Window regulator permanent fix for stretched cable

[embryoguy@mac.com]

bar, did you just cut open the green adapter? i have everything open. mine appeared in tact. or should i just add zip ties like chuck did.

[bar10dah]

Originally Posted by embryoguy@mac.com

bar, did you just cut open the green adapter? i have everything open. mine appeared in tact. or should i just add zip ties like chuck did.

Yes, but only because mine was broken, as you can see in the first pic. Since appears yours are intact (by your posts) then you should not cut yours.

In fact, the whole basis of this thread is to repair the broken green piece with a bike cable barrel adjuster. If all your green pieces are intact, your problem lies elsewhere. More troubleshooting would be required.

Go back and search/read through a few of the threads that talk about the window not dropping properly and you'll see ways to check yours out. There are many sensors that can be at fault. Two in the door (outer/inner handles) one in the convertible top portion of the top center of the windshield, can't remember the rest right now.

If your window isn't dropping when you open the door, is it the same with both the innner and the outer handles?

Others will chime in, I'm sure, to try to help you out. However, since you've got the door apart and probably want to resolve this rather quickly so you can get the car back together, you may have to resort to just searching/reading older threads on your own to save yourself some time.

Good luck! I know how much of a pain it is to have a car half apart just sitting in the driveway...

[bar10dah]

Did this "fix" on Monday. $2 part at the local bike shop. Or, if you've got a good reputation with them, free!







Or, you can buy an OEM replacement part from an eBayer for $108.99 shipped. From others on these forums, I hear it's a quality part:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150590554947?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

[embryoguy@mac.com]

so those green pieces are the oem and you got rid of them ? did you have to wedge the brake piece into the housing?

[Trey T]

Oh HELL F*CK NO! Your OEM Motor will not fit on there properly. I had to make it fit. Not worth the saving!!!

Originally Posted by bar10dah

....

Or, you can buy an OEM replacement part from an eBayer for $108.99 shipped. From others on these forums, I hear it's a quality part:

Porsche Boxster 911 996 Window Regulator Left 1997 2005 | eBay

[bar10dah]

In photo 1, you can see the green piece broke into two, and was binding on the pulley.

Photo 2 shows the barrel adjuster. It's the perfect size to fit into the groove of the frame.

Photo 3 shows the other end of the frame, with an intact green piece, just for reference, to see how it's supposed to fit when it doesn't break and look like photo 1.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

thanks for explanation! that makes sense!!

[embryoguy@mac.com]

when you take off the door, what position should you have the window ?

[SoK]

in my experience, if you're going to work on the regulator, anything butt the fully lowered postion. half way if i had a choice, makes getting to the regulator feet easier, as well as removing the speaker box.

[bar10dah]

When I did mine, I had the window fully open. But when I had to loosen the clamps that hold the glass, I fully closed it. When fully raised, there are openings that give you access to the clamps.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

great thanks very much!!!

[Dave S.]

When I fixed mine, I left the window almost all the way up. I didn't remove the regulator or the glass, just added the barrel adjuster to the front lower pully by accessing through the opening in the door after removing the interior panel. It is really very easy to do

[bar10dah]

Lucky dog, Dave S. My regulator (and glass) had to come out because the part that broke was at the top/rear. Not accessible from the bottom of the door.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

just bought two of them. will try it this weekend. thanks Dave for the innovation and others for guidance.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

bar10. did you take off the circle adjustment in yours? i see it in the first but not the middle pic(installed)

[bar10dah]

I did. I found that the nut was not necessary. At least, in my installation. Others may have varying needs.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

bar, w/o it, are you worried it might pop off cable?

[bar10dah]

No, there's plenty of tension on the line and the opening on the barrel is facing inwards.

[Dave S.]

Glad this is working for everyone that has tried it. My window still functions perfectly after all this time. I fixed the pictures at the beginning of this thread as I'm using a new free picture hosting service now.

Originally Posted by Dave S.

I finally got around to opening up the door panel to install my (hopefully) permanent fix for the problem of too much slack in the window regulator cable. The sympton of my problem was that the window would not drop enough to clear the top when I opened the passenger side door. The window would still roll up and down properly, it just wouldn't drop enough to clear the top. The window had excessive play in the cable system, which could be felt by rolling the window 1/2 way down and then pulling up and down on the glass. The window would easily move at least 1/2 inch up and down. (Update: I used to think it was because the cable stretched, but someone in this thread pointed out that there is a small plastic guide that breaks causing the cable to have excessive slack. - So I now believe this is truly a permament fix if done before the cable frays at the motor.)

I used a $3.00 bicycle brake cable adjustment barrel to take up the slack and add some adjustability to the window regulator system. Hopefully this will be a permanent fix. It was pretty easy to install and did not require the window regulator to be removed from the door.
I had to drill out the front lower corner bracket a small amount and I had to remove the original factory end from the cable housing. All of this was easily doable while installed in the door. This what the final fix looks like:



You may remember my temporary fix from another thread:

[WhipE350]

Here is another approach that worked great for me. I recently sold my 2000 'S' and the gentleman accidentally put to much stress on the window (I didn't show him well enough how the doors open with the top up) and either the cable stretched or a piece broke. Well anyway he came over before leaving for Kentucky and we came up with the great fix.

Using a bicycle cable barrel (yellow arrow) in the exact shape as the factory barrel (orange arrow), only smaller, we were able to pull up the 1/4 inch slack preventing the window from dropping far enough to open the door. It is kind of like stacking barrels.

To do this we had to file down the area the factory barrel recesses into (see green arrow). This allowed us to snap the barrel back into place since it was not possible to pull the cable enough to get the barrel back into the hole it seats in.

This fix would go very fast but while learning we dropped the cable off the pulley (red arrow). The cable is hard to get back on. There is a little notch in the pulley for getting it past the guide. Once back in though we were able to put the fix together.

I'd like to thank everyone that posted here, this forum still rocks. Saved us big time.