If they keep popping out those plastic sliders are broken, happened to me before the grease froze and the arm bent on the passenger side. I picked up 4 new ones with the metal clips on ebay for <20 shipped

Are the metal clips in place over the sliders? Sometimes they pop off and fall into the door.

should the ball still pop out of the socket without the clips being there?
I think I probably have all the clips but my main worry is that just one of the sockets in the slider may be broken.

The clip definitely helps keep it in place, but the ball can still pop out even if the clip is installed. It has to, otherwise it would be ultimate destruction

lol what I should have said is that the ball doesn't stay in the socket unless you hold it there. In other words its completely loose which is why I think the socket may be broken. Can the slider pieces be had at the dealership or am I just doing it wrong and its not broken so I should use the same one?

I put in new ones when I did this job just to be sure.

Ebay Item number: 280318842765

It should snap into the socket if you squeeze them together. If it doesn't and just loosely goes in and out of the socket, the slider is definitely broken. It is a good idea to replace them like bu.ti.ful did, but it's not always necessary.

Windows huh
 

Wow. Can't wait to have the time to do this job. Window moves a little. This may fix it.

Okay guys, Lazoh just informed me that his passenger window has come off track and needs to be fixed. I fixed his driver's side window over a year ago and it still works flawlessly. So, due to popular demand, I'll have him take detailed photos as I attempt to fix his passenger window. This will take place sometime within the next couple of weeks when we get some free time. Standby for some exciting and informative photographs that have been long awaited. This thread will deliver, I promise.

Wish I'd read this last year..
An arm on the passenger side has bent and after stripping the door down to fix it - it was a real pain to do. Still not right. Drivers side window got smashed in an accident and got replaced. New window is stiff to lift and is putting strain on the mech. Both window switches have been disconnected so the windows can't be used so as not to damage them any more. Might have another go sometime after reading this.

ok so i started on this and got my driver side window done and it seems to be working nicely. I had to re-glue the rubber guide on the back side and it was a bit tough since the rubber was torn length wise. I started on the passenger side window on to find that its completely missing the rubber guide along the back side. I know what you are thinking, "look at the bottom of the door." I did for a long long time. Its not there. It doesn't exist!! lol previous owner must have opened it or something because i can see some of the door clips have already been JB welded (poorly i should add).

So here's my question. where do i get a new one? do i need to make one or can i buy it from the dealership or online somewhere?

Part#51321960413 pelicanparts.com sells them for $7.75 each or getbmwparts.com sells them for $5.94

BTW, I found the part# on realoem.com

I just recently found this site and more importantly this thread (the AC lost it's recent charge of freon AGAIN). I was about to pay a shop to do this work and glad I didn't. Haven't been able to roll the windows down in YEARS! Thank you Cooljess for the article! Followed it exactly and now they are working properly. No more sweating trying to get home in the afternoon.

Did this the other day. - Great write up!!!
 

My window popped out of the sliders about 2 weeks ago.
This was after having the regulater replaced last winter to the tune of 400+ dollars.
Independent shop so no warranty and the guy didn't return call, so I decided to try it myself.
Excellent write up!!!!!
One thing I noticed is the front arm was hitting the top most bolt holding the regulator on when the window was out!
So I reversed the bolt to fix this.
The guy who drilled out the rivets must not have used the right bolt.
I got everything back together and it is working ok, but still doesn't pass the slam test.
I have tried bending the window rail guides, but it doesn't seem to help.
I am thinking of just buying new ones, since I found them for only 12$ online.
Here is a link to the rail guide that I found:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search_BMW/...38884/ES93756/
My Question is, I only see one Rail Guide available, and it looks like the front one.
Shouldn't they offer two - a front one and a back one for each side?

Thanks, I have looked there also, and this is what i get:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...55&hg=51&fg=10

But it shows a window guide rail for drivers side ( left I am assuming) and window guide rail for passenger side ( right I am assuming ).
But each door has 2 window guides, front and back.
They only show one for each door.

Yes that's the aft guide. IIRC, only the rear guides are replacable. I think the fronts are spot welded in place.

After my window fell down, I did this DIY and glad I did, it probably saved me about $250 and cost less than 10$ to do the DIY.

Some more notes:
No matter what before you even start.. get the 2 new white sliders, they are like $2 each at the dealer.
The arms are supposed to pop in there tightly and don't come off easily, so don't reuse the originals!

Don't just straighten the arms, bend them in a way so that the ball should be at a 90 degree to the sliders, be careful not to rough up or damage the ball.

While you're in there, do the smart thing and spray a lot of anty-rust ;)

Also, for sport models or those with an air bag:
The bluddy screw is behind the SRS little logo, remove the plastic piece and unscrew to get the the panel off.

