ekim Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Hello to all, I need some help with my Subaru Legacy Outback 2012. I live in Switzerland in an area where the winters can get rather cold but nothing under -15 Cel. My Outback at around 60K km after a winter where I opened and shut the windows several times has made all 4 windows loose in their rails. Some of the times I tried to open the windows they wouldn't budge so I should have just never touched them in winter if the car wasn't properly warmed up. I took off the front passengers side door panel and peeled back the plastic sheet and I believe it could be the bottom cable of the window regulator that is stretched. When I pull it the window has less play. Does anyone know if I take the motor and window regulator out is there a way to adjust the tension or tighten the cable in some way? Or should I just abandon this? Thanks in advance for your suggestions. I linked a video to this post to show you what I'm talking about. View My Video Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 ekim, You may have stretched the cable, bent the bracket/s that hold the window regulator to the door, bent the window channel at the front or back of the door, or split the plastic mount plate that attaches the glass to the window regulator. Its also possible that it mat be fixable without needing new parts. You just won't know until you get the door panel apart and watch and wiggle the mechanism as it goes up and down. I would suspect that where the cable enters and exits the yellow plastic section of the regulator assembly has spring inserts that may be too compressed or broken and are allowing the slop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somick Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 On 7/24/2018 at 7:54 AM, ekim said: the winters can get rather cold but nothing under -15 Cel. View My Video Wow! And in summer the temperature must be shooting up to 25 Celsius . Try to lubricate all the cables. That helped me on my 2010 Forester. Spray channels with the silicone spray. May help. Good luck, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekim Posted July 30, 2018 Author Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) Hi Sam, ha, actually the summers go up to about 38 degrees. Now its at a steady 35 deg. Thanks for the advice. If by any chance the cable is stretched won't that not help? I pulled on the cable on the bottom of the regulator rail and the window play diminishes. I don't know if I pull out the regulator rail with the motor assembly if I will be able to tighten the cable. Mike Edited July 30, 2018 by ekim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 ekim, Until the last few years cable assemblies on motorcycles (brakes and clutch) and cars (throttle, cruise control, gear shifter) would stretch over time and develop slop. They all had an adjuster that really just added length the the OUTER sheath in most cases. That in turn took up the slack in the cable with a few turns. Once you get the entire regulator out of the door, it may be possible to pull that outer sheath (the black plastic) out of the yellow plastic assembly at the motor drive, and slip a small washer or two over the cable (a washer with a section cut out that the inner cable can pass through, but small enough that the outer sheath can't). By squeezing the washer/s with pliers to prevent them coming off the cable, but allowing the inner cable to smoothly pass through it. You won't know if its possible to do until you try pulling the cable out of the yellow assembly. If it does come out some, give my idea a try. If not, off to a wrecking yard for a used one. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekim Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Hi gbhrps, thanks for your advice. I'll take out the assembly tomorrow when I have time and I'll let you know what happens. I'll take pictures. It's my first time taking apart anything off a "new" vehicle. If I can do a quick fix that would be amazing! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekim Posted August 3, 2018 Author Share Posted August 3, 2018 Hi again. So I took the whole assembly out and played around with it. The plastic plate holding the regulator to the window has a lot of play going up and down the rail and rattling on the rail. It does not have any play horizontally only vertically and its not tight around the rail. No plastic seems to be broken or missing or even bent. I need to know if this play or free movement around the rail is normal. If it is maybe the only problem is the vertical play up and down the rail. Please see the 2 videos as I really need to get this back together asap today. If you can help me gbhrps that would be incredible. Thanks. https://streamable.com/r72rf https://streamable.com/gaaj5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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