The Vehicle: 2006 Dodge GRAND Caravan SXT (Tricky!) 3.8L of Glorious Power!
The Job: Replacing a failed power Window Regulator
Estimated Time: 4 hours (Proto has some Experience with this)
The Place: Proto-Mechanic Garage, Casa de Proto, corner of Hanley and Ben Couch Road next to the Woolworth's.
So, a week and change ago, the power window I replaced a few months back began to grinding and then it would not go all the way up by itself. As related in the last Proto entry, I got to it and found the glass had popped out of the retaining clip. When I went to fix that, the bolt on the clip snapped in half. Undaunted, I drilled the old bolt out and put a smaller bolt through the clips with a nut behind it. Worked like a charm. unfortunately, it did not fix the window.
Somehow or someway, the wires in the regulator had become frayed and were no longer working properly. On Sunday we headed off to Lowe's and then made my way down Memorial Drive hitting:
Aaaa-dvanced! Ahhhuto Parts!: they had one for eighty nine bucks.
Oh-oh-oh, O'Reily's: A hundred and two and would have to order.
The Zone... Dunta-dunta-dun-ta-duh AutoZone!: Good news, the part had a lifetime warranty, so they ordered it for me. I was to pick it up Tuesday. For free!
So, Tuesday, I call the Zone... Dunta-dunta-dun-ta-duh AutoZone! to see if the regulator actually came in. It did so I ran to the house and took the old one out. Took about fifteen minutes. Most of that was screwing with the new bolt I had put in (no pun intended). It would NOT come out. Called in the Beast known as Nate and we forced that window out of there. Got the regulator out, but the wires actually snapped in the process. Scared the crap out of me.
Off to the Zone...Dunta-dunta-dun-ta-duh AutoZone! Get my regulator... for free! Head off to the Casa de Proto and... one of the clips on the regulator is broken.
Balls nasty.
Back to the Zone... Dunta-dunta-dun-ta-duh AutoZone! where they give me my money back. All I can think about as I head to Aaaa-dvanced! Ahhhuto Parts! is that it is now seven o'clock and it is gonna take me three hours to put this thing in. Balls. Nasty.
They still have the part and it is exactly the same price as my refund (smile). Back to the Casa de Proto. I move the van under the carport for the light and focus my attention on the regulator. Time to wrestle this bad boy into spot. With any luck I will get it in within and hour.
Three minutes later I pause and eyeball the door where I have already gotten the regulator in. I figure that I did something wrong or was abducted by aliens who 1) probably probed me and 2) put my regulator in.
Turns out neither was the case. Less than an hour later I have the whole shooting match put together. The window works perfectly. I think the old one might have been defective, it never sounded this smooth. Sweet.
Son of a bitch. It took me twice as long to get the part as it did to put it in. Proto-Mechanic triumphant!
Actual Time: I am counting this as one hour and fifteen minutes. Not my fault the replacement part was broken. So there!
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