I have had a few problems with my power windows on my truck. The window regulators keep going out. The main concern is that I was driving on the freeway and it was raining and the window just fell into the door. There is no safety catch or anything. I thought someone shot my window out it was so loud. Its an 05 F150 Supercrew and Im already on my third one going out. I have only been able to find them at the dealership and they want 128 bucks for one. Does anyone know if they sell them somewhere aftermarket? I cant seem to find them. You also have to replace the whole assembly, they don't sell just the motor alone. Power windows are becoming a pain.

 

You can buy from a Ford dealership for under $100. Go here:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...?siteid=214072

Use the collision section for the regulators.

 

Thanks. That site does have that part. I needed the whole window regulator assembly. It comes as one unit. I took mine out to save me some labor costs and I noticed my cables are tangled up. I tried to rewind them but it is a bit complicated and it will probably fall apart again. Guess I just have to bite the bullet and fork over the dough for a new one at the dealership. They charge a bit more locally.

 

My driver's side window just fell today. Went out to my truck and the window was down. I took off the door panel to find all the cables twisted and all plastic connectors that they run through broken.

Kicker is that my warranty just expired in June. Only 28,000 miles on it. '04 F150.

 

The regulator on my drivers side window (04 scab) just snapped over the labor day weekend. The only symptom previous to it giving way was a slight grinding noise, like the one the rear sliding window makes all the time. If your truck is equipped with one, you know the sound I'm talking about. Anyway, the dealer service writer was not at all surprised and said as the trucks start aging, more and more regulators are snapping. I tell you what, the noise it made when it let go was huge. I thought some one had hit me. It will definitely catch you off guard even if your expecting it to go.

 

A few years back I had to do the window on our 91 mopar mini van. I was 500 bucks from the dealer, I bought a whole door for 110 from a junk yard. That thing lasted almost 15 years and about 200K. so when my 04 scab window went and only cost about 115. I thought I was getting off easy. That was figuring I would only have to do it one time. It's been about 9 months, so far so good.

 

Being in the glass replacement business I can say this is a common problem although I haven't done many of the new 150's. A few but not alot. Years ago regulators were simply a motor and a metal arm with a gear on it. Today it seems that most cars are built with this cable drive style regulator and yes they are crap. The plastic pullies break from the extreme tension on the cable then it all goes to pot. Unfortunatly there is no repair for any of them, you just have to replace it.
I assume everyone uses this style now because they are lighter is design and cheaper to produce

 

happened to me. I was driving down the road and heard a POP. I thought someone either shot my car or a big A rock hit my door. The next time I opened my window, the window fell into the door and that was that.

 

Well, I took my truck in today. It is out of warranty by 3 months with only 29,000 miles on it. They ended up replacing both front door window regulators. $596 for parts and labor, but they cut me a deal and did it for $150. They called their Ford rep about it and cut me some slack.

 

If you got both for 150 you gat a great deal.


FYI... if you must pay someone to replace these go to any reputable glass shop.
They most likely change them all the time and wll charge MUCH less for labor than a dealer. In my experience a lot of glass tech. have more experience with door panels and regulators than general mechanics.

 

The first time it happened to me it was under warranty, no big deal. Second time when I was out of warranty I made the mistake of paying the dealership to fix it. They charged me $285 to fix it. About 1-2 hours of labor. The third time I bought a new regulator for $128 and replaced it myself. The tech at the Ford dealership where I bought the part said he does about ten of these a day and they take him about 10 minutes a piece. I was very upset upon finding this out. He also said heat destroys them. It was so easy to replace I would recommend anyone with a little mechanical knowledge to do it at home. Took me about 30 minutes. The biggest problem I have is that the window crashes down so hard that I am surprised my window didn't shatter. They should have some sort of safety catch when the regulator goes out so the window stays up. Ford should take note on this very common problem.

 

If anyone attempts to do the job themselves, many here will appreciate a step by step instruction with/without pics(unless someone here already has done it).

 

Autozone sells the regulators for $46 a piece now. So you're looking at $92 plus tax if you do both doors yourself.

 

Yeah my passenger window did the same thing about a month ago. I pulled up to get some gas and went to roll up my window and "BANG" then I looked over and the window was falling. I managed to grab it with about .5" to spare and pulled it up and stuffed some paper into it to wedge it shut. Luckily I bought an extended warranty and they fixed it. I couldn't believe the noise it made I thought some one shot my truck.

 

Remove the grill over the speaker. Remove the 4 screws in the speaker then remove it. There are two(I think) anchors at the lower side of the speaker hole go ahead and pull them out as they hang on the panel itself when removing.

Behind the door handle there is a small rectangular cover. pop that off and remove the two screws holding it. The handle uses a cable instead of a steel rod. The cable snaps out of a bracket on the handle then manuver the handle to get it off the tip of the cable.

Pry upwards on the armrest portion with the switches from the outer edge. Once that is up you can remove the switches from the underside of that.

Behind the switchs there is either 1 or 2 screws holding the panel to the door. There is also a few of the same screws along the bottom edge of the panel itself.

Once these screws are removed simply lift up on the panel and it should come right off. You may have to give it a slight jerk UPWARDS NOT OUTWARD but it usually comes off rather easily.

Once the panel is removed locate the components of the regulator. Use the new part to help understand the old part. The glass is held in with two brackets one towards the front and one towards the rear of the glass. Loosen these screws-one in each bracket- and lift the glass out of them. You can now secure the glass up with tape or what ever means you choose.

Locate the electrical plug for the motor and unplug it. There are 5 bolts in the regulator. One at the top and bottom of each section and one at the motor. Remove these then twist it however you need to remove it from the door. Do the reverse to install the new one. Plug in the motor and switch then you can lower and raise it to access the screws on the glass brackets.

To the best of my knowledge that's it. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.