I just finished replacing the rear window weatherstrips on my 96 Bronco, both inner & outer along with new rubber end pieces. Now my rear window won't go all the way up or down on its own. If I give it some help lifting up or pushing down it will work. I don't see how I could've put the new weatherstrips on wrong, it was pretty straight forward. The seal b/n the window and outer strip is alot better than it was, the old strip felt was worn pretty good. I'm hoping that the new weatherstrips just need to be broken in some versus this meaning that my rear window motor is too worn to do its job with the new weatherstrips. Anyone else been in this position before when you replaced your weatherstrips?

 

new seal+old moter=slow i put some vasiline on the sides of the window that go into the track and that seemed to help alot good luck. ps if you here of any other tips on this please post i came up with the vasiline thing myself just a way of trying to help moter in the seal break in period thanks

 

if that doesn't cure it you'll need to take the motor mechanism out and give it a good greasing - particularly the pivot point and the curved rack. Also grease the tracks attached to the glass that the arms of the motor slide within.

 

DON'T grease the window tracks! Oil/petroleum of ANY kind vitrifies (makes brittle) rubber! You get vaseline all over your new seals and in the felt-covered rubber window track guides and the problem MAY be temporarily alleviated but soon the things you just replaced AND the felt/rubber guide liners will be hard and brittle and you are back to square one.

Make certain the window tracks are allowing the window to move in the manner it "wants" to. You can loosen (NOT REMOVE) the two bolts in each end of the tailgate that hold the end guides in place. Once you have loosened them enough to allow the guides to shift if they need to when the window is moving you can determine by observing the bolt heads whether or not the guides need to be adjusted. When the window reaches the point where it usually stalls, stop it and tighten the guides back down. This allows the window to position the guides so that it does not bind in them.

If this does nothing for the problem, you may need to do as muckeypaws suggested and clean and lube the regulator assembly including the gearing and the slides/glides at the base of the window.

 

Thanks for the replies. After just one day of breakin the window will now move all the way up and down on it's own. It's still moving alot slower than it used to but at least its a hands free operation now. If it doesn't clear up some in a few more days i'll open her up and apply some grease.

 

Where is the best place to buy new weatherstrips? I need them all for my old 89...

 

I use silicone spray on weatherstripping works great, lubes and doors don't freeze closed when foggy.

 

buy weatherstirpping from broncograveyard or a sponsor of FTE might have it

 

They are expensive from the dealership...THANKS!

 

I bought my parts from Broncograveyard. Total for inner & outer strips plus both end pieces was $90, including tax and shipping. I checked all the local Ford dealers and they were higher in price.

 

If you have a Ford/Sterling heavy truck dealer near you, check with them. Most of them are fleet service dealers an carry a full line of truck parts all the way down to Ranger-sized Ford trucks. And because they keep such a large inventory for fleet service work, their prices are often lower than the car dealers drooling over their next victim!

 

That is good information to have. Thanks greystreak!

 

Mine did the exact same thing after replacing the wiper strips. Now the window works great after using a spray can with white grease to the slides/guides attached to the bottom of the glass. I could not tell if there is a roller on the ends of the arms so I sprayed everything.

 

Spray the weatherstrips with a specific spray called dry lube for these specific problems (you can buy it at pep boys). It conditions the weatherstrip as well. If not, use a natural oil like vegetable oil which will not break down the rubber. Same goes for the tracks inside the tailgate...spray them with dry lube...trust me, it works wonders.

 

Broncograveyard does great on a lot of parts but if you're looking for exact fit go with ordering a free catalog from LMCtruck.com. The cost of my seals plus S&H was about 75$ and they work great.