'88 Coupe - Power Windows

[wdaly]

Hello to you crazy guys in our 83-91 subgroup:

By way of a short into - I purchased my Avanti new at a dealer here in Wisconsin. I joined AOAI shortly thereafter. I joined this site I guess a few years ago, but am just starting to use it. Yes, I have had all the same issues as the rest of you with regards to body/interior problems and GM/Chevy quality control. I will get to those and other items in the future, but for now...

Although I do not consider myself much of a motorhead I have tackeled my share of troubles on my own when I didn't know who else could or would, but mostly because I'm cheap I have the Workshop Manual and last year I ordered the re-built PowerWindow Regulator assembly (it's all there & ready to go) from Nostalgic $295 + 100 core charge (passenger side). I installed it (one of the most frustrating experiences of my life) and it worked - but not for long. Apparently the mounting holes in the fiberglass door have elongated so that the 3 bolts for the Regulator Pivot and the 4 bolts for the Regulator (with motor attached) are moving every which way with the torque of operation all the way up or all the way down. Tightening does not help. Nostalgic said I have to use "mud" for each hole - basically try and redo the holes. The major problem is where to start because you will never know if the fix worked until you're done. The regulator and the pivot have to be perfectly mounted versus each other or the whole mechanism will BIND-UP and STOP. So, is there another way of going about this without redoing the fiberglass holes? Say, fabricating an add-on patch plate/bracket. By the way, my Avanti is a daily driver (107,000mi).

Bill Daly

[WayneC]

So, is there another way of going about this without redoing the fiberglass holes? Say, fabricating an add-on patch plate/bracket. By the way, my Avanti is a daily driver (107,000mi).

a

Bill Daly

I repaired the problem on the passenger door on one of my Avantis (a 66, I believe)

some years back by fabricating a bracket of stiff aircraft-grade sheet aluminum, about

a sixteenth inch thick. I had some elongated holes and some cracks in the fiberglass,

and you could plainly see the door panel bulging inward as the window was operated.

I cannot recall or describe exactly what I did, but I was able to fashion an odd-shaped flat piece,

perhaps a foot long, that nestled in a depression that connects various mounting holes of the

mechanisms involved (motor and regulator). I started by roughing it out on thin cardboard,

then drawing it precisely on paper (I was once a draftsman), with dimensions between the holes,

making a cardboard pattern from that drawing, trial fitting it, reiterating until I had a pattern that

appeared to fit properly, whereupon I traced it to the aluminum and fabricated a bracket.

Once the holes are elongated, however, it's tough to know exactly where they are supposed to be,

hence my trial & error approach with the cardboard patterns.... apparently I located the holes

with sufficient accuracy to do the job; it would be nice to have a car without the problem to use for measurements, and in fact you may be able to use the opposite door to assist in making a mirror-image pattern.

I vaguely remember having a problem (with the new bracket in place) remounting the armrest bracket,

and with the rod/wire actuator from the inside door lock lever; I can't remember exactly

what I did to overcome those issues, except to say they weren't major stumbling blocks.

I roughed the surfaces of the door and the bracket, epoxied the bracket into place on the passenger

compartment side of the door (I think I ended up using several slightly longer screws), and the window

worked fine thereafter.

The trick is to encompass as many mechanism mounting holes as possible with the bracket, since the

forces brought into play by these components push/pull against each other, eventually fatiguing

the fiberglass.

I have no idea whether the door panel on your later model car is the same as the one I repaired.

I've since sold that car, but I may have the pattern/drawing I used for the bracket somewhere in

the boxes of auto junk in my garage... If you email me, I'll look for it, and if I find it, perhaps

I can take a digital photo of it for you to give you a better idea of the bracket I fashioned.

[wdaly]

I repaired the problem on the passenger door on one of my Avantis (a 66, I believe)

some years back by fabricating a bracket of stiff aircraft-grade sheet aluminum, about

a sixteenth inch thick. I had some elongated holes and some cracks in the fiberglass,

and you could plainly see the door panel bulging inward as the window was operated.

I cannot recall or describe exactly what I did, but I was able to fashion an odd-shaped flat piece,

perhaps a foot long, that nestled in a depression that connects various mounting holes of the

mechanisms involved (motor and regulator). I started by roughing it out on thin cardboard,

then drawing it precisely on paper (I was once a draftsman), with dimensions between the holes,

making a cardboard pattern from that drawing, trial fitting it, reiterating until I had a pattern that

appeared to fit properly, whereupon I traced it to the aluminum and fabricated a bracket.

Once the holes are elongated, however, it's tough to know exactly where they are supposed to be,

hence my trial & error approach with the cardboard patterns.... apparently I located the holes

with sufficient accuracy to do the job; it would be nice to have a car without the problem to use for measurements, and in fact you may be able to use the opposite door to assist in making a mirror-image pattern.

I vaguely remember having a problem (with the new bracket in place) remounting the armrest bracket,

and with the rod/wire actuator from the inside door lock lever; I can't remember exactly

what I did to overcome those issues, except to say they weren't major stumbling blocks.

I roughed the surfaces of the door and the bracket, epoxied the bracket into place on the passenger

compartment side of the door (I think I ended up using several slightly longer screws), and the window

worked fine thereafter.

The trick is to encompass as many mechanism mounting holes as possible with the bracket, since the

forces brought into play by these components push/pull against each other, eventually fatiguing

the fiberglass.

I have no idea whether the door panel on your later model car is the same as the one I repaired.

I've since sold that car, but I may have the pattern/drawing I used for the bracket somewhere in

the boxes of auto junk in my garage... If you email me, I'll look for it, and if I find it, perhaps

I can take a digital photo of it for you to give you a better idea of the bracket I fashioned.

Thank you for your quick response. The E-mail is on it's way. Bill D.

[IndyJimW]

I would check the resistance of the window to roll up and down. Sometimes the window guides need adjusting or the channel felt needs replaced. Spray some silicone into the channels and see if the window will travel up and down easier. I've also used larger washers, like the ones used on the door hinge bolts, to spread the clamping force to a larger area.

Jim Wood

[wdaly]

I would check the resistance of the window to roll up and down. Sometimes the window guides need adjusting or the channel felt needs replaced. Spray some silicone into the channels and see if the window will travel up and down easier. I've also used larger washers, like the ones used on the door hinge bolts, to spread the clamping force to a larger area.

Jim Wood

[wdaly]

I would check the resistance of the window to roll up and down. Sometimes the window guides need adjusting or the channel felt needs replaced. Spray some silicone into the channels and see if the window will travel up and down easier. I've also used larger washers, like the ones used on the door hinge bolts, to spread the clamping force to a larger area.

Jim Wood

Thanks for your input Jim. I have sprayed and slathered everything known to man (and some not) on the various mechanisms. I will look into your larger washer suggestion just as soon as the snow melts - I'd say in about 2 months! I have to admit though, that "vent" window adjustment is, well, IFFY at best. I have kept it Loose for now.

Bill Daly

[WayneC]

Bill, did you receive the pictures I sent to your email address on sunday?

[wdaly]

Bill, did you receive the pictures I sent to your email address on sunday?

WayneC - I did and I sent you a 'personal' email on Monday, but now I don't see as a sent item in the folder. Anyway, great stuff and a lot of effort on your part. You wanted my address if I needed any 'tracings' and such and I included that. Let me ask my 16yr old how to go about this so the "whole world" doesn't know where I live ( I may have enemys some day).

Bill D