VCCA Home Forums Thread Like Summary - 1941-48 window regulator rebuild

We have had some posts lately on rebuilding parts of window regulators. They discussed replacing the rollers on the arms and getting the rivets to collapse. I thought I would begin a discussion on the general rebuilding of a regulator. Eventually, the normal aging process for a regulator will see either a problem with the window being hard to roll up, or the window glass doesn't stay up. By the "stay up problem" I mean you roll the window all the way up and after a few miles you notice it has fallen an inch or two. Another less common problem would be the large regulator spring just breaking from corrosion. This would make even a new window regulator extremely hard to operate. Replacement parts for a rebuild are available from Chevs of the 40's regulator parts Removing the regulator and the glass mounted on it require a carefully reading of your shop manual. Don't try to wing it, your just asking for a lot of frustration or a scratch in your glass.

Once the regulator is out it will look like the one in these pictures. Rust is normal, the rollers are made out of leather so they are usually in even poorer condition than pictured, and any lubricant on the parts has long since hardened or disappeared. This regulator was working fine but since I am preparing the car for a new paint job I am refurbishing its body parts. About 8 years ago I redid the other three regulators so will show you the steps on the last one I need to rebuild.








http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u560/41chevymike/IMG_2128_zps813c06db.jpg

I have included a link to my Photobucket page so you can see all my regulator pictures, as well as seeing other pictures I have taken to document some of my other work.

Window regulators are specific to the right or left sides of a car, and back regulators do not fit in the front doors. Back regulators in coupes or sedans are especially hard to remove from the surrounding sheetmetal they are mounted on. My best advice is make sure the regulator is in the up position and you work it around so it is completely on its side. You can then struggle to pull the end closest to the door pillar out. I am seriously considering enlarging the opening in the sheetmetal about 1/4 of an inch to make it easier to install and remove each of the back regulators.

After removing the regulators I take them to my sandblast cabinet for a good cleaning. If you do not have a cabinet then I would just set them in some used transmission fluid to soak overnight. Next take a wire brush and clean off as much rust and crud as you can. The transmission fluid should have seeped into the crank mechanism and if the spring is good then you now have it well lubricated. If the spring is bad then the window would have not stayed all the way up when you closed it. The next pictures show the crank mechanism that the window handle is fastened to, and the small spring inside it.

If you sand blast the regulator sand will get into the spring so it must be taken apart by removing the 3 rivets holding it in place. To do this first remove the large regulator spring. I use a large channel lock pliers to do this. I squeeze the spring and tilt it up freeing the end where it it is hooked for tension.









Reassemblying the crank will be a challenge. You will need to buy 3 rivets of the right diameter at your hardware store. Don't buy solid rivets, get the ones that are predrilled with a hollow end. The predrilled ones must then be drilled a little deeper so the rivet collapses tightly. You may even have to file a little off of the head of the rivet to make it fit under the large gear. I will discuss this with pictures when I rebuild my crank tomorrow.

Time to say goodnight, Mike

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