'77 power window problems

[dk1977]

My '77 has power windows that work... but go up slowly. The pass side goes down in a split second and the drivers side is slow. They both go up slowly and need a little tugging to fully extend so the door / window seals properly. I lubed the drivers side slides / regulator, etc., but no change either way.
Is this a sign of weak springs on the regulator? Any suggestions / tips would be appreciated.
DK

 

[ruby76]

I haven't even done the lubing yet on mine, but if your window goes down fast, but up slow, then I've heard it is the spring. I think you're on the right track.

 

[jdp6000]

The regulator has a coiled up spring like the one at the following link. http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?pf_id=A9464&dept_id=1673

They frequently break. If it did it should be at the bottom of your door. To replace it you must remove the entire regulatory assembly. Its not that tough...

Jim

 

[Bill75]

Jim's right, in fact he gave me some good advice on mine too. I removed the entire track assembly and motor from both my doors because of the same sluggish response. I found years of "crud" built up on the vertical and horizontal tracks. Also the gear on the motor was packed with stiff grease that had hardened over the years. Also a few loose pieces of hardware that held the glass to the track mechanism was causing the window to bind.
Cleaning and relubricating the tracks, replacing some hardware did the trick for me, they work flawlessly now.
It's not a bad job as Jim said.

Bill

 

[GaryS]

My '77 has power windows that work... but go up slowly. The pass side goes down in a split second and the drivers side is slow. They both go up slowly and need a little tugging to fully extend so the door / window seals properly. I lubed the drivers side slides / regulator, etc., but no change either way.
Is this a sign of weak springs on the regulator? Any suggestions / tips would be appreciated.
DK

You have been given some good advice from the members here. I have rebuilt the PWs on a 73 and they should be identical to yours. Another issue that no one has touched on is the motor itself. I would pull the whole arrangement out of the door casing and do a comprehensive check, cleaning and adjustment of your PW system. First, if you don't have the AIM for your car, get one. Same thing for the 1977 GM Service Manual. The AIM tells you how it all goes together and the Service Manual tells you how to adjust the window once it is out. Any good electrical shop can tell you if the motor is in good shape or not. When the motor is out and you add electrical power to it, it should go up and down easily since there isn't any load on it. As a added note, my friend's 73 windows went up VERY slowly and down normally. When we bench tested the motor it ran at the same speed, without the window or scissor mechanism.

To end this:
we wound up replacing the spring, as other suggested
we cleaned up the scissor mechanism - lots of 30+ year old hardened grease
lubed the pivot points with white lithium grease
had the motor rebuilt

The one thing that we found was that any GM car of that vintage had window motors that were the same as those on Corvettes. We wound up going to the salvage yard and picking up the PW motors from the rear doors of a 74 Buick. We haven't installed them yet but they look identical to the Corvette motors. Why the rear doors? Because they are hardly ever used and should act like new ones.
Gary

 

[ruby76]

The one thing that we found was that any GM car of that vintage had window motors that were the same as those on Corvettes. We wound up going to the salvage yard and picking up the PW motors from the rear doors of a 74 Buick. We haven't installed them yet but they look identical to the Corvette motors. Why the rear doors? Because they are hardly ever used and should act like new ones.
Gary

That is a good piece of information. thx

I plan on taking a look at mine this winter - after I finish my woodworking/christmas projects!

 

[dk1977]

Thanks for the suggestions... I'll post updates after I tear down and inspect, probably in January!
DK

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Zip had a great set of instructions, no only on this but a lot of other things, but when they updated their site they went away. I have a copy on my web site. The pictures are not very good but the instructions should be helpful.