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Window regulator/motor

M

m1sterb0b

New member
Hello all

I have a 97 grand prix 2 door (coup?). Both of the windows on my car seem to roll down just fine, its when I roll them up that I start having the issue. The passenger side is iffy sometimes, if I roll it down sometimes it will roll almost all the way up (slowly) then stop with an inch left, and then its a pain in the butt to get it the rest of the way up (cant pull on it, it wont help any) and the driver side just started going up slower. I know that its the regulator/motor assembly, but I have some questions. I've been reading around/searching to try to find my answers but to no avail.

First, Does anybody know if the motors and/or regulators from the 4 doors will work on the 2 doors? Also, will older models and newer models work on my car? And does anyone have pictures of the whole thing (higher quality than the ones part stores have online)? I also heard that the regulators/motors on Bonneville work VERY well, and that people rarely have issues with them. I was wondering if I could use them on my car. I'm headed to a junk yard tomorrow to look for them pieces and would like to know what to look for. Also, if anybody has replaced their regulators/motors on a 97 grand prix 2 door, how hard is it?
 


the two door motor regs are different from the four door models. I believe the two door models come as a regulator/motor kit and the four doors come separate. This is probably because the two door model would need a bigger motor due to the window size. I dont believe the bonneville stuff would work on the two door for the same reason. Any 97-03 two door motor/reg should work on your vehicle as far as I know. I have replaced mine it is not hard. It took about a half hour tops.
 
Liquifire said:
the two door motor regs are different from the four door models. I believe the two door models come as a regulator/motor kit and the four doors come separate. This is probably because the two door model would need a bigger motor due to the window size. I dont believe the bonneville stuff would work on the two door for the same reason. Any 97-03 two door motor/reg should work on your vehicle as far as I know. I have replaced mine it is not hard. It took about a half hour tops.
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Thank you for the quick and thorough reply. You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of the assembly or motor would you? Also, do you remember which tools you had to use so I can make sure to stock them when I go out to the junk yard tomorrow?
 
m1sterb0b said:
Hello all

I have a 97 grand prix 2 door (coup?). Both of the windows on my car seem to roll down just fine, its when I roll them up that I start having the issue. The passenger side is iffy sometimes, if I roll it down sometimes it will roll almost all the way up (slowly) then stop with an inch left, and then its a pain in the butt to get it the rest of the way up (cant pull on it, it wont help any) and the driver side just started going up slower. I know that its the regulator/motor assembly, but I have some questions. I've been reading around/searching to try to find my answers but to no avail.

First, Does anybody know if the motors and/or regulators from the 4 doors will work on the 2 doors? Also, will older models and newer models work on my car? And does anyone have pictures of the whole thing (higher quality than the ones part stores have online)? I also heard that the regulators/motors on Bonneville work VERY well, and that people rarely have issues with them. I was wondering if I could use them on my car. I'm headed to a junk yard tomorrow to look for them pieces and would like to know what to look for. Also, if anybody has replaced their regulators/motors on a 97 grand prix 2 door, how hard is it?
Click to expand...

You going to Parts Galore on 8 and Grosbeck?
 
m1sterb0b said:
Thank you for the quick and thorough reply. You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of the assembly or motor would you? Also, do you remember which tools you had to use so I can make sure to stock them when I go out to the junk yard tomorrow?
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I dont have any pics. I believe stock they are held in by rivets in some models, but on my door it was held in with bolts-I have no clue what size. You also need to take the inner door off as well obviously. Not sure how much help this is, but it is all I got...good luck. I would bring a cordless drill with various bits(to drill the rivets if that is what it has) and a basic tool set with wrenches and sockets...
 


Now, my dad and I were going to "rip" one of the panels off my car and replace the "tape" because were assuming THAT is the reason its not going up and down correctly. We were told by a man at a junk yard that if the window goes down flawlessly but has troubles going up, then its the "tape", and that the motor itself is just fine. My dad said that it would be the same reason that the driver door is now going slower up. The driver door window since getting colder out doesn't want to go up quite very fast. he said its partially the tape and that the grease has gotten cold and we need to put more grease on it.

I'm skeptical. I've heard a LOT of people saying that it is the motor. Now, I don't know much about this peticular thing. I know nothing when it comes to car window controls. I know that GM needs to learn to make a better one, but no more than that.