Follow-up to my original post:
I ordered a regulator mechanism off eBay, ~$60. It came with the necessary hardware (bolts and two new plastic sliders and metal clips). The regulator I removed was pretty bent up. I don't think that they can be straightened too many times and for the amount of pain it is, it's probably cheaper to replace it if the first repair attempt doesn't hold up. I installed it and the window still popped out of track. :(

I pulled the other side apart (which had yet to break) to re-grease it and compare. Moving the broken window up and down the guide, it felt like it was binding and the rear guide felt like the culprit. I re-greased the side that was still functional and put it back together.

I pulled the rear window guide out of the broken door, removed the felt, cleaned it as well the glue side and the metal channel and then re-glued it with the proper glue, 3M super weatherstrip and gasket adhesive (http://www.autobarn.net/3msupweatgas.html).

The mechanism seems to be working fine now. I am still skeptical, as the prior time, it behaved similarly. I will give it a couple of weeks of abuse before I pronounce it fully cured. Meanwhile, I am repairing the door panels, yet again.

Miracle Fix
 

This write up works.
I have tried to repair our 96 ti three times, all with no long term cure.
The key points for me was the application of glue to the felt window tracks, both of them, then tweaking the front track as described. The repair withstood repeated slamming of the door with the window down, I mean really slammed, and no problem. Used the JB Weld as well, along with new door panel clips and the door is solid as a rock. Very satisfied with this DIY!

It's amazing how the windows will _not break_ again if you get new clips, position the felt, and set up the track properly. After 2+ years, I'm tempted to re-tint my passenger side window.

What if I needed to buy the plastic sliders for the window regulator arms, can I find them or do I need new assembly

Dealers carry the clips on the order of around $2-3 apiece.

Thank you for this - you are a star! I have just started with this problem and attempted two repairs with two failures - and yes, its a huge embarrassment pulling up at a pay booth at the moment! I also wondered if the grease wasn't just gunking up due to age. I will start again this weekend and hopefully third time right!

More info on gluing door panel clip-supports
 

Great write-up. Much of this has been touched-on before by others here and elsewhere in dribbs and drabs. Nice to have all the methodology together in one post.

After doing this years ago with no repeats of regulator failure (knock on wood done), I recently had to revisit the passenger door panel because the door-panel clips all came apart. I delayed, thinking it was one on which I'd already fixed the panel-clip supports but yesterday I found out it wasn't so I was in relatively virgin territory except for #9 and
#10 clips which had apparently been done with hot-glue by the dealer under warranty for the previous owner (tip: don't waste your time with hot glue!).

So, knowing my drivers door panel repair had worked for well over four years, I set out to apply that same method to this panel and I thought I'd add to this post with my resolution of the door-panel problem.

My first deviation from the method offered in the first post here is to NOT remove the factory glue which has never come loose from the door panel. It doesn't bond well to the plastic clips but it is obstinately tenacious on the fiberboard panel. If you don't remove it it makes positioning the clip supports so much easier as they fit only one way in the original blob of adhesive, and the numbers are visible in the adhesive blob to properly orient the supports.

I did, however, use a medium sandpaper to rough-up the contact surface on the old adhesive blob where the support seats, working around the molded number to help re-positioning the supports. Next I took each support and drilled six holes of about 1/8" in diameter in the supports from the contact side (to minimize burrs on that surface. I put one in each corner, leaving enough around the edge and avoiding the little posts on some corners, and two in the middle which on some meant inside the "tower" on the support or close to it's base without causing any structural deficiencies. Then I sanded the contact surface of each base with the same medium sandpaper just enough to rough it up but not enough to obliterated the molded-in number.

I then mixed up about half the tubes of a small JB Weld "Quick" package with a popsicle stick cut like a chisel, and slathered it on each clip, one at a time, so that some entered each hole, and pressed each clip in place so the JB Quick oozes out the holes before applying the JB Quick to the next clip. You get about four minutes of working time before the JB Weld sets up so if you're quick (no pun intended) you can do all ten at once, or mix up some more for the last few, if you have to.

Let it setup for twelve hours. I went out to re-install the panel this morning and it was raining so I hurriedly snapped it in-place only to remember I'd forgotten to connect the speakers and the door panel had to come off. That would be a real test of the adhesive application—and they all passed!

