308 slow windows....no more! | FerrariChat

308 slow windows....no more!

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by ClydeM, Jun 19, 2004.

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  1. ClydeM

    ClydeM F1 World Champ
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    #1 ClydeM, Jun 19, 2004
    My windows have always been nothing short of Lethargic going up & down. I've read the threads about testing the switch (yep, mine's not too swift) and cleaning the old grease of the worm gears.

    Well, I had to replace my original speakers today and figured since it was early & the door panel was off, let's take a shot at the window. many hours (taking my time) later, the job is done. The window now goes up & down pretty darn quick. I'm amazed at how much the old grease was hampering the window. Tricks I found;
    1) Take off the door panel, the protective sheet, and speaker
    2) make sure the window is down
    3) you don't need to take the cable off. I loosened the motor & worked it out of the door. I duck-taped the cable in place on the spool so I wouldn't have to remember how to wind it & how many turns.
    4) The only thing that would get the old grease (felt like clay) was scraping it out with a screw driver & gasoline & toothbrush (outside of course). All old grease removed. (WD40, break cleaner, tool cleaner, acetone, simple green didn't work)
    5) I used a race lithium grease to reassemble. Greased the worm gears well.
    6) make sure you don't mess-up the windings on the spool. if you hear a grinding/binding noise....that's the problem. pull the motor, re-align the windings, pop the motor back in.
    7) With cables in place, I was able to get one 'peg' of the motor in a hole with no problem. using the leverage of the motor (with arm up in speaker hole), I could get the others in place without too much problem.
    8) test it *before* you seal everything up.
    9) reassemble the door, step back, and say "Wow" as you use your new found speed.
     
  2. ham308

    ham308 Formula Junior

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    #2 ham308, Jun 19, 2004
    Thanks for the information.

    Just put it on my things-to-do (wish) list :)
     
  3. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
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    #3 thecarreaper, Jun 19, 2004
    ditto !! thanks!
     
  4. paul 308

    paul 308 Karting

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    #4 paul 308, Jun 22, 2004
    Thanks for the info. I was beginning to wonder whether I was going to have to add relays to reduce the voltage drop to the motors. By cleaning all the crud out, and hence the load, you've probably reduced the motor current quite a bit.

    You didn't take any pictures by any chance?
     
  5. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #5 Birdman, Jun 22, 2004
    Clyde,
    Thanks doe the info. It's great to hear that this can be done without pulling the whole cable. What a pain.

    I'm planning to attempt this in the near future and I'll take pics.

    Jonathan
     
  6. Nationaltec

    Nationaltec Karting

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    #6 Nationaltec, Jun 23, 2004
    Clyde,

    Thanks for the details... My 328GTS passenger window is pretty slow.. Is it the same as the 308? or is my problem electrical?

    Thanks,
    Patrick
     
  7. Wayne 962

    Wayne 962 Formula Junior
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    #7 Wayne 962, Jun 24, 2004
    I also bought some heavy-duty motors on eBay (there's a guy who sells them there) to replace the standard ones too, when I do this job...

    -Wayne
     
  8. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #8 f355spider, Jun 25, 2004
    There was a thread on this...I don't believe they were found to help much. In fact one person found them worse than the original ones.
     
  9. Wayne 962

    Wayne 962 Formula Junior
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    #9 Wayne 962, Jun 25, 2004
    Hmm, I guess more weight in the fact that you should check it before you put it back together?

    -Wayne
     
  10. Jdubbya

    Jdubbya The $10 Trillion Man
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    #10 Jdubbya, Jun 25, 2004
    I have heard good and bad things about the new motors. I bought a set but haven't gotten around to putting them in. I noticed that while driving last weekend in hot weather that my passenger window (that has barely worked since I bought the car) worked fairly well. I'm begining to think the dried up old grease had more to do with it than the motors.

    We'll see. I will probably try the new ones anyway but will also clean the gear box out and replace the grease while at it.
     
  11. F1Ace

    F1Ace F1 Rookie

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    #11 F1Ace, Jun 28, 2004
    I too appreciate this thread, and that great opening post!

    My passenger window has begun NOT going all the way up. It leaves the last 1/4" open. What's up with that?

    You've given me some ideas, thanks!

    Wes
     
  12. ClydeM

    ClydeM F1 World Champ
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    #12 ClydeM, Jun 28, 2004
    I hope to be doing my passenger side this Friday. I'll take pictures this time, though there isn't much to see behind the sheet metal.