Now, I was reading in the "how to" section about how to replace the motors (with no pictures sadly) and the person who wrote it kept saying "cable" instead of "tape". Its making me think that the way that the 2 door and the 4 door works are different. My dad had a 96 bonnivile (I drove it for a while) and it used a notched plastic piece called "tape". He said thats the part that needs replacing. And now reading here thats saying "cable". If ANYBODY has a picture of the assembly in and/or out of the door It would help my confusion a LOT more. I don't want to open my door just to see it. Can anyone also answer my question of whether its an actual cable or a tape and would it be more likely to be the motor or the cable/tape (whichever it is) that would cause it to go down perfectly but the one only go up little bits at a time, sometimes more, sometimes almost all the way, and then the driver side to just go really slow.
 
by tape are you meaning the window guide? It goes down easy because of gravity, and cant go up because on a coupe it is a large piece of glass and the motor gets weaker and weaker until it dies. When I bought mine the driver door would go down a little bit, but would not go up on its own, and my passenger side window barely makes it back up. They just slow down until they are not strong enough at all. If it is right on the verge of failing sometimes you can pull up on the window and help it up, if it has been gone for a while then sometimes not. Also, what can happen is that the previous person has burned out the motor because of holding the switch down too long because it doesnt go up as fast as it is supposed to. There are a lot of threads here on this subject as well, and many many people have had to replace their window motor and/or regulators. This is a very common occurrence in these grand prix's. not sure if they are any different or better on the 04+'s but those are all four doors anyway. There is actually a cable, I know nothing of this plastic you speak of. Your motors are just getting tired, they will draw a lot of power and eventually fail. I have been there done that. But it is your car, I am just trying to give you the facts as I have read about and that I have seen myself first hand. Hopefully the one you get out of the junkyard are better, but I chose to get one from an auto parts store-usually I like OEM equipment, but if they fail this much, why get one unless you are really strapped for cash. If you get this out of a car with higher miles, you have probably about a 60% chance that it could be a good working factory original piece, but then how long until it fails. Don't buy a POS off of ebay either, those wont last long at all. Get a good quality( I used one from Car Quest) one and pay for it if you want it to last for a while. Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do and keep us updated on it. Personally I have only seen a thread on here about the cable failing one time and it snapped completely. I have probably seen about twenty five threads of the window motor/regulators needing replacement. Just giving you the facts so that you can make up your mind for yourself.
 
This is the thread where the guy had a broken cable and his was a four door:http://www.grandprixforums.net/f81/window-problems-19865.html

Executive summary: His window would not stay up with the cable broke. There appears to be no way to just fix the cable and it is part of that assembly for the window regulator and/or motor anyway, and he would have to replace the window motor/reg to fix it.



So it appears that you need the window motor and reg package anyway.
 
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Thanks for the link. Also, I was trying to find a picture of the "tape" I was talking about, thats just what my dad called it. I Think its called the window lift ribbon. Its a plastic ribbon with notches in it and the window motor has a gear on it that sticks through those notches lifting the window or lowering it. It needs to be greased up and sometimes those notches break and thats what my dad thought the issue was.

I think that that link you gave me will help out a great deal, I hope that I can find some pictures lol. My friend says that he's replaced quite a few window motors and he says that he has the right tools to open a door and prevent those plastic connectors that look like pine tree's from being ruined. Maybe he will have a bit more of a clue on how to do it (I don't feel comfortable doing it myself quite yet).
 
that "ribbon" your talking about isnt a ribbon at all, its not plastic, and there are no gears. there are cables, and a smooth track. there are no rivets either. just bolts. 3 bolts for the motor, and 4 for the regulator. oh yeah, and 2 or 3 holding the glass onto the regulator. all 10mm if i remember correctly. you also need a set of torx bits to unscrew the 2 screws right behind the handle

is your car a 97-03? if so, i will try to scan some pics out of my factory service manual that will help you greatly....
 
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I replaced 3 (two new and one used) of the 4 window regulators in our '99 and notice that the two new regulators move the window very slowly compared to the two that are not new. Is there a "break-in" period on these where they'll begin to operate better and more easily? The passenger side, front won't go all the way down and seems to have a tough time going all the way up (this is one I replaced with a new regulator - A1 Cardone brand).
 
well thats not normal. i would hang on to the receipts for those. window motors/regulators have no "break in" cycle.
 
yeah, I kind of didn't think that was normal and really didn't think there was a break in period, but wanted to ask. I'll keep an eye on them, for sure. Right now, the important thing is that they operate and I can get the windows tinted shortly.
 


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