Window regulator and motor replacement in an F-150

[Laconian]

My dad needs to replace the window regulator in his '90 F-150. He can pay a mechanic $150 to do it. He is moderately handy. Should he do it himself or is it not worth the hassle?

[The Pirate]

My dad needs to replace the window regulator in his '90 F-150. He can pay a mechanic $150 to do it. He is moderately handy. Should he do it himself or is it not worth the hassle?

Never done it on a Ford, but that job can be a PITA.  Not replacing the motor itself, but getting the door panel off and on without disrupting all the stuff inside.  Some cars are worse than others there, but if he doesn't need to save the $150 (which is downright cheap for a car repair these days), I'd be tempted to have somebody else do that one.

[Rupert]

I wouldn't be worried about getting into the door panel, but getting into the door itself is guaranteed to be a bitch. For $150, I'm paying.

[S204STi]

All depends on the design of the regulator.  If it's a spring-loaded scissors type those can be pretty scary first time in, and somewhat hazardous to your fingers.  If it's a cable/pulley system those are relatively easy to handle.  With the inside trim, have him either buy himself a plastic door trim stick from a body shop supply (or maybe even Sears has door trim tools, who knows?) which will save him a lot of trouble with the pins.  Some doors are lift-off though, so be careful removing it.  Typically the panels are held on with anywhere from 1-5 screws, and then tree clips around the edges.

Good luck if he decides to go for it, just warn him against forcing anything that he's not comfortable with, and do it in a warm(er) garage, these cold temps will cause plastic to break under circumstances they wouldn't normally.

[Raza]

Don't you have to disassemble the door to replace a window motor?  Sounds like a pain in the ass.

[JWC]

It can try your patience. 

The inner trim panel, once all the retainers are removed, lifts out and up.  Then you have to drill out the rivets.  Remove the regulator, use good quality masking tape to hold the window up, install the new unit, rivet it in place, reinstall trim panel.

With experience, it takes about an hour, sometimes a little less.

[the Teuton]

I tried it once. After that, not only did I not have a working window still, but I didn't have a working door, either.

I'd go the mechanic if I had to do it again. I'd recommend the same. It isn't so much getting everything back together as it is doing it within the confines of a 6-inch-wide door. It sucks.

[Eye of the Tiger]

zomg, f-150's are so easy, save ur money

[Secret Chimp]

It isn't that hard to pull the inner panel off of anything, especially an older truck.. He can have a look in there and see if the bits he needs to get at are easily accessible enough for him or not in just a few minutes. Plus, there's that much labor money saved at the mechanic if need be :P

[Byteme]

It isn't that hard to pull the inner panel off of anything, especially an older truck.. He can have a look in there and see if the bits he needs to get at are easily accessible enough for him or not in just a few minutes. Plus, there's that much labor money saved at the mechanic if need be :P

My son't Buick Century as cables The assembly is cheaply made and the plastic part the end of the cable locks into to move the window up and down breaks.  When the first one broke  it was an all day job to repair it.  New regulator assemblies were $450 and you can't just buy the plastic part.  The other three have broken sine then.  The last one took me two hours, tops, including cleanup. 

If you dad hasn't done one before I'd suggest he take it to the shop.  $150 buys a lot of aggrevation avoidance, especially in the middle of winter if you don't have a heated garage to work in.