EDIT: SEE POST #40

I have done this thread before, but this time i'm going in depth.

Note in the first pic the metal shield. Remove this.

Now you can see why your motor spins, but nothing happens. The black pressure disk is eroded and no longer pushes pressure on the pink clutch area. this clutch system is to keep your motor from overstressing when it reaches the top or bottom.

Now we clean the unit up and start to do the repair. What you need to do is find a way to lock the pink slipper disk to the inside black disk so the motor spins the clutch again and the outside gear moves. This will solve your problem with the motor working, but not turning the gear. with both units locked together, they motor will have a direct drive to the gear and work properly again.

the object here is to lock the base of the gear you see in black to the black disk it sits on. Normally the gears base would have the black pressure disk attached, but it is eroded.

I will post a pic later of how i lock the units together once i m done.

Since we do not have a slipper clutch anymore, we do not need the rubber disk the gear base sits on. so let's just remove it.

The "correct" way to do this is to remove the c-clip on the top of the gear and the two metal washers. then simply slide the gear off and remove the rubber slipper material.

from here, clean the unit very well.

now just slide the pink spur gear out and get to cleaning. :)

Now after some heavy duty cleanup with comet cleanser (cut's oil and grease) i am ready to get the repair started with my clean surfaces.

You can use a million different epoxy's, glues, and so forth. I have chosen to use my tried and trusty Liquid Nails. After it hardens in 49 hours it should be as solid as a rock.

and................ we're done :) now... let's go grab a beer and wait for 48 hours to reassemble.

I have a question about my drivers side window motor. I have to press mine 13 times to get it to go up all the way. It only moves about 2" every time I press the switch. And I can only roll the window up if the door is closed, otherwise it doesn't respond.

What is the problem here? A few people have told me that it has to do with the safety switch and it being restricted somehow. People say that the window thinks that something is blocking it and that's why it will only go up 2" at a time. Is there a way to fix mine, or should I just replace it? I do have an entire extra motor and everything from my parts car (95' m3). I was thinking of just swapping it, but if it's a simple fix, I'd rather do that.

Thanks and sorry for all the questions. :)

ya know what, mine does the same damn thing on my 318i (which is what i am fixing). when i find out exactly whats doing it, i'll let you know. my 325i has no problems with this. mine does it no matter what, and i suspect it is in the relay. 80% sure.

bump for those who haven't seen it.

ya know what, mine does the same damn thing on my 318i (which is what i am fixing). when i find out exactly whats doing it, i'll let you know. my 325i has no problems with this. mine does it no matter what, and i suspect it is in the relay. 80% sure.


It's not the relay. I took the control unit apart, traced all the circuitry, drew up the schematic and thought it was the relays. I replaced them and it still does the same damn 2" at a time crap. Somebody on here said that there's a magnet on the motor drive shaft that has slipped down such that the sensors see the magnetic field all the time. I haven't had a chance to confirm this (too damn cold) but perhaps I'll get the urge to look into it again now that the weather is warming up.

I asked a BMW parts guy at Motorwerks of Barrington one time about the mystical window inching, and he told me that there are small clips in the window that come loose and need replacing. Hearing that though, I'm still not entirely sure what's going on in there.

I have that exact same inching problem on my 92 325is. Please let me know if you find anything out, I've been waiting for someone to help me on this. Thanks.

I think my window fell of the track or something somehow, I went to the bank drive threw one day and as I was leaving, I start to roll up the window and I hear a loud POP, after that the window went up but it was stickin out, so it scratched my damn paint too!! Does this mean it just fell of the track? Now when ppl put down the window, I have to freaking guide it with ALOT of pressure using my hands as someone pushes the button to close it....

wasiq...
go to understeer.com and go to the window fixed
the retainer pins popped and the acuator arms left the track on the bottem of the window!

