Dorman products??

[Wayne]

I'm going to replace the driver's door electric window motor and regulator. I was looking on the internet for a replacement and rockauto.com has a number of them listed. The one I'm interested in is made by Dorman Products for $85.79. I went to their website and was impressed. Do you have any knowledge about Dorman and their products?

Thanks in advance.

Wayne

 

[Kernal]

I purchased a Dor-man driver's side (front left) window lift motor from Auto_zone, only about $55. Still working fine after a few months. It comes with a lifetime warranty if you keep the receipt. Two things: the mounting holes are not threaded; I tapped mine, others just forced the screw/bolts into the aluminum inserts. And the connectors that came with the new motor did not fit the Toyota harness. I removed the connector from the original motor and put it on the Toyota harness section that came with the motor. I was not impressed by the Dor-man window regulator, cheaper construction and looser/flimsier than my original used regulator which I put back in.

 

[Wayne]

Kernal, thanks for your reply. I called Dorman Products Inc. and spoke to their tech guy about the motor and regulator. As expected he had nothing but good things to say about them. I ordered the motor only from Rockauto.com for $55 delivered to my door. That was half the cost for the same item at Advance Auto Parts and Autozone. It comes with four jumper leads and was assured one will fit the Cruiser.

I'll post the quality and performance results when I get it installed.

 

[86tuning]

Fwiw brand new motors from Toyota are also not threaded. The special screws cut their own threads and then stay locked. Like built in lock washers.

 

[Kernal]

I could have saved 15 minutes by not tapping the holes, but used low strength (purple) loctite on the threads.

 

[Wayne]

Not Plug and Play..

Well team, I installed the Dorman Products Inc. driver's window lift motor that I purchased from Rockauto.com ($55 delivered). I had to cut the male connector off of the old motor and splice it onto the new one, and I tapped threads in the mounting holes so it would mount easier. It works great so far and I'll post here if I experience any type of problem. FYI, the motor was made in Korea.

Wayne

 

[greentruck]

Dorman is an outfit used by the pros when they need to fix something when one of "dem der things" is missing, worn out or broken. I used to work parts for a heavy truck fleet and we used all sorts of incidentals, fasteners, widgets, etc that were in their catalog. Good stuff, well made was my experience.

 

[1997 FZJ80 40th]

I purchased a Dor-man driver's side (front left) window lift motor from Auto_zone, only about $55. Still working fine after a few months. It comes with a lifetime warranty if you keep the receipt. Two things: the mounting holes are not threaded; I tapped mine, others just forced the screw/bolts into the aluminum inserts. And the connectors that came with the new motor did not fit the Toyota harness. I removed the connector from the original motor and put it on the Toyota harness section that came with the motor. I was not impressed by the Dor-man window regulator, cheaper construction and looser/flimsier than my original used regulator which I put back in.

Kernal - based on your comments in another post, I deduced that you have now had the Dorman replacement motor in your vehicle since November of 2011 - does that sound about right? So...now that you've had it in for over a year and for portions of 2 winters, how is the window working?

I am about to pull the trigger and order the Dorman motor for the driver door. I already have a new window run from CDan for the driver door and will replace the run and motor at the same time (as well as inspect and lube the regulator and clean and lube anything else related to the window).

Also, after I remove the original motor, I plan to open it up and attempt to rebuild (replace brushes, etc.) I read on another thread that you (Kernal) attempted to service the original motor without success so I am not holding my breath. However, this write-up seems to give some hope. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...power-window-motor-brush-rebuild-gen-4-a.html

Depending on how my efforts go with rebuilding the motor, I may put it back in place of the Dorman and try the same approach with the other motors. I am definitely going to replace all 4 window runs as time permits over the next few weeks. However, I will reserve judgment on whether motor replacement is needed on a case by case basis. The consensus seems to be that the accumulated wear of these parts causes the issue, but that replacing the window runs only, may be enough and has the greatest impact (assuming the motor is still operational of course).

Thanks for any further thoughts you might have now that you are a year out from your motor replacement. -James



EDIT To pose the same question to the OP, Wayne - how has your motor replacement worked out for you now that you have had it in place for 9 or so months? Any further feedback regarding the steps you took or other issues? Thanks

 

[Kernal]

My replacement Dorman window lift motor is working fine. My best guess why the original motor lost it's torque had to do with the magnets losing their strength (magnetic field) over time. From reading on the subject the magnets used on new production motors may be stronger and more permanent?? The brushes in the original motor were still well within spec. If I had the cash I would have preferred a new Toyota part however.

 

[dontblink]

I've had good experiences with Dorman in the past.

Wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

 

[1997 FZJ80 40th]

My replacement Dorman window lift motor is working fine. My best guess why the original motor lost it's torque had to do with the magnets losing their strength (magnetic field) over time. From reading on the subject the magnets used on new production motors may be stronger and more permanent?? The brushes in the original motor were still well within spec. If I had the cash I would have preferred a new Toyota part however.

Kernal - Thanks for the detailed response. That's good to hear given the considerable price disparity between the Dorman and the Toyota part. Interesting about more recent production motors possibly having stronger (and possibly longer lasting) magnetic properties. I had considered trying to find a used motor from a more recent Toyota car or truck so I could pay used pick and pull prices for a Toyota part that might have more life left. However, simply buying the Dorman would avoid all the detective work. Thanks again.

 

[1997 FZJ80 40th]

I've had good experiences with Dorman in the past.

Wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

dontblink - Thanks for the additional feedback. It soulnds like this is the direction I will go.

 

[UZJ40]

I've had good experiences with Dorman in the past.

Wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

Same here... just installed their seat heaters in the girlfriend's corvette. Well made product!

 

[Koffer]

Dorman makes high fail OEM item replacements . Their replacement line for stuff also will have just the part that broke and not the whole assembly, like the little plastic $2 part in the $200 assembly . They also fix the issue so it dosnt happen again , like epoxy encase a PC board thats under a truck on the frame rail unlike just pop a alloy cover on it like the OEM that rotted off in 3 years of road grim.

My brother whos owns a shop says if" Dorman makes it , then its a known OEM problem" I needed axle shafts for my 77chevy P10 step van and Dorman made them and I was able to pick them up from Amazon for $109 each to my door .

 

[1997 FZJ80 40th]

Dorman makes high fail OEM item replacements . Their replacement line for stuff also will have just the part that broke and not the whole assembly, like the little plastic $2 part in the $200 . . .

My brother whos owns a shop says if" Dorman makes it , then its a known OEM problem"

Sounds like they need to apply their business approach to a certain floppy visor issue.

Thanks for all the feedback all.

 

[inkpot]

Dorman has been around a very long time. Back in the day, you could find one whole corner of most parts stores dedicated to Dorman. Nuts, bots, fasteners fittings, etc. Drawers full of stuff. NOwdays we find the "help" shelf with only a few items that will fit our rigs.

 

[mattafact]

I have a Dorman exhaust manifold on my 22r. $60 vs 300 for OEM. The fit and finish were great. The hardware was kinda cheesy but the function was fine.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, I need a passengers rear window motor for our 1988, I can't find anything ? Thanks, Mike

 

[DARKNESS]

My front pass side crapped out after a year and a half. Looks like it got wet:

 

[jdayment]

I just got a team Dorman driver window motor for 40 from advanced had to splice in original connectors but it works I'm happy and it seems stronger than my oem ones but they're old can't argue with a lifetime warranty and window motor is easy and quick to swap