing it would stall again somewhere.

I'm wondering if at this high milage point (203,000 miles) I should replace the window regulator and or motor assembly either or both. What commonly goes bad here the whole assembly, or just the regulator. How about relays to? Since I'll have the whole door apart I want the window working properly without going overboard if I don't have to, but will if your collective experiences says I should given the price of these Ford parts?

 

I have had several power window motors go out in different vehicles of mine.
They always seem to go out when leaving a drive thru in a rain storm, or something like that (they always go out at the worst possible moment). I had to replace one in a '88 F-150, '02 Mustang GT.....
I always bought an aftermarket lifetime warranty replacement one at Autozone for around $50 & never had a problem with them. If i were in the door already to replace something else anyways, then i would replace the motor too. Never had a regulator issue.
Just my 2 cents.

 

I will only be using factory Ford parts.

 

I guess opinions on this site are hard to come by???

 

Mine is a '98 too (183,000 miles). I've gone round and round with the windows over the last couple years. I get em working, and then they get sticky again.

The thing you mentioned about the felt molding makes sense. I've considered changing mine too.. I got by with cleaning it and putting a little grease on there, but there was a sticky spot in the middle of the window travel. I stuck a screwdriver in there and opened the groove a little, and cleaned it real good with a rag on a thin stick.. there was a lot of gunk in there... after doing that, it worked good for quite a while..

Your motor is probably still good. I got a napa motor once, and it was weaker than the old OEM motor.. so I took it back. The napa motor had a plastic gear on it too, OEM is metal.

The regulator "seems" to be good on mine. It moves smooth, but there's a little slop. I'm not sure how much slop is normal.

My driver's side started acting up again lately, so I opened the motor up and looked at it. The brushes are still fine.

I put a new Motorcraft switch in there a while ago, and that seemed to do the trick for a while, but the window is failing again. I think it's something in the wiring. With the motor out of the door, I plugged it in and it only goes down, won't go up.

The motor is held in by three screws, but you can only see one of them. The other two are behind the "dimples" on the inner door skin. You can use a holesaw, or a small grinder to get access to the other two screws, and then the motor is easy to remove. The regulator can stay in place.

Good luck with it. If you figure it out, I'll like to hear the solution... but I think it's in the wiring.

 

PS, if you take the whole window regulator out, be careful when you remove the motor from it. That thing will snap on your knuckles like a rabbit trap! I learned that one the hard way with an Aerostar regulator... It only peeled the skin back a little, but I was glad there was someone nearby to help get it off...

 

here's the other two bolts for the motor, this is the driver's side door...

 

this pic shows the dimples.. the motor comes out thru the speaker hole.

 

... when the window and regulator are still in their place, you don't have to worry about the regulator biting you.. the motor comes right out, easy.

 

-For absolutely sure the window sticks because of the felt that has worn completely off of the window molding where they contact near the doors LH mirror. Spray a little WD-40 on it near the front edge and it goes up and down as good as new until it wears off in a very short period of time.

-I've done a rewire job on a few other vehicles where the wires go through the doors hinge area between the door and the body inside that accordion like rubber boot. The wires bend back and forth numerous times over the years every time the door is operated slowly weakening the wires until they start to break off inside the casing one copper fiber at a time until broken completely off. Then it may still operate in an intermittent way as the broken halves touch off and on in such close proximity inside the casing. I've had to cut out those wires and solder and shrink wrap new long individual wires to replace the bundle in that bending area of the cable. That solves that problem for the cars foreseeable future/life span.

Another thing to remember is that the door skin was initially designed weakly without enough interior support near the doors outer rear window causing the sheet metal to crack. Mine is cracked on both sides (exterior). This cracking is caused by the weakness in design and also the tremendous power of the power window applying such upward force to the upper door frame and sheet metal. I'm sure that window could take ones finger right off if caught under such pressure. In the past few days, it's gotten extremely hit and miss as to if it will work or not stopping and starting. I just want the general idea of what parts are usually good and what parts fail if there is any regularity of failure to help me illuminate those aspects of the repair, like: (Don't bother with the motor, it's always the regulator) that type of thing and so on with the other parts, switches etc.?

 

That's good to know. I did read that holes had to be drilled for the motor removal and also the rivets for the regulator must be drilled out to and replaced with, what: bolts and nuts?

Why in the hell didn't they just put the holes there in the first place????, some lazy engineer I'm sure, never thinking about the mechanics.

 

Those rivets are tricky to drill out because of the pin in the middle. When I did it, I wound up using a small grinder with the thin wheel on it... a "Metal cut-off wheel".
I made 4 little cuts in the top of each rivet, shaped like a square, and then knocked the tops off of the rivets off with a chisel.. I did it like that because I didn't want to defeat to much of the paint on the door skin.. it worked good.

To put the new regulator in, I used bolts... 1/4" iirc..
If you put a star washer on the inside, you won't have to bother with getting a wrench inside the door. .. just finger tight, and then one wrench on the easy side worked fine.

 

That makes perfect sense.

In the past, I noticed that opening and closing the door makes the window work sometimes... And there were a few times when I got it to work by wiggling that boot... I guess I'll have to go ahead and open that up next, thanks!

 

I was taught to "never use WD, unless it's a last resort".

If it gets on anything you might want to paint someday, it could give you big problems. ... It penetrates into all the little cracks, and it's hard to remove the residue. It's even worse if you're not expecting it, and it shows up to bite you in the *** after you paint it.

The other thing is, it only lubricates for a short time.. But it also removes grease... so, when it wears off, there's even less grease left in the joint.

... but I heard it works real good for getting tomato stains out of a t-shirt, never tried that one yet myself though..

When I cleaned the window felt on mine, I used a rag on a thin stick, with brake cleaner.. then I used a little "SILGLYDE" on the tracks.

 

I just saw a YoutTube video where the mechanic took a pin punch and popped out the center rivet pin into the doors body cavity, that brakes off when installing it. That allows the drill to dig right into the meat of the aluminum rivet and not spin on the left over pin. About half way through the video. Time saver and a new one on me. Good trick.