Window regulator permanent fix for stretched cable

[embryoguy@mac.com]

Dave, mine looks exactly like yours but the cable insulation is too big to fit into my brake barrel. how did you figure out that it was the problem? my window issue seems exactly like that is wrong with others on this thread. so guess the question is, should i just go ahead and cut the green adapter and put on mine?

one thing i did notice was that the slimmer end of the green adapter slide into the metal housing. not sure if this is normal or not.

[Dave S.]

Originally Posted by embryoguy@mac.com

Dave, mine looks exactly like yours but the cable insulation is too big to fit into my brake barrel. how did you figure out that it was the problem? my window issue seems exactly like that is wrong with others on this thread. so guess the question is, should i just go ahead and cut the green adapter and put on mine?

one thing i did notice was that the slimmer end of the green adapter slide into the metal housing. not sure if this is normal or not.

Not only did my window not drop enough to clear the top, but if I rolled my window 1/2 way down and then lifted up on the glass, you could easily push it up and down at least a 1/2 inch with very little if any resistance. I found the cable to have excessive play and I don't remember if it had more slack when you lifted up the glass or pushed it down. I think it had the most slack when you lifted up the window a bit. With the slack in the cable I could pull the green end out of the corner piece that holds the corner roller at front corner at the bottom of the door. If you look at the last picture in my original post, I think you'll also see the adjustment I made where the cable goes into the bottom of the motor in the center of the door. I also had to clearance the metal piece in the corner to fit my barrel adapter. I did this by drilling it out slightly. I had to move the cable out of the way to do that of course, but still was able to do all that without removing the regulator from the door.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

thanks Dave, ill try those things this week.

[heavyevy]

Maurice,

Nice to know you are still helping 986 owners out. Followed you on Petes forum. My 1998 boxster was in storage for a couple of years. been changing out oil etc. Still have pax window down will not go up switch out drivers with pax switch. No go. 40,000 miles on car now engine lite on changed fuel cap still on.
Can you help out?

[sb01box]

Just did the same on the passenger size window. Great DIY
Thanks
this is what I ended up doing.
when the window was up all the way, the slack in the cable was half an inch or more and the cable can be seen. but all the green end pieces were fine. so the pulley grove must be worn.
by removing the hair clip like pin by the motor drive, I was able to take the green end piece off and take the cable out of the pulley using the notch cut out on the pulley fence. (used photo from member bar10dah's entry in this thread)
purchased a bicycle adjuster with 1/4 inch barrel and similar size thread.
filed off roughly 50% of the thread and with light application of Teflon oil, threaded the adjuster into the green piece.
placed the green end (with the adjuster attached) into the window regulator and while compressing the spring by the motor, routed the cable back onto the pulley.
put back the pin by the motor and then adjusted the adjuster.
I did not have to take the regulator out of the door.
cable tie solution seems to be problematic in that the green piece would no longer sit flat onto the housing and on the motor end, would extend the spring-loaded plunger too far out of the cylinder.

[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.

[ilikeching]

Thanks Dave S for sharing this tip.
used the bikecycle cable adjustment and it worked out fine, and i'll hope this will stay for a while...

[Troy.Boxster]

My driver side window would not drop down enough when opening the door and it would also make a grinding noise while operating (and sometimes stop when in auto mode). My cable was loose, but it was because it had jumped the pulley at the top left. Once I got the cable back on the pulley and lubed the tracks, there was still a little slack (all the green guides were fine, though), so I added one of the bike cable barrels. Now everything works great... until the cable jumps the pulley again - probably when I open the door before waiting for the window to move enough.

[RawleyD]

Great DIY fixes. Props to the OP

[shadrach74]

Dave,

Any idea what the cable size is for this DIY. I suspect it's 8mm, but want to be sure!

Thanks!

[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

[Dave S.]

Originally Posted by shadrach74

Dave,

Any idea what the cable size is for this DIY. I suspect it's 8mm, but want to be sure!

Thanks!

Sorry, I do not know what size it is. I was able to get an assortment of those cable adjusters from a bicycle mechanic friend of mine and I just picked the one that fit best. If you figure out what size works best, please post that in this thread.

[Paleale]

Hi all, found this thread, tried the fix with the bike brake adjuster to fix the lack of window drop. Seems to have helped, but the window now needs to go up another 3 or 4 mm, and when it goes down it seems to go too far. It starts to twist the window guide when the window sits down on the down stop from the motor pull. Tried adjusting the upper stops, and tension with the brake adjuster. I'm worried I may in fact need a regulator ?

Thoughts ?

[ilikeching]

Originally Posted by ilikeching

Thanks Dave S for sharing this tip.
used the bikecycle cable adjustment and it worked out fine, and i'll hope this will stay for a while...

It still works fine after six month last post.....

[Paleale]

I removed the regulator. It turns out the little bead that is crimped onto the cable came out of the slot on the window clamp. It was above the clamp and thus was jamming the window down too far. Re-set, lubed, re-installed, minor adjustment to window height with adjustment screw set, and all is well !

[BTfd2e93]

Anyone have an extra bike cable barrel they are willing to sell and mail to me?

I know it sounds stupid.. I'm based in HK... I've gone to 3 bike shops and they don't sell them individually... only if I buy the whole brake and cable set!!!

[Dave S.]

Originally Posted by BTfd2e93

Anyone have an extra bike cable barrel they are willing to sell and mail to me?

I know it sounds stupid.. I'm based in HK... I've gone to 3 bike shops and they don't sell them individually... only if I buy the whole brake and cable set!!!

Not sure if this is the correct size or not, but it looks like it would work. You need to be sure to get a slotted one, so you can slip it over the cable:

http://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Mountain-Lever-Adjusting-Barrel/dp/B000O5SR4W/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0B8CMN1NZESGVW7VVS13

[BTfd2e93]

cheers mate. they dont ship to hk .. but lemme try to find similar on ebay.

7mm diameter is the way to go eh?

[Deserion]

I took apart the right door today to get it fixed, definitely was a cable slack issue. As I was growing frustrated (damn heat), I zip-tied some space between the bracket and the teal cable grommet to tighten it up. It seemed to work, glass didn't catch on the roof so I buttoned it back up. Now it's intermittently catching - when the door handle (outside) is pulled enough to open the car, it'll grab but if it's pulled entirely it doesn't seem to.

Also it's likely not enough tension on it, so I'll get back in there sometime soon and add the cable adjuster (which I procured today). "New" (used) regulator will stay in storage until needed.

Now I realize I didn't add any zip-ties around the spring housing. D'oh!