window won't roll up/down

[evanucsb]

The drivers side window on my VW has a very difficult time rolling up (only slightly less difficult rolling down). This is to the point that I recently snapped the crank right off while battling with it. It appears that this is because as it rolls up, it is catching the rubber seal on the bottom of the window.(The half that is slightly inside the door, not the half slightly above the door) This is rolling up slightly as the window rolls up and squeezing the glass to the point that it takes tremendous effort to roll up the window.

At this point I am tempted to just take an exacto knife to the bottom half of the seal so there is nothing to catch.

Has anyone run into this problem and come up with a workable solution that does not involve completely disassembling the door?

[69VWTYPE1]

i would try to grease the track maybe?? in my 67 it was a pain to roll up because it had 40 something years build up on it....i just spraied some grease on the track and it works fine now....is it fine to roll up until that one point or is it hard to roll up period????
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1969 VW Bug W/Sunroof. 1760cc 74mm stroker with 87's....lots of low end power......

**UPDATE** NOW WILL HAVE A 2180 INSTEAD OF 1760

[jlex]

Don't start carving up your seals just yet. Take the interior panel off the door first & figure out what the problem is... hopefully, you didn't strip the gears by trying to force the window. Probably just a buildup of dirt or corrosion. Panel removal is easy. Take out screw behind handle cover, then pop out panel which is held by retaining clips.WD 40 to break up dirt, corrosion, then spray with white grease.

jlex.

[Zach Thomas]

This will help to grease your regulator: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=335018&highlight=window+regulator Mine were hard to roll up and it turned out to be dirty regulators, I really doubt it's the scraper. And disassembling the door isn't that hard to do, just do it cautiously.
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62 Rag - a little crusty

[Barry32]

I've been having this same issue with my driver's side door... Broke 3 sets of window cranks. (Currently have a broken one on there now.)

Thanks, New, for posting the link to the write up, I'm definitely going to use it to fix my issue.
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Barry
1973 Super Beetle, and a "Fix Or Repair Daily" 2006 Freestar

[gt1953]

take off the door panel and lube everything that you see moving. My 68 sat for many years and needed the same repair andnow they are smooth as silk.
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Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[69 Jim]

I had the same problem when my scrapers were new. I applied a small amount of talcum powder to the area and rolled the window up and down a few times. Problem solved.

[aztimer2]

This is an awesome tutorial, thank you for posting.

[revkevinhale]

Soooo, hypothetical question. What if you have stripped the gears and your window is only about an inch down and the crank just spins freely? Does anyone have any suggestions on getting the windows the rest of the way down so that you can remove and fix or replace the regulator?

[Igpoe]

10 mm wrench or socket to the two bolts holding the window to the regulator

[jarmchairpilot]

problem is when the thread strips on the regulator and it has to be replaced, guess what?
There are at least 4 different types of window regulators, make sure to keep the old one for reference.
More bad news, the new replacement ones are not as good quality as the original.
You can expect to spend
Takes blood, sweat as well as money replacing it.

Finally having replaced both regulators on both doors I found the passenger side fitted perfect and operates perfect.
The one I use on the drivers side was a real struggle to fit, it took two if us about 4 hours and after all that effort the window does not operate very smooth despite all the other seals being replaced recently or being in very good condition.

[broderickbus]

I am having the same problem with the stripped gear now. I ordered a new regulator, but is there any way to get the window into a closed position in the interim?

Right now the window is just 20% open, making it easy for people (or the elements) to get in if they want...

[68IHscout]

Don’t spray grease over built up grease ,proper way is to take it off clean all the old grease off of it specially where the gear is ,once cleaned re grease it install it check for proper movement ,will last a long time. Just my 2cents worth.