How To: Fix A Window That Fell Out Of It's Track.

stolibears

Use your dipstick Jimmy!!
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
How To Fix A Window That Fell Out Of Its Track

Application: Civic SI 99-00, but I am positive this may happen to any civic with power windows. If your window hasn't popped out yet, and is rollling up/down slowly, grease that puppy quick to save you the trouble of actually having to use these instructions.

Symptoms: Windows seem to fight you just to go up or down. Doesn't seem to go up all the way. Window may actually be loose enough to move it side to side at least 2 inches from sides.


Honda mechanic says:
"2 choices;
  • you either need to keep the tracks clean with some Simple Green and keep the tracks lubed with some silicon lube spray when it needs it.
  • The alternative is to have the entire power window assemble replaced, about $350 job per window when the motor burns out. This happens to alot of civics 96-00 that have been not garaged and exposed to the elements for the life of the car. Dirt gets in the seals(of the track) that can later cause damage to the way the power window works. "

Choices:

  • Fork over the $350 (per window) and get it done and not worry about it for another 5 years
  • Pay nadda, nothing, zero and use these instructions to fix the window, do a little preventive maintance and buy yourself some time and save that money for more important things like rims and turbo.
Skill:

Pretty simple deal. 30 min, nice cold pepsi and tunes. oh yeah some tools might help too.
Tools Needed:


Procedure:

  1. Start with the door panel of the door, remove all screws that keep the interior panel tacked to the door.
  2. Start by taking out the one screw that holds the power windows button plastic peice and the one screw that holds the interior door handle. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the window button plastic piece free.
  3. Unplug the wire harnesses that are connected to the handle and the power window buttons.
  4. Next take the speaker out, should be three screws that you can see that holds the speaker in place and three more around the rim of the speaker that are inside the indented holes. Uplug the speaker from the harness by squeezing the middle part of the harness and pulling it free.
  5. Now pull off the bottom right part of the interior panel(if drivers side, otherwise left bottom) and carefully tug it away from the door. This should pop out, carefully go around the bottom of the door and pop out the other retainers up around the right of the door. Leave the top of the door alone until you are sure that you have popped all the retainers around the sides and bottom of the door.
  6. Slide the panel diagonally left/up and it should come free.
  7. Panel should now have everything removed.
  8. Plug the power window buttons back in. You'll need to move the window up or down to get it back on track.
  9. Next, loosen the brass bolt near the bottom right side of the door. Should be right next to the speaker hole.

    Use your handy dandy rachet with the correct size (I used 13/32 but I didn't have anything smaller). This bolt connects the bottom half of the front (close to the front of the car) track.
  10. Lower your window all the way down, make sure that the window isn't really out of place when it goes down, you may have to help it along by applying pressure so the window slides back into the left track (away from the car) while going down.
  11. With the front track loose and the window down, you can now move the bottom of the window back in track by fitting it into the rubber seal in the metal track.
  12. Spray the track with the silcon lube at the top and bottom on both sides of the window.
  13. Now try to use the power windows buttons to move the window up and down to make sure it is in. You'll know it's not if it gets about a 3rd of the way up and you hear the motor really complaining.
  14. If your sure the window is in, do a couple of trys going up and down with the window and re-spraying the track each time to make sure it is really lubricated.
  15. Tighten the brass screw at the front and your done!
  16. Take off the power window buttons, so you can now reassemble the door, in the reverse order you took it apart.
  17. Slide the panel in diagonally toward the car, making sure that the top of the panel goes a little inside the top of the window opening, it should hang if you do it right.
  18. Push the retainers back in the holes it lines up with in the door. If the retainer came loose when you took the door apart, just slide it back into "C" clip built into the panel.
  19. Plug the lock and power window buttons back in.
  20. Put the screws back and put back your speaker.

