Does anyone here know how to change a power window motor on a 03 cav coupe?? It seemed to have burned out. The motor is secured by rivets. Do you drill these out?? Any help would be appreciated.
just so you know, i've replaced all four motors in my cav at least twice, and its a 2002. so get used to doing the replacement.
my details will be a little vague cuz i've been awake since 130AM, but here it goes...
1. take the door panel off. you're going to have to cut away the majority of the plastic to get to the holes to remove it.
2. use some masking tape or something and tape from the outside of the window, over the door, to the inside of the window. use a lot of tape and check it throughout the process.
2. use a voltage tester and make sure there's 12V at the switch and at the motor. you do this just to be sure that its not the switch
4. drill out all the rivets (i think there's 5)
5. there's 2 screws at the back of the door and one screw on the bottom front of the door that need to come out
6. there are 2 more screws holding the arms to the window that come out
7. after everything is loose, you pretty much just wiggle (for lack of a better word) the entire assembly out
8. take the motor off of the arms and reinstall the new one
9. put everything back in the way it came out.
to make things easier, don't rivet the unit back in. i used 1/4X1/2 inch (i think thats the size)nuts and bolts. that way, next time it goes bad, its easier.
don't forget to put grease on everything that moves, include the sliders. the more you grease up, the better off you'll be.
don't get me wrong, its a pain in the butt to do. but its not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. i think it took me about 3 hours including stopping to eat dinner and running back and forth to the parts store twice (once for the motor and again for the nuts and bolts).
good luck and if you run into any problems shoot me a PM.
GO PATS!!!
Thats why I'm glad I didnt get p/w or p/l with my 04, the stuff fails all the time
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
my next vehicle definately won't have power windows...thats for sure.
unless someone finds something wrong with that write up, we should make it a sticky. seems people ask how to do this about once a week...
GO PATS!!!
Thanks for all the help Redneck.
Good simplified instructions on doing this!
What would be the best type of replacement motor? I replaced three (left front and both rear) window motors in January with the help of some folks on here. The left front one failed already after three months. My replacement motors are rebuilt OEM Delco motors. Granted, they're rebuilding a motor that is faulty to begin with, so I don't know how well a rebuilt one generally holds up. I got these because a local shop had them in stock, and at $30, they were fairly inexpensive. But, I really don't feel like changing these out several times a year. I'm not sure if this one was just a faulty rebuild or if thats about the expected life of a rebuilt motor.
So, should I try my luck with another rebuilt one, spring for a new OEM motor or buy a Made in China aftermarket one? And if aftermarket, what is a good source for them? I know they're on eBay fairly inexpensive, but I don't know how well these hold up or fit.
Thanks!!!
mine is a rebuilt oem delco motor. i didn't have the $182 that the dealership wanted for ONE motor. i've only had the rebuilt motor in for a week now, so i don't know about durability. but think of it this way...i've replaced my left motor 3 times now in 4 years. twice with brand new motors from the dealership...is it really worth it to spend the extra $150 on a dealership motor that'll only last a few months longer than your rebuilt motor?
as for the aftermarket motors, i was told that universal motors are hard to make fit. everything behind the door panel is so tight between the panel and the glass that i wouldn't risk it or go through the pain on making it work. thats must my opinion though.
there's a pretty good chance that i'll be looking through the junk yards around her for a console and door panels off of a cav/sunfire with no power windows just cuz it'd probably be cheaper to deal with in the long run...we'll see though.
GO PATS!!!
The Redneck wrote:mine is a rebuilt oem delco motor. i didn't have the $182 that the dealership wanted for ONE motor. i've only had the rebuilt motor in for a week now, so i don't know about durability. but think of it this way...i've replaced my left motor 3 times now in 4 years. twice with brand new motors from the dealership...is it really worth it to spend the extra $150 on a dealership motor that'll only last a few months longer than your rebuilt motor?
as for the aftermarket motors, i was told that universal motors are hard to make fit. everything behind the door panel is so tight between the panel and the glass that i wouldn't risk it or go through the pain on making it work. thats must my opinion though.
I agree. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this for a reasonable amount of $$$ and make it last as long as possible.
I might try an aftermarket one this time and see how it holds up. I'm not talking about a universal one, but an aftermarket one made for this application. There is one store on eBay called DirectAuto that has these for $25 shipped with a lifetime warranty. From what I understand from someone on here, they stand by their warranty, not sure what the proceedure is for changing it out though.
while everyone is taking apart their doors and ripping out window motors can some one snap some pics for me ive been without a passanger side motor for 4 years now and cant remeber for the life of me how the thing goes back together.
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
I SATCHMOE YOU!!!! wrote:while everyone is taking apart their doors and ripping out window motors can some one snap some pics for me ive been without a passanger side motor for 4 years now and cant remeber for the life of me how the thing goes back together.
WTF 4 years??? Thats gotta hurt. How are you holding the glass up?
If no one on here has pics, I can take some, but its going to be a few days. I'm doing this in my 'spare' time this week in between working 75 hours.
it'd have to wait til i take my rear window apart. hopefully by this weekend i'll have time to do.
maybe steve will beat me to it.
GO PATS!!!
The Redneck wrote:it'd have to wait til i take my rear window apart. hopefully by this weekend i'll have time to do.
maybe steve will beat me to it.
Thats the rear door I SATCHMOE YOU!!!! wants pics of? I just assumed he wanted the front door. I'm not doing the rear one right now, just the front. I'll take some pics of that when I can. Its taken apart, I just have to put it together now.
you just need to put the motor into the arms or the entire thing back together...?
GO PATS!!!
The Redneck wrote:you just need to put the motor into the arms or the entire thing back together...?
Gotta get the motor, assemble the relay/motor sub-assembly, install it and close the door up. Probably an hour or so. I've just been lagging. Its not necessarily the first thing I want to do when I get home at 4:30am after working 12 hours. Besides, its a friends car and she has my Grand Prix that she likes better, so theres no real hurry.
The windows being held up a by screw driven thru the arms.
I need to see how the mottor is positioned in the door how its attached to the arms everythingi can get will be helpfull.
Also I have a 2door if there is any real difference in the way the 2 and 4 doors motors are attached and positioned.
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
The local shop where I got the motors from for $30 the last time is out of stock. I called around and Kragen has the rebuilt ones for $46.99, but they have a lifetime warranty on them. From what I hear, Kragen is pretty good about honoring their lifetime warranties. I think I'll pay the extra $$$ this time and see how simple they are to exchange the next time I need one. Has anyone on here gotten them from Kragen or tried to exchange one under warranty?
I SATCHMOE YOU!!!! I hope you didn't damage your regulator by driving a screw through it. That could make a motor go bad prematurely if the regulator is damaged. I'll take some pics when I start putting this back together, might be a few days though. Not sure if a coupe and sedan door is different though.
i bought mine from kragen(mine was only 29 though). its only been in two weeks though so i don't know about the warranty. i think i threw away my receipt too though. oh well...i'm going to try to do my rear window this weekend so i'll have a new receipt. i didn't even notice that they had a lifetime warranty...
GO PATS!!!
Any one happen to snap any pics?
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
i haven't had my door off lately. i'm going to TRY to do my rear door either today or tomorrow. it can't be TOO different from the front doors. i'll snap pics then......
GO PATS!!!
@!#$, as i hit post i realized that my wife has the digital camera in arizona this weekend. i guess i can wait til next weekend to change the motor.
GO PATS!!!
