Why do windows on a 1989 Crown Vic stick?

Answer 1

There are three main reasons the windows on this vehicle stick. I should know since I own a 1989 Crown Victoria and just finished repairing all four door windows myself.

1) The window motor's bushings have crumbled.

2) The rear window's rear moulding guide needs lubricating.

3) The brackets and pivot points inside of the door need lubricating.

All three of these things can be addressed while fixing the window motor. You have three main options when dealing with the window motor:

1) You can replace it completely with a new or remanufactured one. This is the most expensive option, but the easiest. You can save some money by installing it yourself.

2) You can replace just the bushings inside of the motor if the other parts are still in good condition. New bushings to redo all four motors will cost about $20.00, but your large nylon gear which the bushings go into must be in good condition which is unlikely.

3) You can use six 11mm nuts instead of the bushings, which is even cheaper and lasts longer and works better than the nylon bushings.

To fix the motor yourself remove the door panel in this order:

a) Take out four Philips-head screws along the bottom of the woodgrain insert. Remove lightbulb socket by twisting if necessary. Remove insert.

b) Unscrew the rear metal tongue of the switch panel underneath, the front screw on top, lift up the switch panel, unscrew any switch harnesses, remove panel and set aside.

c) Unbolt the armrest and set aside. There are two bolt hiding along the backside inside of the armrest which are easy to miss.

d) Using a flat screwdriver inserted behind the door panel slide around the edge until you feel resistance. At every point of this resistance is a plastic door panel clip. Forcefully pry the clip out of the door. If any break they can be replaced from the autoparts store shelves.

e) Lift the top of the door panel edge up until it clears the door, then lay aside.

f) Use a box cutter or knife to cut away any plastic sheeting to expose the door access holes. Discard sheeting.

g) Remove the door speakers if working on the front doors. Unplug them after unscrewing and lay aside. The hole they are in is needed for access to the window motor.

h) The window motor is located near the bottom of the door in the center. You can see it through the holes in the door. It is attached with three 5/16" bolts in an upside down triangle pattern. To reach the bolts you must drill three holes in the inside of the door directly across the bolts in order to be able to use a socket to loosen them.

i) On the front doors there are two dimples across from the left and right bolts, plus an elongated slot which lets you view the bottom bolt. Drill out the dimples, plus expand the end of the slot enough for a socket to fit.

j) Use a stiff piece of wire at the top of the door to tie the window bracket to the door so that the window will not fall down when the motor is removed.

k) Remove the three bolts holding the motor in place, unplug the harness and remove wires from a small metal clip attached to speaker hole. The snap on the harness is so difficult to undo that I just took a flat screwdriver and broke off the plastic clip on the harness as it seemed unnecessary to secure the two together.

To refurbish the window motor do this:

a) Completely dissassemble the motor and clean it out.

b) Start with the Philips screw near the gear. Do not mess with the large flat-head bolt and nut at the end of the motor as it is not necessary to remove or adjust it.

c) Using a flat screwdriver pry off the black metal plate carefully and set aside. You will probably see the inside of the gear housing packed with grease and broken chunks of the nylon bushings which used to reside near the metal gear in the middle.

d) Remove metal gear and then the large nylon gear. If any teeth on the plastic gear are broken then replace the gear. If there is just some wear or maybe some slightly warped teeth then it is still reusable.

e) Take out the two bolt at the rear of the motor and pay attention to the washers beneath them as they may or may not stick to the housing.

f) Pull the rear of the housing away carefully. This holds the motor's spring-loaded brushes.

g) The motor's shaft will now be "stuck" to the magnets in the main housing. Slowly pull the magnet housing, along with the shaft inside, away from the gear housing. You may need to remove some nylon bushing chunks first.

h) Carefully pull the shaft out of the magnet housing.

i) Clean every part until no grease or chunks or debris or dust remains anywhere at all. Use a sharp pick to get the chunks out of the "holes" of the large nylon gear. Any pieces left may jamb your refurbished motor and make you very angry.

j) Use a pick to clean the narrow channels between the copper-colored area the brushes rub against.

k) If brushes are worn down to nearly touching the wire molded inside of them then replace the brushes. If no replacements can be found then you must replace the entire motor in which case you might as well reassemble the motor and use it as a core at the parts store when you buy a replacement.