ITS A FUN PROJECT!
WEE!
especially when your acuator arms are bent like mine!

sooo now i have to take the WHOLE thing out and strieghten it
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEee

I have a question about my drivers side window motor. I have to press mine 13 times to get it to go up all the way. It only moves about 2" every time I press the switch. And I can only roll the window up if the door is closed, otherwise it doesn't respond.

What is the problem here? A few people have told me that it has to do with the safety switch and it being restricted somehow. People say that the window thinks that something is blocking it and that's why it will only go up 2" at a time. Is there a way to fix mine, or should I just replace it? I do have an entire extra motor and everything from my parts car (95' m3). I was thinking of just swapping it, but if it's a simple fix, I'd rather do that.

Thanks and sorry for all the questions. :)


:redspot Read this tread :redspot by Patrick S

:buttrock http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=238468 :buttrock

I fixed mine in 10 minutes after holding out for 5 years :alright

Now you can see why your motor spins, but nothing happens. The black pressure disk is eroded and no longer pushes pressure on the pink clutch area. this clutch system is to keep your motor from overstressing when it reaches the top or bottom.
i have seen a few posts on how to repair or replace power window motors on e36's but none of them say how to remove them from the regulator.my 92 325i 4 door's motor seem to be riveted directly on to it on the drivers front side.can anyone give me more info on how to remove?
thanks

yeah thats akward mine doesnt have those rivets on the motor but isntead from the door to the regulator but it is a 2 door. jsut go to a glass shop and ask them i jsut had my window done for 8o bucks and its cool.

hi, had the same prob wif my e36 coupe drivers window.....inching slowly to the top but no prob wif going down.tried to shift the magnet according to the thread realised it was loose....one minute e window went smoothly up...e next cycle it got stuck again...anymore recommendation to dis prob?

Threads like this make this website the greatest website ever!- :buttrock

Ijust found my weekend project. Both my windows are inching up. Except they only do it in the summer in the winter they work almost as they should, rarely do they inch up in the winter.

i also have a window problem, but its not the inching one.

I can press the up button once and the window will go up about halfway, jerk and then go down a bit. If I press the up button again it will go all the way up.

Is this the same fix as the inching problem?

car is a 2dr

Valuable, thanks for posting

i also have a window problem, but its not the inching one.

I can press the up button once and the window will go up about halfway, jerk and then go down a bit. If I press the up button again it will go all the way up.

Is this the same fix as the inching problem?

car is a 2dr

Same thing here. And yes, I have searched, but haven't found the solution to this particular problem. I don't think it's the same as "inching".

Same thing here. And yes, I have searched, but haven't found the solution to this particular problem. I don't think it's the same as "inching".

I have the same problem, but it's not consistant.
I'm trying to locate a pattern to it, so far no luck.

First I thought it only happened when it rains.
Then I thought it was the cold weather
Now i'm thinking it only happens when i try to put up both windows at once...

Have you guys seen this posting?:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=238468

Has anyone been able to fix the famous "inching" problem. The directions on this post http://forums.bimmerforums.com/foru...ad.php?t=238468 isn't exactly clear. Do you just move the ring over an inch?

