How do you change the window motor in a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am GT?

Answer 1

First things first. You may want to look at removing the interior light fuse in the fuse bay down by your left knee- this keeps the battery from running down if you're out working on the car for too long. There are three screws in the door keeping it on- two in the base of the armrest, and one hiding behind the red plastic reflector on the edge of the door. The triangular molding should slide right off of the front corner of the window, and the entire armrest assembly should lift out. Be sure to disconnect the two sets of wires. After that, you need to pop off all of the push rivets that keep the panel on. There is a special tool that you can use, but if you do it carefuly you should be able to use a large flat-head screwdriver. Put the blade end in as close to the point of most resistance to removal and carefuly lever the panel out. There are around a dozen of these little push tacks around the outside edge of the door. Once all of them have been levered free, there are two plastic locks on the top edge of the panel. carefuly lift the door panel free. Under this should be a sheet of clear plastic. Peel the plastic away from the sealent( don't peel the bottom edge). You're going to need this later. Tape the window into the upright position, so when the motor is removed, the window can't fall. In the upper right hand hole, you should see a black plug that connects to a white or silver object. This is the window motor and connection. Unhook the connection and pull the plug out of the door. Get the motor (while still on the track) over to the large holes on the left part of the door. With a nail punch, knock out the inner portions of the four rivets, and drill them out with a 1/4 inch drill. Remove the motor from the inside of the door. The install is just the reverse of this.