driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

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khargis
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Location: Boise, ID
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driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by khargis » Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:10 am

hola amigos, so have been doin' this step by step from the ol' green book and thankfully these are some of the pages that are not stuck together, time for a new manual! anywho, i am at the point where i am suppose to slide the old regulator out the bottom of the inside door opening. I feel like i missed a step or 2 because i cant get it out. It does not say anything about vent wing or felt removal, but i feel the window guide track is in the way and wont allow me to get it out. Dont want to get it stuck or break anything. Any thoughts? thanks yall kh :bounce:
'slow n' steady'

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khargis
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by khargis » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:23 am

i will answer my own post, i don't think i have done that ever! so thank you kris, i fixed the regulator! nice work! kris
'slow n' steady'

steve74baywin
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by steve74baywin » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:03 am

How did it end up?
I did it years ago, I recall it being tough coming out, but I couldn't recall if you needed to remove anything else, and I didn't want you to break something.

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khargis
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by khargis » Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:13 am

it went well, thanks. After i got everything unbolted and stared and fiddled with it for a bit, i greased up the old regulator where i wanted it to pass the by the vertical window guide, pried that slightly back and managed to get it thru and down and out. repeated in reverse to install new one. the sense of accomplishment, even when it is something minor is worth the knucle bustin'. cheers
'slow n' steady'

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Amskeptic
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Sep 01, 2011 11:39 am

khargis wrote:it went well, thanks. After i got everything unbolted and stared and fiddled with it for a bit, i greased up the old regulator where i wanted it to pass the by the vertical window guide, pried that slightly back and managed to get it thru and down and out. repeated in reverse to install new one. the sense of accomplishment, even when it is something minor is worth the knucle bustin'. cheers
Sorry I have been out in the Texas heat, but yes, you tread the path that many of us have had to discover. The regulator is a bit of a pain getting clear of the vent window frame bracket.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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SlowLane
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by SlowLane » Sat Dec 31, 2016 1:33 pm

Rather than create a new thread, I thought I'd piggyback onto this old one.

I'm in the process of refreshing the door window seals on my '81, and am down to the regulators now. I'm just wondering what the best lube is for the regulator cable guide? The driver's side was working okay, but I thought I would make it work okay-er, so I doused it with a penetrating lubricant. Now it runs sorta easier, but there is now a bit of "chuddering" as the cable runs through the guide like I washed out some lubricating goodness.

I haven't removed the regulator for a good cleaning yet; guess I ought to, since I'm in that far now. Once it's all shiny again, what is the best lube to apply?

Happy New Year
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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Amskeptic
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:43 am

SlowLane wrote:Rather than create a new thread, I thought I'd piggyback onto this old one.

I'm in the process of refreshing the door window seals on my '81, and am down to the regulators now. I'm just wondering what the best lube is for the regulator cable guide? The driver's side was working okay, but I thought I would make it work okay-er, so I doused it with a penetrating lubricant. Now it runs sorta easier, but there is now a bit of "chuddering" as the cable runs through the guide like I washed out some lubricating goodness.

I haven't removed the regulator for a good cleaning yet; guess I ought to, since I'm in that far now. Once it's all shiny again, what is the best lube to apply?

Happy New Year
IF and only IF you can be TIDY in your surgery (i.e. not smear grease all over the place, especially the plastic vapor barrier surface that faces the glass), nothing beats the Valvoline semi-synthetic or fully synthetic molybdenum disulfide grease. But, it is blackish and it will contaminate your window every time you drop it down if you do not keep the grease tightly confined to the guide tube and gearbox.

Should you be very concerned about this black plague, you could always use vaseline (also carefully applied to prevent the vapor barrier from smearing grease on the glass every time you open and close the window.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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SlowLane
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Re: driver side window regulator removal - 1978 bus

Post by SlowLane » Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:54 pm

Amskeptic wrote: IF and only IF you can be TIDY in your surgery (i.e. not smear grease all over the place, especially the plastic vapor barrier surface that faces the glass), nothing beats the Valvoline semi-synthetic or fully synthetic molybdenum disulfide grease. But, it is blackish and it will contaminate your window every time you drop it down if you do not keep the grease tightly confined to the guide tube and gearbox.
Well, tidy and i don't often end up in the same sentence, much less the same room. :geek:

But I did manage to extract the regulator from the driver's door (I have the window out, as well as the vent window and all the rubber bits, which made removal a lot easier), cleaned it up and treated it with some moly-disulphide CV grease from a nearly-empty tube I had laying around. Also dark black and highly tenacious is this CV grease, but I managed to get it confined to the inside of the guide tube and cleaned off all that got smeared outside the tube.

Haven't re-assembled it yet. Need to finish sprucing up the rusty spots that were under the door window trim and then install a GoWesty manual-to-power window conversion kit. Might try using some marine grease on the passenger-side regulator, just to be contrary.

Thanks for the guidance.
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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