hey guys i had this problem in the summer. with both my front doors... so yea it was a mission to finaly find out what to do. once u finaly take the door off that is on by a couple of screws on the handle, and take the black foam stuff you will see two things: the reguator which is the scisor looking thing and the motor which is conected to the regulaor. on one door the regualtor broke( the welds came off ) and on the other the motor died on me. so what u have to do is take the regualtor off the door. before you do this you must tape the window up so it does not fall=break in 1000 peices then take the glass window off the regulator by taking out the pins in the white "sliders". then comes the fun part: to take the regualtor off u need to either take of 4 screws or drill out 4 "bolts"(ok i forgot the name for these things but u cant take them of with a screw driver!! sorry!)( some bmws come with screws some with "bolts" why they do that we will never know??) so yea my car has "bolts" and you need to drill these "bolts" out very carefully so not to damage the door. once u have taken all the "bolts" out just screw off the bottom bolt(this is a real bolt):) on the door that is conected to the regulator. that is it for the removal. once you have the regulator check what is broken either the regualotor or the motor( the regualor might be broken or stuck) and the motor might be broken inside. anyways you should buy a new one. once the problem has been fixed install the repaired regualor and motor back on the door.(since i had destroyed the "bolts", i put some nuts and real bolts with pressure washers so they dont come off) here comes the tricky part: the window must be installed back onto the regulaor with the white "sliders" for this to work u need to put some grease on the rails and most important!! the glass has some rails on each side of the door!! they must be in place so the window goes up in its rails all the way up. u can check this if the window comes up lopsided or outside of its rails. if this happends go back to square one and begin to put the window back into its rails. once everything is wokring good install the door panel and all the electirc stuff that was disconected( the motor, speakers, and locks) and you are ready to go. the first door took me like 4 hours to do and once i knew what to do the second took about 2. so its not hard once u know what you are doing. i hope this helps people.

*****the inching problem on 96 + E36 coupes is 99% most likely from lack of lubrication ... i fixed 4 E36 coupes' inching problem with simple cleaning and greasing of every moving part on the window mechanism... i tried the magnet thing .. and found out that 96 + have a totally different motor...

i can't speak for 95- because i haven't done any... but i can safely say that lubrication of sliding parts will be first thing you should check before trying other things .. 10 years and more for grease means hardening and no lubrication .. putting new clips, cleaning, and greasing WILL solve your problem


ANY QUESTIONS PM me!

Do you have any pictures or more detailed info about which parts, what grease and how you greased it?

I am preparing to take apart my wimdow motor and glue the pieces together, however I had a few questions before drilling out my rivets.

#1 - My window problem started with the motor still running even though the window was either all the way up or all the way down. It's gotten to the point now where the window won't go up without assistance, but will go down just fine. I have a feeling that the clutch has come apart inside. Any other ideas?

#2 - Will the motor work differently with the clutch system disabled (by the glueing)? Should I just by a new motor and install that?

Thanks in advance

ok so you just fill the pink gear with a glue or epoxy up to top edge...and then it'll grab on the other side and acutally roll the window up and down?

First off, I'd like to thank ONE for the write-up. It is very helpful.

Second, I believe that if greasing does indeed fix the inching problem, it is because the moving parts are probably causing too much resistance when going up and down the regulator track. That makes sense, especailly if the 96+ window motors are indeed different.

At the end of the day, I think that either buying a new regulator (lots of money) or lubing the regulator and all the tracks, replacing the two white clips, and making sure everything is tight will rid people of this very annoying problem.

how do i take off the window motor on e36. I dont see any bolts or screws.

this is a realy good thread i have a problem with my passanger window it will go down with one click....but it wont go up with one click i have to hold it it....but if i only roll the window half way down it goes up with one click....once i hit an inch past that half way mark.....i have to hold in the switch....

o guys cheak the bolts that keep the motor in place i thought my window motor was dying out on me but then i took the door pannels of and relized the bolts that hold it in place where comin off causing it to move the whole motor up down and keep the glass in place.

So I swapped out my window regulator and motor, and now my window works perfectly. :buttrock

wasiq...
go to understeer.com and go to the window fixed
the retainer pins popped and the acuator arms left the track on the bottem of the window!

ITS A FUN PROJECT!
WEE!
especially when your acuator arms are bent like mine!

sooo now i have to take the WHOLE thing out and strieghten it
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEee

Just straighten them in the door.

After 3 years of good service from this repair it finally died. The liquid nail twisted around inside for 3 years before it got too soft to do it anymore.

This time I have fixed it in a way it'll NEVER fail again :D I found the twisting to be the downfall and reinforced it this time stronger than it ever was from the factory.

The preferred glue of choice this time was JB weld 4 minute quick set. VERY good stuff. :buttrock

I drilled 5 oversized holes and inserted screws that act like strength rods and catch on the inside of the braces in the big gear. Once the JB sets in 4 minutes the rods are now bound in a solid case to the braces.

