Electric Window Christmas Blues! (HDJ81)

[Dances with Chimps]

Im sure this will probably be the thousandth posty on electric windows (for HD80/HDJ81) as they absolutely suck when they get old. Ive tried everything to get the them working, lubricating the runners and rubber seals along the window, which only lasts a few months. Now im thinking it would be better to fit handwinders over the winter in, so I can open my windows at . Has anybody done this have you had siuccess and where did you get the winders from?

Im also looking for HID bulbs for my headlights they need to have a pattern in them to be road legal in the uK. Any pointers there would be apprieciated!

Merry Christmas one and all.

 

[fbnss]

or you could buy those new leccy winders from milners?

 

[Chris]

Yep, new regulator assemblies is the cure. You can't fix wear with grease.

 

[clivehorridge]

My rear left passenger door window stopped moving at all.

In my shed, I had 2 front door mechs, waiting for the originals to stop, but they’ve kept going OK.

So I managed to cannibalize one of them to replace the motor and the primary sprocket... it didn’t fit perfectly, but with some fettling, it works a treat now.

The spindle on the original primary sprocket had rusted solid.

 

[Towpack]

I changed the rubber window guides a few years ago which certainly made the windows smoother and quicker as the old ones had age hardened and lost much of their flexibility. They are getting slow again now though so may have to look at some new (Millers) mechs, the Genuine Toyota ones are too pricey.

You won’t find any “legal” HID bulbs to fit in the OEM housings but I think much depends on your MOT tester! I tried 2 different HID H4 kits in the outer headlamps and they were crap. Might as well have had 2 glitter balls on the front, the beam scatter was that bad so binned the idea. I did fit HID H1’s in the inner (main beam) headlamps though and the beam was pretty good, almost pencil beam in fact. I’ve now replaced them with LED’s after one of the ballasts blew.

 

[clivehorridge]

I changed the rubber window guides a few years ago which certainly made the windows smoother and quicker as the old ones had age hardened and lost much of their flexibility. They are getting slow again now though so may have to look at some new (Millers) mechs, the Genuine Toyota ones are too pricey.

You won’t find any “legal” HID bulbs to fit in the OEM housings but I think much depends on your MOT tester! I tried 2 different HID H4 kits in the outer headlamps and they were crap. Might as well have had 2 glitter balls on the front, the beam scatter was that bad so binned the idea. I did fit HID H1’s in the inner (main beam) headlamps though and the beam was pretty good, almost pencil beam in fact. I’ve now replaced them with LED’s after one of the ballasts blew.

True.

HIDs and OEM units don’t mix well at all, they scatter all over the place.

I swapped out the whole units with HID friendly Angel Eyes, time ago... they use projector lenses...

 

[StarCruiser]

I changed my sticking winders to the Milner ones and yep they are better. For me though, only about 5% better. Rubbers were changed a while back and made far more improvement at the time but have gone back to being slow especially in the cold and wet. I guess if your mechs are worn then the Milner ones will be better but I’ve yet to find what the cause is for mine sticking. That said I haven’t looked yet. I was pretty disappointed given the glowing write up from Chris. I’ve tried everything I can think of to improve these including beefing up the supply wiring and all I can think of doing is to find stronger motors or somehow improve those I’ve got. I’ll inspect the ones I’ve removed one day and see if they can be made stronger, though I doubt this will be possible.

 

[Chris]

Yep, I've fitted two sets. My windows fly up and down like new, even in cold weather without the engine running. Basically like new. You need to set them straight of course so that they don't bind, but other than that, they're a major success. Couple of years on now and they're still running perfectly. If they'd been 5% better I'd have been really disappointed.

 

[karl webster]

I sell a good few rubber sets and never had negative feedback.

 

[StarCruiser]

You need to set them straight of course so that they don't bind,.

While I’m pretty sure mine were set to work without binding when I fitted them, maybe they are worthy of a revisit and adjustment.
Any tips Chris?

 

[frank rabbets]

Bought my 80 at 3 years old with circa 28k on the clock and the windows were crap from day one but did not get any worse over the next 19 years. Last year I decided to investigate and found no wear anywhere. Reassembled with lashings of grease with a 2 inch wide spatula and they are now OK. Everyone has their own story. I can't understand why T could not get an electric window design right. I know of cars built in the early 60's which still have their original carefree electric windows.

 

[Chris]

We're in danger of recreating a whole thread here. Changing the rubbers is a good move but it CANNOT make up fr the wear in the motor pinion. On the motor there is a small drive pinion that engages in the regulator rack. As the rubbers get old and hard, the strain on the motor increases and bot the rack and the solid bushing of the pinion begin to wear. This wear creates even MORE binding until you get to the point that the windows are barely operable. If you pull up the glass you'll feel the load come off and the motor will push up the window.
If you catch it really early then changing the rubber may be all you need. But if the rack has gone then you'll see no benefit at all. I change the rubbers and the regulators. But I only really change the rubbers to PREVENT damage form happening again to the new motor and regulator.

No real tips on setting up Rich, but I don't tighten anything until I've got the window fully closed.

I have looked at repairing the drive pinion bushing but honestly, it's not really possible nor worth it.

I did post a video of my windows going up and down on the original thread.

 

[Shayne]

How fast is fast ?

New rubbers improved my windows so i would expect to gain no more than a second or two full up or full down hence i can't justify the price of new motor/mechanism .

 

[StarCruiser]

We're in danger of recreating a whole thread here. Changing the rubbers is a good move but it CANNOT make up fr the wear in the motor pinion. On the motor there is a small drive pinion that engages in the regulator rack. As the rubbers get old and hard, the strain on the motor increases and bot the rack and the solid bushing of the pinion begin to wear. This wear creates even MORE binding until you get to the point that the windows are barely operable. If you pull up the glass you'll feel the load come off and the motor will push up the window.
If you catch it really early then changing the rubber may be all you need. But if the rack has gone then you'll see no benefit at all. I change the rubbers and the regulators. But I only really change the rubbers to PREVENT damage form happening again to the new motor and regulator.

No real tips on setting up Rich, but I don't tighten anything until I've got the window fully closed.

I have looked at repairing the drive pinion bushing but honestly, it's not really possible nor worth it.

I did post a video of my windows going up and down on the original thread.

Sounds the same as what I did in total. I’ll update as and when I dismantle the drive. I suppose it’s possible the Milners mechs have come from different sources.

 

[Chris]

Entirely Rich. I know mine were made in Taiwan. They do take a little fettling to sit them square but nothing particularly clandestine. You might just find something worth tweaking.

 

[Chris]

Here's the original thread with the video of my whizzy windows.

https://www.landcruiserclub.net/com...series-power-window-replacement-parts.146008/