TheSamba.com :: View topic - Window Regulator Problem with New Replacement..! Includes blood!

Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:49 pm

First off, I've read at least 40 regulator posts here on the Samba and none answered my question (other than don't buy new!)

Anyway, 78 VW bus. Bought a new left drivers window regulator and it's a nightmare to get in. The bus has cut me more than once and you can see blood in the pics..! My question is......will this ever fit....or am I doing something wrong? The old one fits back perfectly and so I know how it fits. The new one will not stay underneath that lip or anything close to it. Do I need to ply back the metal lip on the bus to get the regulator deeper into the inner skin of the door, or am I trying to get a square peg into a round hole...?

Don't worry.....it was less than a pint lost of the red stuff......replacing with Guinness ..!!!!!

Note toothpics in holes to line up left side of regulator.

Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:26 pm

i will open.
why did you by new?

Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:00 pm

Good question. Two reasons.....when I bought back in Nov....no used left sides were available....secondly, more importantly, some people on here have had success with new. The place where I got my new ones had sold many and all the feedback was all positive. If I'd have found used I'd have bought used. Please don't post links to Samba ads, cause I know there are some on here now.
The question is......is my new one junk....or am I doing something wrong? If it's junk....I'll find a used one.
OK.....time for another Guinness..!

Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:04 pm

I got a used left side one and only lost a wee bit of skin, but then I have fingers that I cannot lay out flat.
I think it depends on hand size.

Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:49 pm

it should fit fine. they are made out of toilet paper and bend easily.

the blue tube is just a guide to let the regulator cable go somewhere when the window is all the way down (or is it up, can't remember)

Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:18 pm

skills@eurocarsplus wrote: it should fit fine. they are made out of toilet paper and bend easily.

the blue tube is just a guide to let the regulator cable go somewhere when the window is all the way down (or is it up, can't remember)

It cant be bent. If the left side where the window bolts on, is bolted correctly....the winder handle part is way off.....and the top forward part of the regulator will not sit under that lip.....it comes up too high. If I tuck the regulator under the lip......then it can't be bolted because the holes don't line up. I do have an original one....but it's literally 5,000 miles away.

Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:23 pm

MrEnglishman wrote: the top forward part of the regulator will not sit under that lip.....it comes up too high. If I tuck the regulator under the lip......then it can't be bolted because the holes don't line up.

This has been the case with two "new" regulators I've tried.

Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:30 pm

MrEnglishman wrote:
It cant be bent..

anything can be bent. i have put in a few. they suck. looking closely at yours it seems the radius into the winder mechanism is a bit too proud so bending yours may in fact lower the winder, and make it impossible to install.

without seeing it in person it's hard to say.

Sun Jan 17, 2021 1:32 am

The new ones are made of cheese metal. I had to buy three before I had two that survived installation and early testing after the restorers wrecked my originals.

It should fit up under the lip at the top of the inside of the door, the mistake I made was to cross over the window glass slot so the top of the winder mech was the on the outside of the door.

The new knurling on the winder handle shaft is very soft, I ended up having to epoxy the winder handles on.

I did manage to fix the cracked gear in the original mech on one of mine, drilled a cross hole and put in a hardened steel pin ( masonry nail cut down) as the casting had split in half.

Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 pm

The new regulators are shite, pure and simple. I don't know how many manufacturers are making them but I've tried to install a couple of the ones with the blue tube and given up. Last time I tried one it was so frustrating I pulled it all apart. I managed to repair an original Bus one by removing the crank part from a beetle unit and welding it to the Bus unit.

The poor shape is only part of the issue. The lifter bracket part that the window fastens to is also improperly made, not even close to the original and causes alignment issues with the window.

They CAN be made to fit like some have said but it's barely worth the effort. The split tube is for sure very hard to bend smoothly, it wants to collapse instead. Dimensionally there's a big problem with the curve close to the winder part (skills post above correctly notes) and if you re-shape the curve so it (almost, it won't properly) tucks under the lip where it needs to be, then the winder doesn't align with it's mounting holes.

Just a terrible mess of a product. The people who make them should be ashamed, and the people who sell them in volume should apply pressure so they get made properly.

Wed Jan 20, 2021 11:33 am

Luckily getting a refund on the new. Not one original drivers left side for sale here in the Samba..! I didn't realize how tuff they are to find. (Hence why I tried the new one!)