It'll never break again............

last 2

What kind of bolts are these that hold the window reg to the door?
They appear to have a u-nut on the other side (inside the metal interior door skin).
They have to be drilled out?
How do you access the one at the top for replacement?
No way I can get my fingers in there. Maybe a pop rivet of suitable size would work.

Finished getting everything apart from the door.
The "rivets" are a strange type.
Instead of a mushroomed collar on the other side, they have a 3-point claw.
I broke two bits getting them out.
Tough to drill straight in. Use a punch so the bit won't walk on you.

My clutch internals are different (slightly) from those in the pics.
The hub under the gear is hard plastic not rubber.
Why? Is this a correction modification?
ETK shows same unit used from 93 on.

Everything back together and working normally.
Strange, the clutch is made of plastic with no rubber except a rubber backing on the cover plate on both sides.
I used 5/16" course hex bolts so I had to drill the holes a little larger.
Then lock nuts and flat washers.

soo i know i dont have a bmw lol but should this fixing up work on any car window motor? if so im going to try it..those motors are expensive..

i have read lots of threads on this and basically the conclusion i came to was it wasnt the same problem as inching up, ive put new clips on the bottom of the window arms and greased all the moving parts with white grease, a perminant lube, hey presto it all works fine again, i think its just down to sticky parts needing lube (mainly the wheels in the runner at the latch side of the door), maybe this will help sumbody

Hi BMV freaks,

I have a window problem as well. HOW DO YOU GET THOSE FREAKEN WEIRD SCREWS OFF????!!!! I'm trying to replace the window regulator (a metal piece broke.) . There are 5 screws that i can see for the regulator. The first one on the lower left is an alan ranch screw. Then the other four are some kind of OUT OF THIS WORLD WEIRD screws!!!!!!. Can any one inform me on what tool to use???

HELP!!!!!

love the car..... hate the maintainance!!!

I think you should post pictures of the screws that you are talking about. It is my understanding that the regulator is riveted to the regulator support frame. This would mean you need to drill them out and re-rivet or replace with bolts.

I need help finding a replacement for the pink spur gear. Mine is in need of replacement! I dont want to buy anew motor, Can I get a new gear or is it better to buy an old motor off of a junked car. Please Help!!!!!

Hi One,

Great info and pics, ta!

Perhaps you can help me.
I just change my window motor cause the white-pink gear was worn out.
For some reason, the motor did not stop at the top (only at the top) and the spiral of the motor filed the plates of the gear down, so the window motor started slipping at that spot.
After I had installed the new motor, everything worked fine for 4 days, the motor stopped automatically when the window was closed etc. but now it started again to idle through the stop and grinds again on the gear.

I am guessing that a cable might be broken or there is a problem with the relay.

Any ideas or experience?

Thx

F

PS: I don't dare to do a reset, because that would grind away for 15sec and the sound is horrific!

Will this help for a window that struggles to go up? My window will go down fine but has trouble going back up it sounds like the motor is really struggling. Maybe that is an early sign of the clutch wearing out?

how do you do the actual "reset"?

has anyone found a solution the "inching?" thanks

I may be miisunderstanding and I may be wrong to boot but, my windows will go up 2/3, back down some and then stop.
My mechanic (non BMW) had encountered that in another kind of car and found out that it was a 3 way switch, where if you push light the window goes until you let go. If you push medium, you do as I described and if you push firmly, it will go all of the way up.
My car seems to be like that. I would try pushing firmly on the switch.
Does everybody know this already?

I don't think that's it... I'm not sure but I don't think so. When I push firmly, sometimes it goes all the way up and sometimes it goes 2/3 of the way. When it stop though, it looks like it encountered something in its path, stops and goes back down half an inch. Then I have that same problem as I continue to try and get it go up a few more times til it is finally closed