So after hours and hours of messing with this thing (took the door apart because my regulator broke in the up position, getting everything out was a PITA) - I finally fixed the regulator and I think that's all set.

However that same door's lock actuator is broken, so after screwing with the window frame FOREVER to get the stupid thing out of the bottom.. I got the actuator on the desk.

...after another 30 minutes trying to open the stupid thing without destroying it, I finally figured it out. After testing the motors and figuring out which one was dead, I indeed had a working motor that a fellow LR friend had given me.

THE ONLY problem is that the working motor has a larger gear on it than the one that broke (the lock/unlock have different size gears) of course it had to be that one that died.

Anyways, I can't get the gears off. I've tried heating the brass part with a lighter and a torch and I still can't pry the stupid thing off, then I chipped a tooth on the gear (pretty much making the gear worthless).

So uhm. If you're thinking about doing this, hopefully you don't end up out in the rain/cold/dark at midnight with a door in 4538930 pieces and a lock actuator that might not even work at all anymore, much less electrically. FML

At least my window will probably work, but who gives a damn if I have to rip open the entire door all over again to fix the actuator in the future.

edit: just took the motor out before putting it back in there. I still had to put the regulator back in there too. Wow, so while I snaked out the actuator the first time.. getting it back in required me to take off ALL the window frame bolts and lift the entire thing out (NO help) while trying to get that thing back in there with both those stupid posts sticking out trying to get caught on everything.

At least the window works, but I could have saved myself 3 hours if I hadn't attempted the stupid actuator ordeal.

On a positive note, I discovered a cheap/easy fix for the regulator at home depot... the protective feet you screw into furniture legs! I found a type that had a 1/4-20 post sticking out, and the plastic part was exactly the thickness of the original roller. I just threw it on the lathe at work and trimmed it down to the original diameter, rounded the corners, put some washers on it to space the post through the rail, and attached it to the arm again.

Oh also on a positive note, the other day I figured out how to install RainX Latitude wiper blades into the OEM DII wiper arms! It was actually incredibly easy. I got DI wiper arms (took them off the parts car myself) from a buddy, had them all apart, and was bout to install them when I realized how bad they looked compared to the DII arms lol.

I'll post a thread for both those later.

 

It is surprising to see how "STUPID" a mechanical part can be.
So now what, you going to replace it or stay pissed off at it for awhile?
Good guaranteed used ones can be purchased form places like Roverlandpart.com