**OPTIONAL STEPS

TOOLS:

lithium grease recommended or WD-40 if your in a pinch.
  1. Remove the plastic weather stripping from the bottom very carefully (if you want to reuse it). There will be some chalk like stuff that is very sticky which you can re-stick the plastic when your through.
  2. Using your fingers, put some grease along the track, I'm using WD-40 in the pic but should of used the grease for it to last longer.
  3. Push the plastic into the chalky stuff to reseal.
**Special Cases
TOOLS:

  1. If the window seems to pop out even after you lubed it, you may have to do what I did. I found out that the window seemed to want to snug near the outside of the door when it went down, thus popping out of track.
  2. Completely unscrew the brass bolt in the front.
  3. Take the track off the bolt
  4. Put 2 washers on the bolt
  5. Put the track back on the bolt from the inside of the door.
  6. Screw the nut back on the end of the bolt
This should push the track out to the wall of the door enough so the window will be happy and with regular lubrication from time to time should work.

References:
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=103218

UPDATE: I used a silcone spray recently in the tracks and haven't had to rspray since. The WD40 will not work as well.
This has been
:idea:
 

stolibears

Use your dipstick Jimmy!!
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
updated pics and more info on the "special cases" bit.
 


cheezeonmakneez

love unicorns
Registered VIP
Registered OG
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
Damn dude! This has got to be one of the best write ups I have ever came accross. I have this prob with my teg. Guess I can fix it now. Thanks!
 

Silver Bullet

6 spd = titis
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
even better bro...you helped me out so much and im glad i inspired u to make it a little better....and easier for those who never did this before i can vouch for this how to it helped me out alot
 


cheezeonmakneez

love unicorns
Registered VIP
Registered OG
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
Yeah I'm gonna pull the door panel off tomorrow and lube my s**t up
 

_Ben_W

New Member
5+ Year Member
i just spent 2 hrs getting hella pissed, i will take your advice, awesome write up bro
 

der_meister_08

New Member
5+ Year Member
how do you remove the crank if you don't have power windows? i don't want to just rip it off and end up really breakin something.
 

Absolut3Zr0

The Herman Handler
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
there is a little clip holding the crankhandle to the window crank mechanism. I think its called a c-clip. if you break the handle, you can pick up a replacement at pepboys or something for like 7 bucks.
 

99SilverCX

New Member
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
awesome write up dude, I had this issue with my hatch, and my lil bro just got a EM1 and he had the same issues.
But I learned from other people about this trick. Hopefully this will help everyone else get their windows working because as I'm finding out this is a really common problem with hondas. Especially 96-00 ones.
 

stolibears

Use your dipstick Jimmy!!
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
thanks!

I also read somewhere in here where some one also was able to tighten some bolts elsewhere on the track that seemed to have come loose. i'm not sure where they were though, but though I would share just the same.:D
 

Ominous G2

ClubIntegra.com
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
I just did this last week. I was curious if I could do it without taking off the tweeter, looks like i could have.
 

Ominous G2

ClubIntegra.com
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
Do you put the washers on both the back and the front, or just the front?

Going to do this while my door panel is still off.
 

Commodore

back again
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
big thanks to the help here in this thread. Just fixed my window that fell off the track today! Rep +
 

eskateboarding7

New Member
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
wow dude, amazing write up! Just wondering though, have you or anyone else noticed a difference in the speed of the windows? All 4 of my windows seem to move incredibly slow, but I always figured that was the best they could do in 1997. If it really does make them go faster, then im tearing my panels off!
 

jonyg98civicex

New Member
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
great write up, I LUBED EVERY PART that was associated with the window... the rubber window track, regulator teeth, regulator slides........fixed my problem
 

Commodore

back again
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
Just a reminder, always tell the shops you leave your car at to NOT roll down the window all the way...or else you have to keep fixing this on your own!

I had to do this 3 or 4 times already...the hard part is putting back the panel into the door slot (the top ridge is always not going in all the way, and the tweeter speaker gets in the way too.
 


Top