Drivers side window off track

[LukeZ34]

Ok, this has happened about 3 or 4 times since we bought the car. The drivers side window motor will become loose and will be shaken out of place by closing the door/bumps in the road, etc. This leads the window to stop working, and all you hear is the motor running and the gear occasionally grinding against the larger piece that raises and lowers the window inside the door.

Does anyone have a picture of a properly mounted door window motor? Ours is only held in with one bolt (not the correct one), and has an excess of black RTV around the small hole in the door for the wire connector at the motor.

Obviously the one screw isn't the correct mounting procedure for this because it comes loose every couple of months, and it gets really annoying.

I'm just curious as to how the motor should be mounted inside the door, and if anyone else has experienced anything like this.

This looks like a Previous owners hack job since there's RTV everywhere, which he loved to use on everything on this car.

[GP1138]

Well first of all, factory installed window motors are held in place by rivets, which sucks if you have to replace the window motor because you gotta drill those out and replace them with something that won't loosen from vibration. I can't think of anything offhand that would be a suitable replacement besides possibly using two nuts on one bolt to counteract any backing off that might happen.

[mfewtrail]

Luke, aftermarket units secure the motor with three bolts along with nuts(to the lift arm/assembly.....out of the two different brand kits I've personally seen, these nuts have lockwashers built into them. The whole assembly is then secured to the door with four small bolts/nuts that go in place of where the factory rivets are drilled out) I installed an aftermarket unit in my 1993 and after one year the nuts on the motor had backed off and caused what you're describing. I was going to make a run to the store for some locktite and throw them back in......but, I decided to just put the nuts/bolts back in and spot weld the nuts to the bolts(they're not coming off now unless I want them off). When you go to reinstall the motor, you need to find some appropriate length bolts and nuts(they need to be sized right or when you thread the nuts on, the window motor will snag on the lift arm/mechanism that actually moves to lift the window). Then, you'll probably see that you can only install one bolt/nut at a time and then you may have to apply a 12v source to the motor to move it enough one way or the other to install the other one or two bolts. Also, be sure to mark the relationship of the window lift arm when you first remove it or you will have a tough time getting everything just right. BTW, I remove my motors with the window all the way up and then tape the window to the door so that it doesn't drop.