Window adjustment advice

[Dave5]

First question (the easy one): what is the name of the caulk-like white sealer used to hold the plastic vapor barrier to the door inner? I've asked around at my local hardware store, assuming that it was a common item and haven't gotten any good answers.

Long story short: I was having a window regulator issue, where the rubber "feet" on the little metal trolley that moves the window up and down had worn away. After tearing into it, what I think was going on is that the regulator assembly was bound up (the four bolts holding the regulator were all aligned as far to one side of the mounting holes on the door as possible, and there was a lot of force required to get the metal piece of the regulator to bolt to the glass itself).

When I replaced the rubber "feet" on the regulator, the window really struggled and was very slow to close. This led me to believe that there is some side load, which caused the rubber feet to wear away prematurely. Another thing that seemed to give credence to this theory, was that if I loosened the regulator mounting bolts, the window closing/opening speeds improved dramatically. So I figured I needed to loosen the glass guides to ensure that there was no more misalignment/binding relative to the regulator.

I figured while I was at it I should also check the window adjustment/alignment relative to the door opening (especially when loosening and adjusting the window guides). And I found that the windows are far closer to the door opening in the horizontal dimension (the "B" dimension in the service manual) than specified, on the order of 5-6mm. Now I'm concerned that if I dial the windows back to the nominal specification I'm going to have wind noise or leak issues (which of course I won't be able to evaluate until everything is buttoned up again).

Any thoughts or similar experiences?

 

[venomous42]

3m strip sealer will work.

 

[Fixit]

Door Panel Shield Adhesive. P/N 08712-0003. Putty-like adhesive that reattaches the plastic cover (rain
protector) between the door and the door panel. Order from your Acura Dealer.

 

[OLDMNSX]

It's call "3M Strip Caulk". Any local paint and body shop supply will have it. I have never found any white color, just black.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/300895407091?lpid=82

Well you are learning about the windows like a lot of us have. It is kind of a trial and error deal. As our cars have aged adjustments have been made and not all of them valid or needed. I would bet that the tracks, at the ends of the windows are probably dirty and the grease has dried which is part of your problem with slow travel up and down. The window regulator out of adjustment isn't helping the problem.

If you notice there is only one hole in the door of the four where the regulator attaches, that is round. It is located at the bottom. The other three are slotted to allow the regulator to seek it's own position. What I do is loosen all four bolts and remove one of the bolts at one of the top (slotted hole). This allows me to watch the regulator move when I run the window up and down. Run the window up and down and observe the movement of the regulator. If it appears the regulator is wanting to go to the limits of the slotted hole you need to make an adjustment where the regulator attaches to the window. Recheck again. You should be able to get the regulator to remain in one location through the full window travel. Then SNUG the four bolts. If you adjusted the bolts on the attachment to the window, don't forget to SNUG them too. This procedure will eliminate any pre-load on the regulator as the window moves up and down.

Did you get a set of my replacement window regulator glides?
Brad

 

[NSX-Files]

My driver side window regulator glides were worn and/or missing and my window speed was pathetic. I sent the regulator to Window Regulators USA for a rebuild. Got it back with new glides, upper and lower white plastic "pulleys" ( I think they replaced those) and all greased up. I cleaned the front and rear tracks and lubed them up while the regulator was still out. I moved the glass up and down by hand and it didn't seem to be tight or anything. From the top, it would slide downward into the door on its own weight. So I put the newly rebuilt regulator in using photos I took before removing it to put the bolts into the same position in the slots as they were before. However the window up speed is still as slow as it originally was and seems to really slow down to a crawl around half way. In short I spent $134 for a rebuilt regulator and it made no difference whatsoever. I played with the positioning of the regulator alignment but didn't really see any improvement. Is my motor worn out? My car is a '94 but the window regulator has a date stamp on it of 6/4/01 so it's already been replaced. I thought I was being clever getting it rebuilt but now I think I should have just spent the $500 for a new regulator. Frustrating!

 

[Larry Bastanza]

To Dave5 - You can use a dollar bill between the window and the seal with the window up to check for wind noise. In all areas of the window edge the bill should be tight, when pulling it out from between the window edge and seal.

To NSX-Files - Did you regrease the window tracks and the four "feet" connected to the glass after reassembly? I have had pretty good results when doing exactly what you did, insuring that the grease and alignment is properly applied/set is very important.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[dablackgoku1234]

I noticed on my windows "rock" front and back. When I secure the window to the regulator with the window rocked forward, it creates a lot of friction and is slow as hell. With the window rocked backwards, it was significantly faster. Is is possible the window guides are worn? (72214-SL0-003, 72215-SL0-003)

 

[NSX-Files]

Thanks for the advice Larry. I did not remove the glass or the tracks from the door because I did not want to mess with aligning the window afterwards. I did clean and re-grease the tracks from inside the door (as best as could be done) and slid the glass up and down manually into the new grease before putting the regulator back in. I figured that would put new grease on the "feet". Another thing I noticed with the rebuilt regulator- when it was in the full down position iirc one of the two cables went pretty slack. I don't remember it doing that before I sent it to be rebuilt.

 

[Dave5]

Thanks, Larry. So in your opinion would you reset the window alignment to the factory specs (5-6mm further away from the header than it is now) or leave it where it is (since it didn't seem to be giving me problems)? Both may pass your dollar bill test.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I suspect the issue is that the tracks are caked with old grease. It turns into a paste over time, and will bring the window to a crawl. The tracks are mounted on bolts that set the alignment. If you remove them and count the turns on each bolt you can restore the alignment to what is was, assuming it was OK to start with.

Thanks for the advice Larry. I did not remove the glass or the tracks from the door because I did not want to mess with aligning the window afterwards. I did clean and re-grease the tracks from inside the door (as best as could be done) and slid the glass up and down manually into the new grease before putting the regulator back in. I figured that would put new grease on the "feet". Another thing I noticed with the rebuilt regulator- when it was in the full down position iirc one of the two cables went pretty slack. I don't remember it doing that before I sent it to be rebuilt.

- - - Updated - - -

I always prefer to start with factory specs, then if required adjust. JMO

Thanks, Larry. So in your opinion would you reset the window alignment to the factory specs (5-6mm further away from the header than it is now) or leave it where it is (since it didn't seem to be giving me problems)? Both may pass your dollar bill test.

 

[reviveNSX]

I noticed on my windows "rock" front and back. When I secure the window to the regulator with the window rocked forward, it creates a lot of friction and is slow as hell. With the window rocked backwards, it was significantly faster. Is is possible the window guides are worn? (72214-SL0-003, 72215-SL0-003)

Did you resolve the issue? Im experiencing the same issue

 

[dablackgoku1234]

I have not taken apart my door/window to resolve this yet. With the window "rocked" backwards, the speed is good enough for me to not bother with it.