l) Important: lubricate everything well. After everything is clean put some wheel bearing grease in the recess where the end of the shaft sits near the brushes. Smear grease on the copper area of the shaft being sure to fill the slots you cleaned with it. This will greatly help your brushes last alot longer and will not affect the function of them at all contrary to intuition. Grease the area of the shaft which sits in the gear-housing bushing. Grease the spiraled gear well, including the end.

m) Place the shaft back into the brush housing. You will have to hold the brushes back in order to get the copper-colored area to fit in between the brushes. This is tricky, but can be done by yourself. Be sure shaft is seated fully into the greased recess. After inserted between the brushes spin the shaft several times to lap away excess grease.

n) While holding the shaft against the brush housing slowly place the magnet housing back over the shaft. The magnets will try to suck the shaft out of your brush housing so watch out!

o) Place gear housing over spiraled end of shaft and bolt back together. Pack the spiraled area of the gear with alot of grease.

p) Now, take the unfinished motor back to your car, plug it back into the harness temporarily, and use the power window switch to work the motor. The goal is to "lap in" the grease on the brushes while the motor has no load on it. Hold the switch for several seconds in each direction, alternating many times for several minutes. You may notice it stutter a little at first, but this will go away soon and the movement will become smoother, quieter, and faster. When the shaft turns well with no interuptions disconnect the motor and finish reassembling it.

q) Grease the area where the large nylon gear sits, especially the shaft and the small o-ring.

r) Here is where you either use replacement nylon bushings or 11mm nuts. If the gear has three little raised areas inside then you need to use the nuts because original function cannot be attained unless the gear is replaced. Flatten the raised areas and then place the metal gear inside the large gear. Raise the metal gear enough to insert one 11mm nut in each of the three spaces around it. This is tricky and you will see why quickly. After getting the first three installed (it is a tight fit, but that is what you want) go back around and insert another nut on top of each one for a total of six nuts per motor. You may need to slide the metal gear up and down to help you align each nut.

s) After nuts have been installed press the metal gear firmly down as far as it will go. Pack the large gear with grease, then the metal gear, and put some drops of motor oil in the gear housing. Insert the large gear into the housing.

t) Coat the gear-side of the black rubberized metal cover well with grease and install rib-side to gear-side. Attach with the single Philips screw at the top of the plate.

u) You have successfully refurbished your power window motor, but you are still not done with the whole project.

v) Install everything in the reverse order it was taken off. The metal gear may need to be rotated slightly in order to align with the window gear. To do this simply connect the harness and work the switch until the motor sits snuggly against the plate it bolts to.

w) Smear grease on the main window track on both sides of the white plastic slider, and the long vertical metal tube, and any pivot point of the window braces. Raising and lowering the window will help you access certain areas better. Also raise and lower the window many times while lubricating it with grease and motor oil in order to ensure smooth function before you put back the door panel. Note: The rear windows have a piece of molding on the back side of the glass which slides in a channel along the door. This channel must be well greased to solve any stuttering of the window movement.

x) When you are satisfied with the movement of your window (and finished admiring your accomplishment) replace all of the door panel stuff in the reverse order. Be sure to pry the harness off of the window switches and check for corrosion, applying grease to keep moisture out. The manual door lock rod is a little tricky, though. Notice a hump on one side of the rod. Notice that the switch hole has a clip with one side straight and the other curved. The straight edge goes through the center of the switch hole, and the switch itself must be oriented in such a way that the rod hump rubs against the straight side of the clip. When installing the switch panel just push the rod up into the manual switch hole until you hear a click. After everything is screwed back together you may now enjoy your fully functioning power window and may notice that it works even better than new since the nuts take up the slack of the original bushings and eliminate the delay of reversing directions which seems like a pointless feature to me. Also, since you greased and oiled everything so well the window should move alot quicker, smoother, and quieter.

y) I suppose "y" is a good place to say "why" I went through the trouble to write this guide. It is simple really - I try to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. I wished I had access to such a detailed guide when I was redoing my windows so that I didn't have to guess so much along the way and could have done the job alot more efficiently. Now you have a guide based on my experiences, and while you may find ways to do certain things better, at least you won't be totally clueless about the job. Thanks for your interest. - Shane.

z) Note: The procedures used to fix the window motors on this particular Ford will surely apply to many other Ford vechicles. Simply find out which other cars or trucks had similar motors and then you will be all set to do your particular project without any surprises.