Another frustration is the way the top of the door panel attaches to the door frame. When the clip supports fail the panel comes out of the metal clips at the door slot wiper and normally folks just try to press it back into place. Eventually the panel can crack horizontally along the upper edge, inside the curved section from the loose panel hanging on the door-opening gasket or other handling issues. This time I carefully removed the six-or-so top metal clips with the wiper molding still attached to them by prying the tabs gently out of the recesses in the door skin. I then installed the entire strip with the clips on the panel taking care to note depressions indicating past position, and slipped the door-panel assembly over the door slot edge and snapped it all in place against the raised window glass. It was much simpler than I thought it would be and actually easier than trying to get the panel to "bite" into the clips while they are still attached to the door. I believe this is how the old BMW manuals showed how to do it on a 2002 but I don't bother with the manuals on the newer cars so Bentley may already show this as the proper procedure. Or not.

All the clips lined up perfectly, with only a small bit of crawling underneath to help the alignment to the hole due to the free-play within the clip supports, and that darn panel fits as well as it ever did, which isn't really saying much since the crappy production standards on these little cars never had them fitting that well at the top of the rear-edge of the doors even when new.

Anyway, just thought I'd add that wordy addition to a great thread so others might benefit from my experience. I hope never to have to go in there again! As cheap insurance, I've kept a new-in-bag window regulator in the trunk for four years, not telling the car which side it's for. I think it's scared-straight! :wink:

Thanks for the clip info - that's been doing my head in! I will make an attempt this weekend with your advice and hopefully get this door sorted out once and for all!!
Cheers!

Great write up - very helpful and has *almost* solved my problem.

The issue i have is that the window (RHD - drivers side) goes up and down ok now but about half an inch from being fully up, it tilts forward which means that the rear of the window is out of the frame so that there is a gap of about 3 mm.

Anyone know how to sort that? :confused:

Thanks

You can remove the rear guide completely. There's a rubber plug towards the bottom of the door which when removed will aloow access to a 10mm bolt. Remove the bolt and the guide slides out. From there, you can inspect the guide, glue in the felt lining etc. When you reinstall it, IIRC, there's a hook or bracket that secures it on the top end, make sure it engages, then replace the lower bolt.

Hope the images show up on post
 

Outstanding write up. I started tackling this project the other day when one of my windows decided to crap out. I also took a few photos of my progress.

Door handle trim. Note: When removing, push forward. As you can see, the clips are shaped like little arrows.

Clips that are glued on door panel. Notice some have become unglued while removing the door panel.

Clip no. 10 unglued off panel :frown:
Foam glued on door.

Speaker wires.
Quick question....Can I reuse these for aftermarket speakers?
I'm planning on getting infinity components speakers. Woofer will go to kick panel, and tweeter will go to mid range cavity on door.

Removing foam panel from door. As you can see, this stuff is very messy/sticky.

The following images are of the gooey stuff you will find on the window track/channel. I decided to clean this stuff out using a rag and general purpose cleaner.

Removed glass from door. Not only did I clean the metal channels, but I also removed the limo tint – it was just not my style.

That's it for now. I will download a few more later.
Once again, thank you for an awesome DIY writeup.

Quick question, my window is out of the door right now, I cleaned all the old grease out of the tracks like Jesse said. I bought new sliders because the old ones broke.

First I tried the brown bearing grease that Jesse recommended, the new sliders fit so tightly in the track that they just pushed all the grease out of the way when I slid them with my hand. So I went out and bought some teflon dry lube that others mentioned and while it did help somewhat the sliders still seem too tight in the tracks. I haven't reinstalled the window yet to see if the regulator can move it.

Are the new sliders supposed to be that tight? Should I try a different grease?

Sliders from Bav Auto
 

I am not sure if you have the same issue that I had, but when I got my sliders from Bav Auto, they didn't seem to fit too well either.
I checked the part number with real OEM and compared the sliders to the sliders I took out, and everything seemed to match up, but the sliders seemed a little too wide.
So i took a pliers, and "Squished them" a little bit. then greased them up with brown bearing grease and they slid real nice.
The window has been working good for 6 months now.

IDK man, I reused my old sliders. Maybe our old ones were just worn so much that they fit loosely in the tracks?

Thanks guys, I squished my sliders and used the bearing grease and it was perfect. I should mention that I bought my sliders from Pelican parts, maybe OE BMW are slightly better?

Ended up that both my regulator arms were bent, the front one more so. Once I got those where they needed to be everything went smoothly. Only other issue was the rear window guide had slid down, so I replaced it. Gotta say, every time I slammed the door I cringed, hah, but the window never popped out of the vertical tracks.

Thanks for the great write up Jesse, and thanks to everyone else who posted tricks and ideas.

FWIW I bought my sliders from pelican and had the same thing, they fit tight. I wound up just sliding them by hand a bunch and they loosened up.