D1 Window Woes

[outono]

Trying to figure out what is happening to my driver side front window without pulling the whole mechanism out.

When rolling it up, it sounds like it pops off the track near the top. Otherwise, it rolls just fine. The window still sits nicely within the frame when fully rolled up, but it appears to be slightly more at an angle, which pushes the exterior window rubber dressing away from the glass, allowing water to come into the interior of the door when it rains.

When looking at the door with the door card removed, it looks as if the the metal from the door protrudes when the window hits whatever it is thats causing the problem. Is this just a roller that has broken? Something else?

 

[WaltNYC]

rollers is the most obvious answer. They are white plastic donuts that run in the tracks. I've seen it where one cracks apart but remains stuck on the track which causes the dislocation.

 

[LRDONE]

If you confirm it to be the white plastic rollers, you can replace those with a metal one from ebay. I did that with mine and it worked great.

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 1 & 2 FRONT / REAR WINDOW REGULATOR ROLLER REPAIR KIT SET 2 | eBay

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 1 & DISCOVERY 2 MODELS. There are 3 x of these rollers for each of the front windows and 1 x in the rear windows on Land Rover Discovery 1 and 2 Model. FRONT OR REAR WINDOW REGULATOR ROLLER & PIN REBUILD REPAIR KIT.

www.ebay.com

 

[terryjm1]

I have used those several times. They do work great. What I have found is if you use a pointed punch first when “mashing” the pin it will allow the roller to not get bound against the lift bracket.

Another point to check is make sure the sprocket on the regulator hasn’t broken any of the spot welds. I had one that broke loose on 2 of the 3 spot welds. It would make the window motor not engage the gear at the upper range. It did have a broken roller which I thought was the problem. I put it back together and the problem was still there. Now that it has new rollers, I will be plug welding it back together. I will also consider rivets if they will clear the arm when it moves.

If I had realized the problem, I would have just ordered a new one. However, I prefer the aluminum roller replacement to a new regulator as it is, in my opinion, an improvement on the original.

Be sure to check the spot welds. I have no idea about the quality of the aftermarket regulators but they are realatively cheap. Frankly, I’m not thrilled with the original ones, Spot welds breaking loose is pretty ridiculous. 25 year old plastic rollers I expect to fail, but not welds.

Also, on replacing the plastic rollers with aluminum rollers, typically I have only seen the upper plastic ones fail but I replace all three. It’s not a terribly difficult job but I’d rather not do it twice. The front doors use three rollers. The rear only uses one.