Hi all,
My wife are the proud new owners of a '97 Discovery. It is (using current color names) Giverny Green Micatallic with a tan interior. A gift from my wife's parents, as they have purchased a new car and no longer had room for it at their place. [edit]Oh yeah, it's got 200k+ miles on it but it's in great shape[/edit]

Love the car. In fact, back in 1997, I believe I was drooling over the very same model/color at a car lot in San Jose.

One problem though Anyone have any advice for this: Seem to be having some problems with the rear drivers' side window. We put it down and now it won't go back up (and we live in a VERY rainy part of the world). You can hear the motor turning and a click every second or so (like something's not catching). If you lift the window itself it slides back down to the down position.

I took the door panel off and peeled back the plastic covering to get a look inside but I must admit complete ignorance of the workings I found inside (and it's just a hole through the welded frame so I can't really get a GOOD look around in there). I have located the motor and the metal 'shelf' that holds the window. I can slide it up by pushing on the bottom, but I can't find whatever linkage attaches the motor to the window itself. To make it even more fun, I figured I'd try to find a manual on Chilton but it seems they don't have them.

So, the window won't go up and it seems like the motor is fine but maybe the linkage is broken or something. Anyone have any similar experiences? Any experience fixing this problem? If you guys have any suggestions they'd be much appreciated!
Best,
Michael

 

Hi all,
Little update. We managed to find some part images online last night and that helped us somewhat. There are two parts that raise the window: a motor and a 'regulator'. Essentially the regulator is a bar that attaches to the bottom of the window on one end and then has a gear on the other end that attaches to the motor gear.

We took the whole thing out (had to remove the lock mechanism to twist it free of the door) and had a look. The regulator gear (about a 60 degree arc) had gone past the motor gear and ceased to mesh with it. We managed to get it back into place by gently pushing on it while running the motor in reverse. When trying to reinstall the assembly we realized that the regulator wasn't attaching to the window properly - and would slip out as the window goes down. This is why the gear was able to go 'out of range' when we tried to put it up.

So, now the window stays up but I think we've got to purchase a new regulator and try to install it. Couple of notes for anyone else who has this problem and tries to fix it on their own:
1) The door panel is secured by the handbar (two bolts) and the door handle (a screw), which needs to be eased loose.
2) The door panel is FURTHER secured by several plastic 'screws' that press firmly into plastic holders mounted to the door frame. The ideal way to remove the panel is to lever these 'screws' loose from the holders without breaking any - I was unsuccessful in doing this so I'm going to have to try to repair/replace them so that the panel seats firmly again without rattling, etc.
3) The door frame is covered with a sheet of plastic, sealed around the edges with a line of sticky 'goop' of some sort. You have to gently pull back the plastic - and unfortunately I had to tear it loose from the holders mentioned in 2. Doesn't seem to be any way to do this without tearing it a little. I'm hoping tape will seal it up once we replace it - should prevent wind/cold air from entering the cabin. The goop is resilient enough to restick the plastic once you put it back.
4) The window switch pushes out of the door panel from the back. This is easier to do from the rear of the panel. I suggest first unplugging it (pull straight back on the white plug) and then pushing it through. BTW, the rear window switch in the console won't work if the rear switch is unplugged - so you'll need to reattach the switch if you're back there testing your repair job. For us this is nice - we just left it unplugged for now so the window can't be put back down by mistake (and go off the rails again.)
5) The lock mechanism prevents the motor/regulator assembly from coming out of the door frame. Four screws secure a metal plate holding the mechanism to the door frame. Once you've got that loose you can remove the two screws holding the mechanism to the plate and put the plate aside. The lock mechanism will just hang there while you work.
6) The biggie. The motor and regulator are secured together with a special 'star-headded' screw. I don't have anything to remove them with but I believe these sets can be gotten from a good tool store. In the states I'm thinking Sears is probably the best bet for a cheap set. Don't know about our international friends.

When we get a new regulator and figure out what's broken on our current one I'll post details for anyone having a similar problem.
Best,
M

 

Err... welcome to the 'wonderful world of Rover'!

FWIW - it's a Land Rover, it's supposed to rattle, occasionally hum, sometimes tick/thump and always have something in lieu of being fixed... it's part of the charm, like owning a 1978 Mini Clubman Estate (would link to an image of mine, but I tried a link earlier and the forum software slapped my wrists)

Beware the Land Rover that 'doesn't need fixing'... it will be saving up for something truly horrid.

Never done the windows on a Disco, but I had almost exactly the same problem with two Toyota's I owned - in both cases the only way to be sure the vehicle was secure was to prop the underside of the window with a bit of inch x inch timber or it was possible to slide the window down manually from the outside.

Cheers,