Just finished the installation of a new window lift motor and regulator, left rear door, FZJ80. The entire process has been posted up in the past so just hitting a few high points FWIW
It's not super difficult and there's a lot of words that most people may not want to read (you might once you dig into this job
). Just sharing a few tips I ran across while doing this job. I'll add some photos.
Removal of the door panel is fairly straightforward, key point is to ensure all the plastic rivets are removed. Don't tug gorilla style on the door card to remove it, otherwise you may cause damage to the door panel which is (now) 25 year old, often water damaged, Masonite (pressed wood and glue) along with plastic parts attached. Use a proper auto upholstery tool to pop the rivets out and take your time, IMHO.
To replace the regulator or window lift motor IMHO they both should be removed together, some people apparently have just replaced the motor in place but in that situation you aren't able to fully inspect/clean/lube the regulator. FWIW
Best to have the window glass in the full up position before you start if possible.
Use a good tape to hold the glass up before you remove the regulator, run a few strips up over and down both sides of the glass. I used Gorilla clear tape and left it on awhile (days) in the hot sun so getting the adhesive off the glass was a real pain. I just didn't want to drop the glass, but maybe
painter's tape would have worked just as well (as long as it doesn't rain, but it did).
There are four short 10mm bolts (90080-11224) that need to be removed after disconnecting the power harness to the motor. The vapor barrier does not have to come completely off to remove those bolts, I cut a small slit in the plastic above each bolt and removed the bolts through that hole. When you put it back together you can patch those small holes with clear vinyl tape. The rear section of the vapor barrier does need to be peeled open to get access to the regulator and motor. Extra Butyl rubber rope can be used to stick the vapor barrier back on, or if there's still enough original butyl rubber remaining something like Gorilla clear vinyl tape can be used to go around the edges.
Once the four bolts are removed the regulator and motor slide out the large access hole.
A new OEM regulator comes with some grease on the regulator plate and the plastic wheel, I added more. The FSM says to use MP grease. I used some OEM body grease (the expensive stuff) along with a touch of a Moly based grease for the motor pinion gear and regulator teeth. Toyota does not use Moly (black) grease IMO possibly because it will make a holy mess if you get it on any interior parts and will never come out of fabrics, carpet, etc, so be careful if you do use a Moly MP grease. I used the OEM Body grease (yellow stuff) for the plastic wheel and lift channel.
If you are installing a new window lift motor you can reuse the original hex lobular screws (90080-14057) which are self tapping if there's already a hole (there is). However I went ahead and tapped the holes (5mm x 0.8mm) at least part way down then (I used) a Low Strength Purple thread locker (personal preference, not required).
One point: when I installed the motor onto the regulator I positioned the motor and regulator so there was maybe one centimeter of movement on the regulator plate remaining from the very end ie: moving in the UP position. Reason for this is the motor will stop, AFAIK, when it either runs out of teeth (movement) of the regulator plate OR when the glass hits the top of the door/window frame and stops moving in the full up position; either will shut off the motor.
Reason I did this is I didn't want the glass to stop moving before it was fully closed, if that makes sense. If there's a more scientific way to do this IDK.
This is something that's hard to describe, point is, pay attention to the location of the regulator arm when you install the motor. Run the regulator up and down (outside the door) so you can see how it works to raise and lower the glass before you install the motor.
Obviously, there is no regulator spring to worry about for the rear doors.
So before I reinstalled the regulator/motor I first connected the new motor to the power harness, turned the ignition key to ON, then ran the motor through it's full arc a few times (regulator sitting on the rear seat over a clean rag).
Before I installed the regulator/motor assembly I ensured that the glass was still in the full up position (it had sagged since it was first taped up).
Once the assembly was inside the door cavity I slid the plastic wheel into the lift channel (it can hang there a minute IMO if you're gentle and have to reach for a bolt/tool). Then started to install the bolts loosely, front right bolt first then wiggle wiggle wiggle the regulator to line up the other bolt holes and install the remaining bolts loosely one at a time (see photos).
Photo below shows the first bolt (front right) partially hidden by the vapor barrier (click twice and look closely). This first bolt was loosely installed which allowed the regulator to pivot while lining up the other bolt holes:
Before fully tightening down the four 10mm bolts I ran the glass up and down a few times to let things settle, then final torquing of the bolts and then final recheck of the glass movement full up and full down. I decided to use new bolts (90080-11224) as the original (attached) lock washers might be a bit weak after 25 years.
In the photo below note the position of the regulator arm wheel in the lift channel, the photo was taken when the wheel was at it's maximum rearward position in the channel (window glass about half way down).
NOTE: The glass and lift channel were however fully up (out of sight) when the regulator wheel was slid into the channel. This is done by feel mostly. The photo below was taken after the bolts holding the regulator to the door had been installed and tightened down
If you find that wheel is coming out the rear (open end) of the channel or right at the very edge of the channel at any point in it's travel arc, then IMHO either the channel has slipped forward on the glass or it was not installed in the correct location on the glass ie: you shouldn't have to pinch the end of the channel because the wheel should not get close enough to roll out. If the wheel does come out of the track something is bent, broken, loose, or misaligned.
