Winston's Window Woes

[msinabottle]

Well, I'm in a bad place.



I learned things at the RMW camp-out, which I WILL write up, I have the text I wrote at the time, I Just need to process my photographs and this has been an intensely busy Autumn for difficult, low-paying labor.

Anyway, the informed told me that Winston's loose exterior left hand/driver's side window scraper was loose because it wasn't being held down by clips inside the door. So they'd have to open the door panel. CIP1 import parts was the only supplier THAT I COULD FIND that listed those clips after I got the part number from ETKA:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-171-837-485-SET

they had a 20% back to school sale, and it seemed reasonable that I might as well order the full set of those clips and a new window regulator:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-251-837-502-A

since Winston's right hand/passenger's side manual regulator had never worked right, to the extent of breaking and damaging cranks from being so hard to raise and lower.



After reading the GREAT post here by djkeev:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=649253

I decided to play it safe, take Winston back to Wheels of Time, and have Les and Scott pull both door panels, make sure all the trim clips were there and in good shape, or replaced, and have an experienced bodyman do the regulator--about the last thing seriously at issue with Winston! Scott promised to lubricate both mechanisms, although djkeev so far hasn't told us what he ended up using.

I dropped Winston off Wednesday morning, and was supposed get him back Friday--a week before I need him for what is usually our last camp-out for the year. No call. Finally, late Friday afternoon I called and talked to Scott.

He said my old regulator was utterly shot and irreparable, but that the new one couldn't even LIFT the glass no matter how hard he cranked it, though it moved in the channels well enough. It appears that the one I bought from CIP, which is supposedly good Danish aftermarket by Jopex, just doesn't have the torque--or Scott, who is VERY good, isn't installing it correctly. He added that the Jopex seemed far too flimsy compared to the remnants of the stock regulator.

Help solicited.



Rather than wring my hands, I decided today to order a guaranteed regulator from Van-Cafe, which is normally my first choice, or at least in the top three, for any new part. And they are great about shipping fast. I ordered this version, which they say DOES work:

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van_1477165491946/page_74_177/window-regulator-manual-passenger.html

That will hopefully arrive Tuesday.

Does anyone have any experience with either the Jopex regulator or the Van Cafe regulator or any useful advice about what might be wrong? Or, to put it more bluntly,

HELP!

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[Terry Kay]

That window, or any door window should easily slide up and down in the window channels.

This would be the first thing to check out.
Maybe it's also time for new channel felts.
Suggest this.

The glass isn't supposed to damage the regulator.
_________________
T.K.

[Type17]

I find a good used regulator that has been thoroughly cleaned and lubed with waterproof grease to be the best option. The Aftermarket regulators I've seen are very inconsistent in terms of quality and longevity. I've seen some that didn't work out of the box like yours, some only lasted a few months or few years, while others seem to be just fine.
_________________
I don't check these forums daily and often loose track of threads and comments. Please PM me a reminder if you're waiting on a reply. Thanks!

[Terry Kay]

Making sure the window isn't hung up, and sliding freely in the channels would be the absolute first priority in this process.

Hands down the first priority.

Adding new regulators prior to checking this simple process out would be tossing money out the window.
_________________
T.K.

[WLD*WSTY]

[BavarianWrench]

[msinabottle]

[msinabottle]

Update.

Called Les at Wheels of Time with the news that I'd ordered the new regulator. Les's response was... "I think you're done. Don't do that. The Van's outside ready to go." He told me Scott had used the parts from the Jopex aftermarket regulator to rebuild the factory regulator. I politely hung up on Les at once and called Van Cafe, who were, as you'd expect from THEM, entirely agreeable about canceling the order. I sincerely promised them equivalent business in thanks, and mean it.

Wheels of Time also installed the trim clips and the map pocket I retrofitted:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=240174

came off the door,



so they put that back on. The total came to $346.50 plus the parts, and Les is even now en route to pick me up so I can retrieve Winston. They did check the window movement during the install.

My grateful thanks to everyone who tried to help me, and I knew you would, which is why I came here. I'll update if there's anything else to add.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[Terry Kay]

OK.

Why?

I know it took two regulators to get the armstrong window regulator working, but why?

This was a terrible ending to this movie.

Curiosity is killing the cat.
_________________
T.K.

[msinabottle]

Hello, Terry!

Well, the broken regulator was physically broken and had to be welded, the new one couldn't lift freely moving glass in the channel, but it had parts missing from the old one--and they knew I needed the Van by Friday. The window goes up and down now more easily than it did.

It would have been nice if the Jopex (the box says, 'Group JP') had worked out of the box and not cost me hours of shop labor. I could be happier at the story's ending, but it could have been much worse--and you guys get to profit by my expense and difficulty.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[cmayna]

Glad you got the rig back up and running. Your last comment on Van Café is why I like working with them. A nice bunch of people.
_________________
'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig