Hi all,

So, I'm having an issue with my tailgate motor.

For several years, it's been incredibly weak. It did "okay" in the summer, but once it got cold out, I'd have to pull it up by hand to get it to go up all the way, and even sometimes have to push it down while I turned the key to get it to go all the way down. It was a frustrating ordeal. I'd lubricated parts, checked my voltage, etc. and nothing seemed to help.

Recently though, I was going through some wiring and found the main power wires had been previously damaged and "fixed". This is the section of wire that exits the body and then enters the tailgate. I imagine it gets a lot of flex from opening and closing the gate over the years. The damaged wires were trimmed and twisted back together. Pretty cheap fix. Since they weren't cleaned up very well, they had since corroded. I cut out the bad section and properly spliced in fresh, new wire. My tailgate window hadn't worked this well in years. However, I could tell it still wasn't at full strength.


Yesterday though, I replaced all of the weatherstripping in my Bronco (a project unto itself). Some of the tailgate weatherstripping was originally missing (the inner and outer felt pieces pictured here





Now that those two pieces are installed, the window has to slide between them to go up. It simply does NOT have the strength to do it. Where it would previously at least go up all the way, it now can only make it up about 1/4 of the way. I had to force it by hand while turning the key to get it to go up the rest of the way.


I'd really love to get my window motor back to full power. What can I do? Is a new motor in order? (I replaced this one about 10 years ago when the original died. I got it off of eBay, no memory of what quality it was).

I've really cleaned up a lot of the wiring, I'm pretty sure it's getting full juice.


Ideas?

 

Use silicone spray to lube the weatherstripping on the sides, it should help.

 

I'll add some. I've done it before on the runs on the side.

However, having had two Broncos, I know the other window had some power behind it. This one had just enough oomph to get the glass up. But not now with the new weather stripping.

I'm just wondering if a motor can get weak, or if they just go 100% and then die.
Or if there are other things I can look into to get more juice to the motor. As far as I understand, the ground is up in the dash, and it's good.

 

Mine is currently failing badly, so I'll probably work on that this weekend. I suspect my problem is the plastic gears, do you remember the size nut I should use to substitute them?.

P.S.: Didn't notice the lovely helping hand you got the first time, it looks sweet.

 

Is yours spinning but the window isn't moving? If so, sounds like those plastic bushings.

They're 1/4" nuts. It takes about 3 per slot, so get 9.

If you want to do it even better, use some fuel line with some steel rod inside of it (or a bolt with the head cut off). Cut it into little lengths. It would be round, and not hexagonal, which would make it more like it was originally.

However, when I did the repair in my '84, I heard the window clunk once or twice as the flat edges of the nuts found their spot. It never made a sound again and still works flawlessly.

1983 Ford Bronco Tailgate Tech picture | SuperMotors.net

1994 Ford Crown Victoria Random Pics picture | SuperMotors.net


The one I'm currently working on works fine. It just doesn't have a lot of strength behind it, which is annoying. I'm curious if the motor needs to be replaced, or if it's just not getting enough power.


And yeah, that's Rocky. He loves being out there with me and is a good helper.

 

When I repaired mine I cut the shoulder off of a 1/2" bolt and cut them to length. Lasted til I sold the truck.

 

One of my door motors slowly died over the course of many years. It was slower to work and struggled to operate, getting slower and slower, until it finally died. Replacement unit was 10 times faster.

 

That's all the info I needed in those images Abandoned, and you better pet and give lots of love to that lil guy, he looks sweet and a little old already, give him a treat on my behalf . Thank you too Allen, but I think I'll go with Abandoned's size of nut, no need to grind a thing. Oh yeah, and door motors can die slowly, usually when they aren't getting enough current, either by means of grounds/supply or internal degradation of the conductive parts.

 

I didnt grind anything Ench. Just measured the thickness in the gear case and cut bolt shoulder to length. Worked excellent.

 

Glad that helped.

I imagine that's it then, Encho. The power going to the motor has been travelling through green, corroded wires for 6 - 8 years now. Probably burned it up.

And yeah, he's getting up there a little bit. He's 10, but you'd never know it. His favorite place in the whole world is the back seat of the Bronco. I'll be sure to say hi for you when I get home tonight.
Not the best picture I have of him, but here he is again helping out with the weatherstripping.

 

Yeah, only the white whiskers told on him. Love em' mutts, miss my Sasha (Rottie). Sorry for derailing the thread, let's go back to the issue at hand.

 

They sure have a way of working their way into your life.

 

Lol!

I love this site! Dealing with a very slow motor myself right now. The safety lockout switch wasn't working right so I had to "flip" it a few times. Now the motor and both switches work, but it's SLOW. I should try a little silicone, excellent suggestion there, but think a 10 times faster replacement motor sounds like a good idea.

 

Hello fellow Idahoan!

That's why I love this site. You're never dealing with an issue that no one hasn't dealt with before.

I'm thinking a new motor is in order. I'll be picking one up soon.
I have new weatherstripping and gave it the full silicone treatment. It didn't make much, if any difference.

 

Just took my tailgate window motor gears apart and repacked due to a stuck window. Works again.

I'm have some issues with my tailgate window. What's the symptoms of a failing regulator?

And is it really 9 nuts in the tailgate motor gear? I did 1 per slot for a total of 3 and of course I used 5 sided. That explains the intermitent slip.

My window slides out of the all the way down position when I open the tailgate. It raises 2-3 inches. Thinking this is a regulator issue but not sure.