    I noticed when putting the window back together, my cable wasn't winding nicely on the spool (hence the "grinding" noise of metal on metal) and that would cause one side of the window to hit top before the other. Rise & fall of the window is controlled by two cable locks on the bottom of the window. I couldn't figure out how "crack" the seal on the screw/nut combo or I would have done the repair by pulling the cable out. Glad I didn't.

    Folks, don't wait to do this repair. I am still giddy everytime I see that driver window glide up & down at a respectable speed.
     
  13. ClydeM

    ClydeM F1 World Champ
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    #13 ClydeM, Jun 28, 2004
    My understanding is they are the same. Some threads recommend running a hot lead right from the battery to the motor. I found this bypassed some resistance in the switch circuit, but still did not make the movement as quick as it should. And, I couldn't locate a source of reasonably priced replacement switches. I did clean the contacts in my switch, but that didn't make a significant difference. I thought about buying the e-bay replacement motors, but figured since I needed to take the door apart for them, might as well try & clean the current ones first.
     
  14. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #14 f355spider, Jun 28, 2004
    Wes, I found a quick method for improving the operation of the windows on my 308 was to spray the window channel felts with silicone spray. Really seemed to speed things up, and allowed my driver's window to close that last 1 cm. If I did this every 6 months, my windows worked great.
     
  15. F1Ace

    F1Ace F1 Rookie

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    #15 F1Ace, Jun 28, 2004
    DaveHanda, I presume you mean only the felt above the door, right?
    Sounds like a great tip...I'm doing it tonight!

    Thanks!
    Wes
     
  16. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #16 f355spider, Jun 28, 2004
    Yes, although you can spray a bit on the spot just above the sill and let it run down the channel on each side...

    Please report back, I think this will solve your problem...if only temporarily.
     
  17. F1Ace

    F1Ace F1 Rookie

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    #17 F1Ace, Jun 29, 2004
    Dave, YUP!

    I siliconed the felt and now it goes all the way up, thanks a lot!

    I think I'm gonna get in there one day and do the whole job, but it's great that I at least solved this. I washed the car Sunday and found out after that that window was open that little bit. Bet you'd love to see that after washing your car, eh?

    CLYDEM, I know what you mean about "hurry, do this...I'm giddy ever since.." That's how I feel about centering the steering wheel, as I posted on another thread. Thank you again for this thread.

    Wes
     
  18. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #18 Birdman, Jul 5, 2004
    Well, I finally got around to doing this on my passenger door and taking some pictures. It took me about 5 hours. The cable is a pain, no matter what. I made a mistake putting it back together and had the cable caught on something that I couldn't see, not realizing it, so I thought I had messed up something on the pulley. So I started messing with the windings on the pulley and made it worse. Several hours later, after I had completely disassembled the thing to figure out how it worked, I got it back together and working. Nonetheless, I think it is possible to do this without screwing it up the first time, you just have to be REALLY REALLY careful.

    Here are some shots.

    I started by lowering the window halfway and propping it there with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers in the door. (You can use anything to do this....a screwdriver and a pair of pliers were nearby!) They can rest between cutouts in the inner door and the frame of the door inside.
     
  19. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #19 Birdman, Jul 5, 2004
    Next, pop the cable off this pulley near the front/top of the door.
     
  20. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #20 Birdman, Jul 5, 2004
    Now there is slack in the cable and you can pull the motor/crank (pulley, whatever it's called) out of the door. When you open it up, get ready for a mess!
     
  21. ClydeM

    ClydeM F1 World Champ
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    #21 ClydeM, Jul 5, 2004
    Oh, fudge. Centering steering wheel is ANOTHER issue I'll have to tackle. Thanks. I'll search for your thread
     
  22. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #22 Birdman, Jul 5, 2004
    All that goop that looks like grease is not grease. It looks like grease, but it feels like epoxy. It is hardened literally to feel like epoxy or plastic or something. I had the best luck scraping it out with a screwdriver (takes a while with all those little teeth) and then using a toothbrush with Orange Blast (citrus based degreaser) to really clean it up.

    Check out this shot of the inside of the cover where I have just started scraping to get an idea what I'm talking about...
     
  23. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #23 Birdman, Jul 5, 2004
    After that, just some lithium grease, put it all back together and it should work a lot better.

    Birdman
     
  24. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #24 Birdman, Apr 12, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  25. Birdman

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    #25 Birdman, Apr 12, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
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