The windshield motors have a heat sensitive safety switch that fails...
I think you can open the back, and clean thw reed contacts and reassemble for a functional motor again.

Also, the sdl/SELmotors with regulators will bolt right up to an sd

:eek: That’s a great tip. Thanks. Will keep that filed away someplace.

Are the part numbers the same?

I doubt it.

Then what are the numbers?

No idea. I snag em from a pick n pull

So it is now
August 12
and I finally got around to replacing the unit.

Went very well. About 2 hours. The motor was no way swap able with the old one so I did the entire regulator system.

I must have been super lucky because it all went flawlessly. Everything was phillps and 10mm socket

The mountings seem to have adjustability but it all worked on first try so I tightened it together and called it a day.

The stock Z was Z = 8 for the OEM, no clue about the aftermarket unit I never dismounted the motor because it was obviously not going to mount up to the OEM regulator. There were some differences with the new one but it worked fine where it attached and matters.

The question that remains is how long this will last.

My '85 SD has a broken, front passenger side aftermarket window motor/regulator. The equivalent to what's in it is ~$60.00. I ordered one from Rock Auto that was about double that. If I had the original regulator I would have just bought the motor. They seem to be available for ~$180.00 to $200.00 depending.

I didn't get the impression that they're hard to find.

Great news! Can you link us with a source for new original motors? Thanks

Go to the junkyard - there are plenty! Open one up, inspect for grease and re-grease with plastic safe grease, such as brake grease. I had issue with one of mine, turns out it was filled with water! I think some later models have a water cover.

I'm shy about old used parts. The originals all fail in unfix-able manner, how much life is left in some similar used one? The cost for me to drive to some place with W126's would exceed the cost of new.