I’ve mentioned a bunch of times, my motorhome purchase (1994 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 33X) was a known project. I need things to keep me busy. To date, this RV has succeeded!! In all but a couple of small cases, it has actually been very enjoyable time. I’m not sure it has been a good investment but not much I do is, it seems. In any case, the window glass in the driver door was broken when I purchased her. The previous owner and taped in a piece of Lexan/Plexiglas. While not particularly pretty, it worked. This plastic sheet got us home from Phoenix and thru a half dozen camping trips. On the last trip, however; it started coming loose. Do you have any idea how much suction exists at the top of the side window when trucking down the highway at 70 mph? I can tell you, there is a lot! I could see the panel being pulled out and the tape coming loose. In the end, I had to rig up a mechanism to hook onto the top of the panel and I held onto this, pulling it against the suction, while driving. In words, this sounds better than reality. It was a fly-swatter with the wire end bent as a hook. 🙂 I know, not the most brilliant or safest solution but it was all I had.
I ordered a replacement window/glass from Fleetwood. It took a few weeks to arrive but was exactly the right part. It was far from cheap at near two bills.
Getting the inside door panel off is a challenge in any vehicle. On the Pace Arrow, it is pretty simple. The hand-hold has four screws under the covers that must come out. The door latch has one screw. The two screws that hold the door limit strap in place must come out. Finally, some double sided tape around the right, left, and bottom edges must be split. Once the panel is free, there are about four wire connectors that must be released, they are all of the squeeze and pull type.
As I started pulling the panel away from the frame, a huge amount of glass started falling out the bottom. I had assumed that when the glass was broken it went everywhere but INSIDE the door – appears that I was wrong. After cleaning and vacuuming all the glass remains, it was time to figure out how to get the replacement glass in place.
I could now see the Lexan panel and, in hindsight, what I should have done when the panel started getting sucked out of position. Apparently, it had dropped down somewhat so that the top was no longer in the groove which held it in place. I should have pulled it back up and into position – and re-taped to hold it there. Oh well, live and learn.
For the most part, I disassembled much of the inner workings to get the forward channel to move further forward enough to slip the new glass panel in place from the bottom.
Once in place, I connected the panel and hit the window up/down button. I was treated to a grinding sound but no window movement. Bummer… I did not see that coming.
More research…
I found a couple of references online (one was the iRV2 Fleetwood Forum) indicating that the were some plastic balls or plugs inside the motor that had likely failed. Apparently, these plugs exist to save the motor and gear mechanism should something happen to bind things up.
I removed the window lift motor and disassembled it. There were no plugs or balls but there was a lot of plastic debris. Obviously, my balls had served their purpose. While a nuisance, this was better news than having to purchase a new motor and/or lift mechanism.
Luckily, the balls/bushings are available at the local auto parts store so a quick trip to AutoZone and eight dollars had me back in business. For reference, they are in the “Help” section and listed as “Ford/Lincoln/Mercury 1965-2006 Window Lift Regulator Gear Plug”, part number 74410.
Assembling the lift motor with the new plugs is a small challenge. It is a tight fit and a bit of finesse is necessary to get everything lined up and together. It does work though.
The motor was re-installed, the door panel reconnected, and the up/down button pressed….
BINGO!! The window now goes up and down just like it should!!
I re-installed the door panel using new double sided tape. You can’t even tell that it has been apart.
Now, the project is to remove all the goo left behind from the duct tape used to hold the Lexan in place. WD-30 does wonders on it but it is still a mini-project. Just as well – busy hands are happy hands…
Thank you for your in depth play by play of the your problem and fix. That was exactly what was wrong with mine. I open it up and there’s just shatters of plastic bearings on the inside of the motor housing. Absolutely right it’s a big challenge to get those bushings in. One trick that helped me was to heat up the outside plastic housing. Not to 350 degrees but around 150. This allows the plastic outdoor gear to expand enough so that the bushings fall in “easier”. Again thank you for your help
Yay! That is great Ken – glad it was of some help.
I replaced the same thing and the window works great with one exception. It works backwards. When you push up the window goes down and when you push down the window goes up. What is the fix for this. Thank you for the instructions and part# and where to get it. That was a cheap fix.
Hi Judy, any chance the electrical polarity is backwards (the two wires to the motor hooked up backwards)?? That’s probably too easy but is the only idea that comes to mind. Hope you get it figured out!
I did the same and it fixed the motor problem , But I believe the regulator cable is worn . It looks like a unit from a semi truck. The motor is ford but was modified with a after market gear from Fleetwood. I would like find out what it came out of? The door outside door handle is from a Land Rover passer side incase any one needs one.
Do you have the part # or any of the dimensions on the new window glass?
I am trying to find the replacement glass and am having a heck of a time now that Fleetwood ownership has changed.