I've had a problem with my windows since I bought this car a couple months back. The front two windows roll up and down extremely slow. Is there a way to lubricate the regulator mechanism or could there be a voltage drop somewhere? I haven't pulled the panels yet and was wondering if this is a common problem on these cars? I plan to pull the panels when I am ready to repaint this car in a month or so (maybe less...) are the regulators rebuildable? where can I get new parts for them? any info would be helpful! thanks - William

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1983 Mercedes 300SD
1987 Mercedes 300SDL
2001 VW Passat 2.8 AWD
2007 OM642 Jeep WK 4x4

Hmmm, intresting - I guess I am lucky that they work at all. If they didn't im pretty sure I'd go nuts!! ha ha anyway when I do pull the pannels off I will pull apart the regulators as far as i can and lube everything and replace deteriorated gaskets on all doors as needed - hopfully that will do somting and if not ill just have in invest in some new regulators!! I hope it turns out like the blower motor where I opened up the back and changed the brushes out with a set from a hoover vaccum (actually not a rig! fit perfectly!) and spot welded the rear bering plate back into place. When i got this car it hadn't been serviced in 7 years and probally not lubed in much longer. lucky it sat for most of that time and most all of the greese i checked on the car was solidified. Well have to see what happens with this one! - Thanks William

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1983 Mercedes 300SD
1987 Mercedes 300SDL
2001 VW Passat 2.8 AWD
2007 OM642 Jeep WK 4x4

What are the window regulators and what purpose do they serve?

P E H

Breckman,

I believe the old mercedes power windows are inherrently slow (like the dash lights are inherrently dim). Hard to know if yours are worse than most but if you are comparing them to a "modern" car, forget it. My wife's subaru outback's windows fairly fly compaired to my 300CD's windows.

The regulator is the metal contraption that holds the glass and moves the whole show up and down.

Nic
300Cd @ 149k miles

The window regulator is also known as the window lift mechanism. I would guess that the German word(s) for what it is translates to regulator which makes some sense since it regulates the position of the window (open, closed, and points in between).

In some cases the regulator can be repaired, but you need to remove it and inspect it to see what the problem is - heck it could be loose where it mounts to the door causing it to bind and just needs tightening. I read one thread where one of the teeth on the gear mechanism was broken and that person welded some metal on the broken gear tooth, filed the metal to match the other teeth, and everything worked fine. I can also envision one of the pivot points having a rivet/fastener that is damaged and that could be fixed with another rivet/fastener. Lubrication and/or cleaning the tracks could ease the operation of the regulator. The electric motor(s) may need replacing if they are not operating properly (too much resistance causing the motor to draw too many amps, worn brushes and/or armature, etc.). There may be other things causing the problem - you need to take it apart and inspect everything.

I wrote about how to remove the door panels to access the regulator/motor in another thread. That thread will give you the info to access your regulator/motor, even if your M-B is not the same model because removing the door panels is similar for many models with some variations.

Good Luck!
Tom

__________________
America: Land of the Free!

1977 300D: 300,000+ miles

American Honda: Factory Trained Technician & Honor Grad.
Formerly:
Shop Foreman;
Technical Advisor to Am. Honda;
Supervisor of Maintenance largest tree care co. in US for offices in Tex.

"Window regulator" would be the correct terminology, if it were a Ford. I used to work for Ford Motor and that's what they called them (at one time I had design responsibility for the Window Regulator Handles on all Ford's car lines - what an awesome responsibility!!!).

Thankfully, I have had no trouble with my windows on my 240D, but my previous experience with Ford would tell me that you are on the right track. Hardened stiff grease on the gear and on the sliders will slow the windows down to a crawl. The Ford motors have circuit breakers that limit current draw. This why a window may stop working for awhile and then work later, when the circuit breaker cools off. Power window operation is especially troublesome in cold weather when the lubricants get thick. We had a cold room where we tested the windows, and the ultimate test for new designs were cold room operation. We used to sell a special silicone based window regulator lube that worked great, even in cold weather, but it was not allowed in the plants, because silicone and new paint are not compatible.

Good luck with your windows.

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1976 240D
1987 560SL
2007 E320 Bluetec
1998 C280 (now son’s car)
1982 240D Manual - Sold

The problem with the old MB regulators was that they were stressed because of people holding the switches too long when the window was fully down or up which then caused the arm to bend and in turn, break the aluminum regulator body. Why MB made them out of aluminum I will never know. The even older regulators generally just wear out, usually it's the last three teeth on the winder gear which wear out, which will not allow the window to fully close, it will stop about 1" from the top and the regulator will make a "slipping" noise. As far as speeding up the operation of your windows, short of replacing the motors, you can disassemble the door panel and grease the sliding jaw and the regulator body where the gear slides ever so slightly over the body. Be thankful you don't have an early W108 because the regulators and motors were integrated and can only be replaced as a pair at a cost of about $450!

