help installing new window guide (90 deville)

[brianroark]

ok i am having trouble with a window the plastic clip broke, im trying to get the new guide in the rail pryed the old one out and cant figure out how to get it in the rail with the white strip that interlace with the gears inside of the rail.. can someone please help me and let me know exacly how i do it without drilling the rivets out of the motor and remounting the motor? or is that what i do?

[chuckdobbins]

oh how i love power windows!!

i also have a 1990, my passenger window has had one broken "football" and my drivers window has had 2 "footballs" crack. i think the football looking piece is the white piece you are talking about. its oval and got a small hole in the center. the white piece slides into the horizontal runner on the bottom of the glass. on the track the runs up and down there is a silver ball bearing sticking out. this ball has to be forced into the hole in the white football piece.

lol there really is no secrets to doing it, but ill tell you what ive done all 3 times. it takes 2 people.

there should be one large space in the door for you to get a hand in there. get a pair of channel locks, as well as a flat head screwdriver. position the ball bearing on the vertical track to where you can get to it through the big gap. now put the football piece into the window, and line the hole up with the bearing. you have to pretty much snap the bearing through the hole with the channel locks, but you need an extra hand to hold the window steady. when you put lots of force down with the channel locks, the bearing and runner may bend, have your helper put the screwdriver on the other side of the runner and pry in the opposite direction.

the white plastic piece is like 2 bucks, do not tamper with it by trying to make the center hole any bigger, it will just break a week later.

best of luck to you with this, its very frustrating.

[brianroark]

i bought the whole assembly the ******* at the dealer said they dont just sell the football

[chuckdobbins]

i bought my little white football at a used chevrolet dealership parts counter. i paid 2 bucks for it.

if you paid a lot more than $2 for the assembly, but only need the football email me. the dealership is 5 minutes away from my house so i could get you the piece, you send me a few bucks and ill mail you your football.

chuckdobbins@hotmail.com

[Snyder81]

My 1990 DeVille window was stuck down the past few days. When I took the door apart I found my plastic "football" was split in half and the ball bearing popped out, "dropping" the window to the bottom of the door.

I sent Chuck a PM but does anyone else know the proper name of this part or the part number? I'd like to spend $2 for the part instead of buying a whole new window assembly.

Thanks!
Snyder81

[Snyder81]

I had the same problem as Chuck but I couldn't figure out how to get the new clip on the track since I wasn't able to just buy the "football" by itself but rather ended up with the football, the ball bearing, and the mount for the ball bearing that goes on the regulator track already pre-assembled. I was afraid to attempt prying the plastic football off the new part. I used sheet metal to solve my problem instead of the football...

I cut out a small piece of sheet metal just a little shorter (height) than the football. I drilled a hole in the middle of the sheet metal rectangle and then cut two lines from the bottom of the sheet metal to the hole I had drilled, leaving a small open space from the bottom of the sheet metal to the hole I had drilled. I twisted the sheet metal around until I fit it over the ball bearing. Then I angled the top of the sheet metal so it fit into the top of the track with the window track resting on the sheet metal. Then I took a flat blade screwdriver and forced the bottom of the sheet metal strip into the track. It seems to have worked well except for a small "stutter" when the window is rolled all the way down due to the sheet metal not being a perfect fit like the plastic would have been. I'll just have to take it easy on that window from now on. See attached picture of the finished job - the shiny metal part inside the horizontal window track is the sheet metal, which surrounds the ball bearing from the vertical regulator track.


It's too late for me but I did find a good explanation on how to properly fix an 89 at http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cadillac-...-repair-89.htm .

Question
Two years ago I had previous problem with power window not raising on the driver window. The shop replaced a small broken plastic piece.

This occurred again recently and i went to Cadillac and purchased the plastic "guide" and am attempting to replace myself. I was able to pry the old guide off the regulator track that contains the window "tape". I now cannot get the new piece back on the track. It seems to be engineered to 'snap' on, but it is an insert-molded piece, consisting of plastic shape injection molded over a metal forming - so it has practically no flexure. AFter an hour of wrestling with it, chewing up the plastic with pliars, and possible bending and deforming the track, I stopped. It does easily slide over the end of track, but this approach does not allow to engage the "tape" with the guide teeth. Thanks for any help you can give!

Answer
Hi Tim, Here's the way it works. On one end is the plastic piece that fits on the end of the tape and slides into the window track. The way it is replaced is to release the tape at the other end by pulling or prying it off the 3 retaining tabs with a small flatblade screwdriver. Then hold the window switch in the down position so the tape end with the guide comes off the track. Then switch guides and push the up switch while guideing the tape and guide block onto the track. Then resnap the other end of the tape on the 3 plastic retaining nubs and then the guide can go into the glass track. You might need to drill out at least 2 of the window regulator rivets to allow to guide to flex enough to go into the track. Then use 1/4" nut/bolt/washers to reattach the regulator to the door. If you had access to the rivets and rivet gun then that is the easiest way to go it. Hope that helps. BTW if the tape is too chewed up it can be ordered or gotten from a GM dealer or try your local parts store so you don't have to replace the complete reguator. Bill