Window goes Down about 5" and then Clicks

[Guest Brolliar]

My brother in Dallas has two Reatta's and now has two window motors that go down five inches and then start clicking. He is not a mechanic so he will get them fixed by a shop unless he waits for me to make a visit.

My question is how many hours does it take for a shop to change out the motor and what are the typical costs?

Thanks

[padgett]

Dunno, have never used a shop. "Clicking" is not typical motor failure though had it happen on my Reatta. What had happened was that the PO had the motor replaced, the replaceer used the #6 screws that cheap kits include, and they had worked loose allowing the motor to disengauge from the regulator gear. I always drill the holes out slightly and use #10-32s

In my case they had also removed the spring so it clicked when going up. Since yours is clicking going down it sounds like the spring is still in place so be very careful when removing.

Easy way to tell if has been replaced is if you find 1/4-20 screws instead of rivets holding the regulator to the door panel.

Note: there should be 5 screws or rivets including one near the motor connector and four approvimately in a square. Have seen replacements leave out the one by the end of the motor which is also not a good idea.

If it has been replaced and is clicking, first move the window all the way up to remove as much tension as possible, tape the glass up and pull the screws/rivets holding the motor/regulator in. Be very careful (might use a string to hold/lower the assembly rather than putting a hand in the door until you know what you are dealing with - lots of sharp places and the coil spring is quite strong.

There is a section on motor/regulator removal in the service manual and should be followed closely particularly the bit about drilling the regulator and installing a screw before the motor is removed (not necessary if spring is not there).

[Jim]

I have sold quite a few window motor/regulators and from my experience when the window goes down a little and then clicks the teeth are stripped on the regulator portion of the motor/regulator assembly.

I have good used motor/regulator assemblies available and can be reached at jfinn@cpinternet.com

[Guest Brolliar]

Padgett and Jim thanks for your comments. I am hoping to hear from those who had a shop do the job, Dallas being about 11 hours away from my home in North Alabama.

I should have added that I fixed the same problem on the window in my Reatta in 02. I found it to be a fairly time consuming task with reaching into areas with knife like edged requiring a long sleeved shirt for arm protection. I did spent some time cussing GM for having the motor in such a difficult place to reach. The task seemed quite a bit harder than the previous motors I had changed out on other cars,

With three Reattas and three similar problems I thought this motor change out must be fairly common. Kind of like the headlight motors.

Again any help or comments are appreciated.

[Booreatta]

Before you have a mechanic shop do the work make sure that you check with a

couple of body shops, in my area they do work for less and dont usually use the

flat rate and a good shop is very good at doing that kind of work. The motor is pretty common item.

[Guest howardmoss]

Is there any chance that it may be the switch that could be bad? By swithc, I mean the one that opens/closes the windows.

[89REATTAJIM]

Don't know about what shops give for time/costs, but my '89 pass window was doing the same as yours. My problem was stripped gear inside the motor assembly. Not the external regulator gear.

[Howard]

I don't think it is a switch problem. I've had both. When the switch goes bad, the window may move up or down a few inches, then stops. When the regulator bites the dust, the window moves a short way, then starts to click. Because the clicking sound is being heard, I'll opt for the bad regulator. I bought a regulator from Jim about two years ago. I still have the old one, but I've never broke it open to see if anything inside could be repaired. Has anyone attempted a repair fix the regulator?

[skydad]

I had the identical thing happen on a 1987 Pontiac Fiero. It was the gears in the motor. The window would go down about 4 or 5 inches and then start a rapid clacking sound. When I rolled the window all the way up, it would do the same thing when it reached the closed position. The part was $39 and the labor was $95 at a body shop. Good Luck!!!!

[ESTAVER]

You may find that the only thing wrong is that the large pop rivets that secure the drive motor to the door are loose or some have sheared off. When the motor assy. gets cocked the gear teeth don't fully engage the regulator gear and the you get a snapping,jumping, clicking sound.

I use small machine screws and nyloc nuts to re-attach window motor [@!#!$]'y to the door because the big rivets require an expensive, heavy duty rivet gun.

[Guest Brolliar]

Thanks to everyone for your comments and advice. Booreatta, your comment on having a body shop do the job is very appreciated and I have passed it on to my brother. Like 89REATTAJIM the clicking on my Reatta window a few years ago was fixed by just replacing the motor. skydad thanks for your price information. I like those numbers and think you have a good shop there.

From the overall comments it appears that the clicking can be caused by one of three problems - by a bad motor assembly - by a bad regulator gear or - by bolts that don't hold the motor properly in place.

It is important that anyone doing this job themselves needs to read the manual first as Padgett states. The manual warns you about the energy stored in the coil spring and how to handle it to avoid personal injury.