BTW, my W108 is a later one with the separate regulator and motor. Whew! I actually just replaced my driver's door regulator in the 280. The original one was still in there though, so how could I complain about $100?!?!?

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Regards,
Aaron

I use Poly Liquid Grease on everything, door hinges, hood hinges, and yes window lifts. It sprays on like heavy WD40, then firms up into a red grease. It penetrates into the part, then acts as a grease-lasts quite a while.

Another thing about windows-if you use silicone grease on the window channels, it will greatly ease the motors chore.

And see to it that there is no "cocking" of the window as it transitions from down to up, etc. The Drivers door gets the most wear. If there is cocking, you might be able to use the mechanisms from the left rear door-perhaps they are the same, I don't know. There would hardly be any wear on that window lift.

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Ed
1981 300CD (Benzina)
1968 250 S (Gina) 266,000 miles!
1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6 (Guido)
1976 Jaguar XJS-saved a V-12 from the chevy curse, what a great engine!
1988 Cadillac Eldorado (better car than you might think!)
1988 Yamaha Venture (better than a Wing!)
1977 Suzuki GS750B
1976 Yamaha XS 650 (sold)
1991 Suzuki GSX1100G (Shafty Gixser)
1981 Yamaha VX920RH (Euro "Virago")
Solex Moped
1975 Dodge P/U camper


"Time spent in the company of a cat, a beer, and this forum, is not time wasted!"

The Power passenger side window on my 93 W140 that supposedly uses "One Touch Operation" will go half way down, come back up a fourth, and then go back down half way. When I hold the button down, the window gets jammed about two inches from the bottom. Then I have to get out and pull that thick double insulated galss out of the stuck position. I just use the AC now!

Benzman_600,

For what it's worth (< $.02?), my experience tells me that your motor is tired and needs replacement. However, you might be able to add some time to it's life by applying silicone grease to the tracks (done w/o disassembly) or adjusting the tracks, cleaning up the sliding rollers, and gears and relubricate (open door surgery).

If you have more money and less patience do all of the above and replace the motor.

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1976 240D
1987 560SL
2007 E320 Bluetec
1998 C280 (now son’s car)
1982 240D Manual - Sold

benz_man your window needs to be reset...I had a problem when I used the auto up function of my passenger window..it would go all the way up then come down about an inch....there is some type of resetting process withthe 140....something about holding the right buttons down for a few seconds...there must not be much to it becuase the dealer did mine and didn't charge me anything to do it

Warren
1992 300SD(140)
Columbus Ohio

Reseting the windows is easy. (only cause its in the owners manual!). I had to reset the windows before when my battery died at a party, (Terrible situation to be in). Thank you for all your help.

I have had two of my windows get to a point of non working. Doing a little troubleshooting I found that they were still pulling current and suspected that something was seized up. I removed the unit and removed the motors from the regulator assembly.
Both would run (barely with some help) while removed from the rest of the regulator. Not the best thing to do since the way they are mounted into the rest of the assembly provides the support for the output end of the motor.

With a bit of force, I was able to remove the armature assembly and found the major cause of my problem. The far end of the motor is supported by a brass bushing which had seized to the motor shaft. When the motor did run, the bushing was spinning in the housing. A little bit of cleaning and the problem is fixed.

Only one probelm, I had to force the bushing out of the housing, forcing a retaining washer out of shape to get it out. I reassembled the motor by opening up the retaining washers tabs enough to allow the bushing to be reinstalled. Using a brass punch, I forced the retaining washer's tabs back in place the best I could.

After reassembling the total assembly, lubricating its gears and reinstalling it in the door, it works, but not as well as I would like.

The inability to remove the bushing without damaging the motor is a design weakness in the motor assembly. It would not have cost that much more to design the motor with a back cap so that it could be easily repaired.

Has anyone else gotten this deep into working on the unit and if so have you come up with a better way to work on the bushing?
Does anyone know of a way to remove the retaining washer without destroying it or better yet know where to get replacement washers? They do not look all that special.

I am tempted to remove the two remaining window motors and remove the armatures before the motor shaft seizes to the bushing and cleaning and lubricating the motor properly and without causing any damage to it.

Wayne
82 300SD
98 ML320

i guess i should cosider myself lucky, i've only had to replace the plastic window guides for both back windows, both to the tune of 12 bucks a peice knocking on major wood here, i think my front slides are about to go.....
R

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.