Window Regulator Delimma Repair or Replace

[A2008]

The passenger side window made a loud pop in the door when I closed the window. AT that point I waited until I was able to asses the situation. The window did go down when I opened the door like it should. I was able to open and close the window at this point and didn't hear any strange noises. But I knew something wasn't right. I went ahead and removed the door panel and glass. Still didn't see anything. Decided to remove the regulator. ( I have a new spare on hand.)
Upon removal, the thing that I found was the plastic tube that goes into the Nylon corner piece had come out. From what I have been reading, it is very hard to find a glue substance that will mate the plastic and nylon back together. Has anyone had any luck doing this?? If so what did you use, and did it hold, if so, for how long. OR am I better off just replacing the regulator? It would be nice if I could repair this, and still keep the new one on hand for when it breaks really bad.
( Gen IV 2008 Viper )

[Steve M]

Gah...I remember reading through this thread over on the other site: http://www.viperclub.org/vca/threads/window-regulator-gen-3-4-archilles-heel.649305/

Definitely some people in there with a few different ideas of how to strengthen it. Sadly, a lot of the links to pics in that thread are broken.

If you have the time and it is your labor we're talking about, I don't see why you wouldn't try a band-aid fix and see if it holds. Worst case is you'll just have to get back in there and replace it when/if it fails.

[A2008]

Thanks for the suggestion Steve. I had already poured over that old thread. The only light at the tunnel I could find was the fact someone mentioned that Super Glue makes a glue for plastics, but no one has stated if it was sucessful or not in it's use.

[SilverACR]

I know when I changed mine the plastic tube that broke was covered in a lube from the internals. I wouldn’t chance gluing it as I can’t imagine you could get it clean enough inside and out. For the risk of damage to other parts I wouldn’t try a and do it more than once. Those clips for the door panel are a PITA and you run the risk of breaking your door panel each time it comes off

[Steve-Indy]

From an old thread...to start you thinking:

http://www.viperclub.org/vca/threads/window-regulator-repair-possibility.672128/

[Dan Cragin]

You can have these rebuilt, but the cost has come down and the replacement parts seem to hold up better.

[Steve-Indy]

Sadly, we have been seeing these fail on Gen V's at our Service Sessions. Last part number that I have seen ended in "AI". As Dan noted, price is much lower now.

[A2008]

Thanks everyone. After spending time talking with companies that sell different glues & epoxies, no one could give me a good guarantee their glue would do the job for an extended period of time.. I contacted Power Window repair in AZ. They assured me that the plastic or nylon part probably has a small crack and will eventullly get worse. I've decided to just replace the regulator with the OEM one I have, and send the broken one to Power Windows as they rebulid these with METAL not plastic parts. That way I will have it on hand when the new OEM I will install breaks! Their price I felt was very reasonable for the rebulid. Less than $300.00 and they give a one year waarranty.

[Steve-Indy]

Having looked at several broker regulators, most of which had "compound fractures"...I would not think that "glue"alone would do much good. At the least, they require rigid, external splinting over a long area.

For this reason I have several new regulators ( left & right) the garage awaiting the known impending window disaster.

[Steve M]

Thanks for the suggestion Steve. I had already poured over that old thread. The only light at the tunnel I could find was the fact someone mentioned that Super Glue makes a glue for plastics, but no one has stated if it was sucessful or not in it's use.

I think the most disappointing thing in that thread I originally linked to was the fact that they had a working prototype of a different design that likely would have fixed this once and for all - at one point, there was even a video posted of it working. That video, of course, no longer exists, and was taken down shortly after they discovered that they couldn't get the smart glass feature to work with that design. I have no idea how that function is implemented on these cars, so I don't know if they just couldn't figure out how it worked, or if the design itself would have never allowed it to work. I had always hoped someone like Doug Shelby would take an interest in something like this and figure it out, but my heart sank a little when I saw he had replied in that thread...probably not worth his time. The sad thing is, this is going to continue to be a problem, even for the Gen V guys as Steve-Indy alluded to:


Sadly, we have been seeing these fail on Gen V's at our Service Sessions. Last part number that I have seen ended in "AI". As Dan noted, price is much lower now.

This problem was supposedly fixed with the Gen V...clearly whomever did the root cause analysis f'd up by thinking it was merely an installation problem, and not a design flaw with the system itself. I can't say that I'm surprised given their goal of trying to make the Viper profitable (heh).

All my bitching and moaning aside, I do wish there was a better solution than just ordering another crappy window regulator knowing full well that this issue is going to crop up again at some point down the road. At least the parts are no longer $1k+ like they used to be, but that can always change too.

I'm curious to see what you end up with for a "fix" on your old regulator. If you are so inclined, I'd love to see some pics of how the Power Window repair place reinforces the different parts that they think are the most prone to failure. I'd also be curious to know if anyone else has tried going this route, and whether or not they've had the issue come back.

[A2008]

Just finished replacing the regulator tonight. I was lucky in getting the door panel off without breaking anything. It probably took me an hour just to get the door panel off. I was determined to take my time and figure this out by feel, since I couldn't see. I marked the inside of the door with masking tape so I know exactly where to apply pressure next time to release the clips. I adjusted the depth of the mounting screws to the same depth as the old regulator and also the height of the window stop so the new regulator would be exactly the same dimensions on the mounting points as the old one. I also installed Doug Shelbys aluminum window guides in place of the plastic ones. The new regulator went in quite nicely without any hard bending. The window fit was right on and I didn't even have to index the window. It drops like it should when opening the door and goes back up completely. I packaged my old regulator back in the box and decided I will just wait till it breaks again, Power Windows indicated they have a 48 hr turn around service, I'll ship them my old one if and when. Who knows I may not own the car by the time it breaks again. I feel when the drivers side goes bad, I will be able to replace that regulator in half the time I did this one. The new OEM regulator I purchased from Mopar 2 years ago, had a date of 2012 on it. SO it's already 6 years old going in!

[Steve M]

I marked the inside of the door with masking tape so I know exactly where to apply pressure next time to release the clips.

That's a really good idea...wish I would have thought of that when I had my door panels off a few years back (for a different reason though). I know these panels aren't as prone to breaking as the Gen 3 door panels, but it still isn't something you want to chance.