Hi guys. Some more questions about Bronco rear windows. I've searched and read the posts on rear windows, but just want to clear up a few questions before I start spending money. I appreciate your advice. Thanks. Michael Wampler, Michigan, michaelwampler(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

REAR WINDOW MOTOR IS NOT WORKING:
I've owned my 95 Bronco XLT 5.8L for a few months now, my first Bronco. The rear window has never worked for me. I got around today to removing the tailgate access panel from inside the truck. I used my car battery charger to directly feed power to the two wires leading into the rear window motor. I touched the red and black from the 12v charger into the window motor's 2 lead wires and just got a loud hum. I changed the wires and still only got a loud hum.

Does this necessarily mean my motor is bad?
Should I just replace the motor, or is there something else I should check first?
If I unbolt the motor from inside the truck, do I have to worry about the regulator springing open?
Should I secure the regulator with a bolt or stick of wood if I'm just replacing the motor with the window up from inside the truck with the tailgate up?
Can I replace the motor from inside the truck without lowering the window?
Where's the best place to buy a new motor?
Should the new motor be new or remanufactured?

WATER IS GETTING INTO REAR WINDOW TAILGATE CAVITY:
It started raining when I was working inside the truck, and I noticed a lot a water getting into the tailgate window cavity.
If I replace the rubber weatherstripping, will this make it waterproof?
Where's the best place to buy the rear window rubber for a 95 Bronco?
Will water always get in the tailgate interior?
Can I stop it, or minimize it, by installing an aftermarket rear window plastic cover on top of the window, like they have for the side windows?
Or do I just live with the water getting in to my tailgate and rusting everything?

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Nov-02 AT 00:36 AM (EST)]Go here:
http://www.webphotos.com/list_photos.asp?mi=3&smi=2&a=73922
Click on the thumbnails & read the captions.

The best "weatherbelts" come from Ford and are only about $32 each (inside & outside). That's what you need to stop the water coming in. While you've got it open, hose out the tailgate, making sure you have NO mud left in the corners. When it's TOTALLY dry, COAT the bottom inside with "rubberized undercoating" to keep it from ever rusting.

The t/g motor is identical to the door motors, except the wires are longer. Remans are OK if they have a good warranty. If the door motor is cheaper, buy it & splice your old wires onto it. When you remove the motor from the regulator, the arms WILL spring up, but if you're ready for it, you can control it by hand.

 

Thanks for the advice. Turns out Bronco Graveyard is only a hour from me. I'll fix it this week.

 

In all likelihood, all you need is to replace the 3 plastic drive pins (or "rollers" - whatever you want to call them) inside the plastic drive gear in the rear window motor.
Take it apart, and you'll see the inside of the plastic gear is full of ground plastic where the pins used to be! They are (or were) little cylindrical pieces of solid plastic (nylon? Delrin?) maybe 3/8" or so in diameter and about as long.
Someone sells replacement pieces, I forget who: maybe Jeff's?

My '89 Corvette uses almost identical pieces in the headlamp motors! Replacing them is much cheaper than replacing the whole motor.
Regards,
- R

 

Hey Steve, what do you mean by "weatherbelts"? Is this the rubber that the rear window goes thru? Do you have to remove the window to install them? I can't find them in my repair manual. I want to be sure what rubber to replace to stop the water. Thanks.

 

Those "weatherbelts" would be the inside and outside rear window rubbers.
To replace the outside one, I know you have to remove the glass: I just did it myself last weekend.

Best way to do that is to put a jumper on the electrical switch that prevents the window from running up when the tailgate is down. You'll find a rod running from the latch mechanism just left of center inside the 'gate, down to a switch near the bottom - if memory serves me correctly. Pull the connector loose from this switch and put a jumper on it, then you can power the glass halfway up so you can get to the screws that attach the glass to the mechanism.
Be VERY careful re-assembling the glass, since this is where you can bust it if all the little plastic pieces aren't aligned properly when you tighten them down.

Putting in the seal itself is pretty simple; re-inserting the glass into new rubber is less simple, easier if you liberally apply glass cleaner to lube it.

Regards,
- R

 

RedBob
You don't have to pull the glass to change the weatherbelts - look in that photo album and you'll see me removing them with the glass still there. In fact, it's almost impossible to remove the glass if either IS still installed.

To operate the glass with the t/g open, just close the driver's catch. It'll trip the switch, but you MUST open the catch before trying to close the t/g. To do that, the window MUST be all the way down again.

I wouldn't put anything on the glass to lube it, but like I said, the glass doesn't need to be removed. Trying to push the metal brackets back thru the weatherbelts will almost certainly damage them.

 

>RedBob
>You don't have to pull the glass to change the weatherbelts
>- look in that photo album and you'll see me removing them
>with the glass still there. In fact, it's almost impossible
>to remove the glass if either IS still installed.
>
>
>I wouldn't put anything on the glass to lube it, but like I
>said, the glass doesn't need to be removed. Trying to push
>the metal brackets back thru the weatherbelts will almost
>certainly damage them.

Depends on the circumstances, I guess. The only way I'd remove the glass is by taking the metal tracks off first.

Then the glass slips right out.

Makes it far easier to get the new rubbers seated when the glass is out; I foolishly struggled with the new parts for maybe 10 minutes before I realized I wasn't getting anywhere, and had broken one of the metal mountign clips off.

Then I pulled the glass, put in both rubbers, and put the glass back in in about 10 more minutes.
When I say "lubricate" the glass, I obviously don't mean to use oil or grease on it. Quoting my previous post:
"re-inserting the glass into new rubber is... easier if you liberally apply glass cleaner to lube it."
The glass cleaner makes the rubber slide over the glass, and lets it slip in without forcing anything.

More than one way to skin a cat, I guess, but I've had the glass out of that tailgate (or one of its' predecessors) several times.

 

Check out my page where I removed the motor and glass from the tailgate. Perhaps there is something in there that might help anyone doing work on the tailgate/window assembly etc.....maybe....



http://rfr.htmlplanet.com/bronco/bronco.html

follow journal links to the tailgate entry.

Good luck....

 

yo,
Great job Pantherchuk!

 

I have a similar problem with my 88'. The window went up and down fine but there was no seather striping on the outside of the tailgate. I purchased one from the ford dealer and intalled it. Now the window stalls or stops half way down and i have to assist by pulling it up to get it to close. Do i need a new motor or is there something simpler that needs to be done........HELP.
:-X12

 

>I have a similar problem with my 88'. The window went up
>and down fine but there was no seather striping on the
>outside of the tailgate. I purchased one from the ford
>dealer and intalled it. Now the window stalls or stops half
>way down and i have to assist by pulling it up to get it to
>close. Do i need a new motor or is there something simpler
>that needs to be done........HELP.
>:-X12


You probably need to clean and lubricate all the window mechanism pivot points - use a spray grease, not WD-40 - and remove and clean the roller tracks that attach to the lower edge of the glass. You can't see it when they're installed, but there are plastic rollers attached to the window mechanism that ride in a track on the glass, pushing the glass up or pulling it down.
Ocassionally these rollers go bad and need to be replaced. The replacement parts (and maybe later production parts) are square, and merely slide in the tracks, making it absolutely necessary for the tracks to be clean and lubed.

Anyone know of a source for the original-type ROUND rollers?

Best of luck,
- R

PS:
Window will go up and down much better with the engine running, when the motor sees a couple more volts.