Door Window Glass Position

[Guy Cocquyt]

My door window glass when rolled down still sticks up about 1/2" above the window sill, is this the normal factory position?  It would be more comfortable on sunny days if it could fully retract.  Is there any way to adjust this?

[ingramlee]

51 minutes ago, Guy Cocquyt said:

My door window glass when rolled down still sticks up about 1/2" above the window sill, is this the normal factory position?  It would be more comfortable on sunny days if it could fully retract.  Is there any way to adjust this?

Mine is exactly the same as yours.. Its very annoying.

[Simeon]

I think that’s just how it is.  Depth is limited by the little ‘carriages’ that run up and down the runners being under the glass. 

[Mike Self]

Just completed some exhaustive (and exhausting) adjustments to my driver's door window to replace the felt track on the leading edge, to remove free play in the regulator and adjust the glass so that it rolled up properly without jamming, and sealed along the top and trailing edges.  After all was said and done, the glass still stands proud of the windowsill by 8-10mm.  In this case, it's proper to say "they all do that."  Both of mine do, despite lots of adjusting, and every '02 I've observed with windows rolled down does the same thing.

 

But look at all the visibility we have with those huge windows.  You're not driving a 55 Chevy with a necker's knob on the steering wheel; you should be driving with both hands on the wheel, not dangling an elbow on the windowsill.    Those Germans were smart!

 

mike

[Jimmy]

Can the entire regulator be adjusted vertically? Or the bracket for the glass? I feel like mine is nearly flush when down but also that the window seems to sit a little low when the regulator is wound all the way up. Something broken?

[Mike Self]

24 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

the window seems to sit a little low when the regulator is wound all the way up. Something broken?

If the window's upper edge isn't flush with the top of the vent window frame, then you're gonna get a leak when it rains hard (ask me how I found this out).  There is a stop inside the door, on the rear edge guide--the part that is fastened to the glass and rides in a channel along the back edge of the glass.  The stop is a flat piece of metal with elongated mounting holes on the rear guide.  It hits a bracket welded to the inside of the door and visible through the upper, rearmost access hole on the door's inner panel.  That keeps the glass from going too high. 

 

Simply loosen the stop's bolts, roll the window up until it's in the correct "up" position, and tighten the bolts through the access hole.  Don't allow the glass to be adjusted too high; if it hits the rain gutter, it'll shatter the first time you slam the door.

 

The regulator itself can be adjusted a little via slightly elongated mounting holes, but not enough to make any difference in glass height.

 

mike

Edited January 5, 2019 by mike

[Jimmy]

Thanks! So my next question is, what reasonable explanation is there for it needing adjustment in the first place? Commonly misadjusted from the factory? Does the adjusting hardware need to be futzed with to perform some other maintenance/repair?

 

(shakes head and grumbles something profane about previous owners)

[Mike Self]

19 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

what reasonable explanation is there for it needing adjustment in the first place?

Forty + years of cranking up and down; things wear--especially when no auto manufacturer expects his products to be in regular use for 40-50 years. 

 

Besides, the regulators themselves are a weak point in the car's design; the steel helper spring chews through the pot metal pin in its center, causing regulator failure unless it's replaced (you get to make the part) or replaced.

 

mike 

[Jimmy]

Oh, so it's slop in the mech that lets the window sag despite the part of the regulator that hits the stop being against the stop. Fair enough. I take back what I said about the PO.

 

Is the regulator repair the same whether the regulator has not yet failed vs has already failed?

[Mike Self]

2 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

Is the regulator repair the same whether the regulator has not yet failed vs has already failed?

PM me if you discover the regulator is dead or dying (either it doesn't work at all, or there's a half-turn of the crank before the glass starts moving).  I did a Roundel column on how to repair the two most common breakage points on a regulator--much cheaper than buying a new one.  

 

mike