It's not super difficult and there's a lot of words that most people may not want to read (you might once you dig into this job
). Just sharing a few tips I ran across while doing this job. I'll add some photos.Removal of the door panel is fairly straightforward, key point is to ensure all the plastic rivets are removed. Don't tug gorilla style on the door card to remove it, otherwise you may cause damage to the door panel which is (now) 25 year old, often water damaged, Masonite (pressed wood and glue) along with plastic parts attached. Use a proper auto upholstery tool to pop the rivets out and take your time, IMHO.
To replace the regulator or window lift motor IMHO they both should be removed together, some people apparently have just replaced the motor in place but in that situation you aren't able to fully inspect/clean/lube the regulator. FWIW
Best to have the window glass in the full up position before you start if possible.
Use a good tape to hold the glass up before you remove the regulator, run a few strips up over and down both sides of the glass. I used Gorilla clear tape and left it on awhile (days) in the hot sun so getting the adhesive off the glass was a real pain. I just didn't want to drop the glass, but maybe
painter's tape would have worked just as well (as long as it doesn't rain, but it did).
There are four short 10mm bolts (90080-11224) that need to be removed after disconnecting the power harness to the motor. The vapor barrier does not have to come completely off to remove those bolts, I cut a small slit in the plastic above each bolt and removed the bolts through that hole. When you put it back together you can patch those small holes with clear vinyl tape. The rear section of the vapor barrier does need to be peeled open to get access to the regulator and motor. Extra Butyl rubber rope can be used to stick the vapor barrier back on, or if there's still enough original butyl rubber remaining something like Gorilla clear vinyl tape can be used to go around the edges.
Once the four bolts are removed the regulator and motor slide out the large access hole.
A new OEM regulator comes with some grease on the regulator plate and the plastic wheel, I added more. The FSM says to use MP grease. I used some OEM body grease (the expensive stuff) along with a touch of a Moly based grease for the motor pinion gear and regulator teeth. Toyota does not use Moly (black) grease IMO possibly because it will make a holy mess if you get it on any interior parts and will never come out of fabrics, carpet, etc, so be careful if you do use a Moly MP grease. I used the OEM Body grease (yellow stuff) for the plastic wheel and lift channel.
If you are installing a new window lift motor you can reuse the original hex lobular screws (90080-14057) which are self tapping if there's already a hole (there is). However I went ahead and tapped the holes (5mm x 0.8mm) at least part way down then (I used) a Low Strength Purple thread locker (personal preference, not required).
One point: when I installed the motor onto the regulator I positioned the motor and regulator so there was maybe one centimeter of movement on the regulator plate remaining from the very end ie: moving in the UP position. Reason for this is the motor will stop, AFAIK, when it either runs out of teeth (movement) of the regulator plate OR when the glass hits the top of the door/window frame and stops moving in the full up position; either will shut off the motor.
Reason I did this is I didn't want the glass to stop moving before it was fully closed, if that makes sense. If there's a more scientific way to do this IDK.
This is something that's hard to describe, point is, pay attention to the location of the regulator arm when you install the motor. Run the regulator up and down (outside the door) so you can see how it works to raise and lower the glass before you install the motor.
Obviously, there is no regulator spring to worry about for the rear doors.
So before I reinstalled the regulator/motor I first connected the new motor to the power harness, turned the ignition key to ON, then ran the motor through it's full arc a few times (regulator sitting on the rear seat over a clean rag).
Before I installed the regulator/motor assembly I ensured that the glass was still in the full up position (it had sagged since it was first taped up).
Once the assembly was inside the door cavity I slid the plastic wheel into the lift channel (it can hang there a minute IMO if you're gentle and have to reach for a bolt/tool). Then started to install the bolts loosely, front right bolt first then wiggle wiggle wiggle the regulator to line up the other bolt holes and install the remaining bolts loosely one at a time (see photos).
Photo below shows the first bolt (front right) partially hidden by the vapor barrier (click twice and look closely). This first bolt was loosely installed which allowed the regulator to pivot while lining up the other bolt holes:
Before fully tightening down the four 10mm bolts I ran the glass up and down a few times to let things settle, then final torquing of the bolts and then final recheck of the glass movement full up and full down. I decided to use new bolts (90080-11224) as the original (attached) lock washers might be a bit weak after 25 years.
In the photo below note the position of the regulator arm wheel in the lift channel, the photo was taken when the wheel was at it's maximum rearward position in the channel (window glass about half way down).
NOTE: The glass and lift channel were however fully up (out of sight) when the regulator wheel was slid into the channel. This is done by feel mostly. The photo below was taken after the bolts holding the regulator to the door had been installed and tightened down
If you find that wheel is coming out the rear (open end) of the channel or right at the very edge of the channel at any point in it's travel arc, then IMHO either the channel has slipped forward on the glass or it was not installed in the correct location on the glass ie: you shouldn't have to pinch the end of the channel because the wheel should not get close enough to roll out. If the wheel does come out of the track something is bent, broken, loose, or misaligned.
Last edited:
