Electric Window Motor - Alternative Sources

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brickie501
Posts: 33
Joined: 14 Mar 2010 06:16 pm

Electric Window Motor - Alternative Sources

Post by brickie501 » 26 May 2011 06:03 pm

Thought I'd share my latest discoveries of alternative parts sources.

I've lived with a 'stuck' driver's electric window for some time. Pressing the switch did produce a 'clunk' but no movement so a seized gearbox was suspected. Originally, the window had got slower and slower (so at least I had managed to to leave it closed) until it wouldn't move at all. Having to open the door for car park entrances etc was getting boring so I decided it was time to do something about it. In line with the 'shoestring' approach that something was not going to be ordering from a Motor Factors, nevermind Halfrauds (as if they'd have 300 parts)...

I stripped down the door to have a look and, after a bit of a struggle, managed to extract the motor. The gear looked pretty rusty and I couldn't turn it, even with a pair of grips, after a soaking in WD-40. So I started looking for a replacement but there are very few 300's in the scrapyards and nothing for one was coming up on eBay searches. The part looked familiar though...

You may be aware of my Land Rover 'habit' and a root around the lock-up uncovered the motors from an '80's Range Rover I stripped. The electrical connections obviously need changing for 'spades' (not sure if the position of the connector block on the motor body matters?) but they're physically similar with the exception of the drive gear:

Image

Left to right: Range Rover Classic rear door motor, Volvo front door motor, Range Rover Classic front door motor (scrappy 240 driver's door actually pictured as mine was back in - so pictured motors would all be 300 passenger side)

I couldn't get my puller on to swap the gears however so put them to one side. Casting the net a bit wider, I started checking older cars in the scrappy and comparing photographs online. An old BMW looked looked similar but I couldn't see the gear in place nor remove the thing at the time (no torx bits)! Then the description of a new eBay part (£££ :shock: ) helped because it seems 240's and earlier 740's (pre-1990?) used the same motors. After a week, I struck lucky with an old 240 appearing in the local scrappy.

I removed the driver's door motor, managed to check it worked and, once back home, struggled to fit it for ten minutes before realising that Volvo obviously used the same font door motors but on opposite sides!

It was too late to go back for the other one and I had to use the car so I refitted the old motor to hold the window up. I couldn't resist pressing the window button though and the week's soaking must have done the trick because I was rewarded with maybe 0.5cm movement. This steadily increased over several days to the extent that it now works normally again ... ah well!

Still others may not be so lucky so, in summary, if that elusive 300 scrapper isn't available you could try some of the following (slightly) more common window motor donors:

240 motors - in opposite doors
Range Rover motors - if you can swap drive gears (can't remember 100% but think those pictured are driver's side) NB central locking solonoids look same too
Pre-1990 740 motors (maybe) - not sure whether 'inverted'
1980's BMW 300 maybe?

PS Remember I'm in UK so was working on offside of car (and the motors pictured are for nearside)...

Shoestring :360:
Last edited by brickie501 on 26 May 2011 08:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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