Rear Window Motor Replacement

[harpster]

I need to replace the rear window motor in my 1990 Toy 4Runner. Everything looks clean in the rear window area and power is getting to the motor connector and reverses +-12V with the switch up/dn. I'm trying to get an idea how difficult this procedure is and if there are any safty considerations due to the gears and tensioners. It appears that the motor is bolted to the plate from behind. Assuming that I can get the bolts out I was wondering how easy/hard it is to pull of the motor out and what if any prevention need to be taken to keep the window from crashing down. I don't know how much tension is normally on the motor gear and/or how to remove the tension before removing the motor.

Any advise would be very helpful. Thanks/ Alan

[Brian R.]

"...what if any prevention need to be taken to keep the window from crashing down."

You can probably remove the window glass before you start to dissasemble the regulator. Removing the lift gate from the truck before you start dissassembling it may make this job easier.

Also, as a probably, there is no problem with removing the regulator once the window glass is removed. There is no weight or pre-load on the regulator arms.

[harpster]

I'd be happy if I could open the tailgate. Window is up and the motor is not responding. Now that I've looked at this again I'm thinking the whole window regulator assembly may need to be removed to replace the motor. I'm not really sure where to begin this procedure...


-A

[Brian R.]

Why can't you open the tailgate?

[harpster]

The window is up. Therefore the window needs to come down or possibly the big molding strip on the outside needs to come off. Because the window motor is not working I'm not sure how to get the window down. As to the molding piece, I'm not seeing how that comes off and don't want to break it.

There is also some basic stuff I want to know. For example can I swap the motor with out lowering the window, and can I do it without removing the regulator assembly. There was a post by someone on this list that said that this was about a 2 hour job and not the difficult. They did mention needing the repair manual and I was hoping that I could get a few pointers so I didn't have to get that. -A

[Goatwater]

Have you solved the prob yet? If not the motor in my runner is held on by 3, 8mm screws with fairly long heads. With the window up, there might be some residual tension so beware!Remove these screws, you can look at these screws with a mirror . When reinserting the new motor ensure that the gear/cog drive is in the gear of the regulator . This should take you 10 minutes tops!!!!