window motor...
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 732
Likes: 0
From: OHIO
window motor... I replaced my driver window in my 99 SS a couple years ago with an Autozone motor but its going out again. The passenger side also needs replacing. The car just turned 30,000 miles and I think its damn sad that I'm replacing parts like this already. The car is hardly ever driven, hell 14,000 miles were put on the first year I got it, so really 15,000ish miles in 9 years!
I work at a GM dealer in the parts dept so I can get a new GM motor for like $33.00 each but the warranty is only 12 months. I'm wondering if the GM motor is any better then an Autozone Dorman motor, which is a new unit (not a Cardone remanufactured unit). I'm getting the AutoTrix kit for the right window motor; so, it won't get ruinded again but I'm wondering why the driver side died so quickly. Are there power delivery issues with the left motor like there are with the right side?
I work at a GM dealer in the parts dept so I can get a new GM motor for like $33.00 each but the warranty is only 12 months. I'm wondering if the GM motor is any better then an Autozone Dorman motor, which is a new unit (not a Cardone remanufactured unit). I'm getting the AutoTrix kit for the right window motor; so, it won't get ruinded again but I'm wondering why the driver side died so quickly. Are there power delivery issues with the left motor like there are with the right side?
Was you old motor the new doorman design?
Be careful - the GM motor may not really be "new."
My OEM motore lasted me less then 30K miles. Therefore, I'd say all Delco motors are garbage. I have yet to hear of someone having a Doorman die on them...
Be careful - the GM motor may not really be "new."
My OEM motore lasted me less then 30K miles. Therefore, I'd say all Delco motors are garbage. I have yet to hear of someone having a Doorman die on them...
For many parts going OEM is the way to go IMO but when a certain part constantly fails like these window motors I see no reason to go with AC Delco.
I just ordered a window motor for my passenger side on Ebay for $26 shipped to my door. Just search and you'll pull up a ton of them. I bought one for my 99 Sierra and it came with the motor and regulator for $45. That's about $100 cheaper than Autozone and it's been working great for the last 6 months.
I just ordered a window motor for my passenger side on Ebay for $26 shipped to my door. Just search and you'll pull up a ton of them. I bought one for my 99 Sierra and it came with the motor and regulator for $45. That's about $100 cheaper than Autozone and it's been working great for the last 6 months.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 734
Likes: 0
From: south jersey. again
my brand new gm motor ( not rebuilt ) is still working after one year, the other lasted 7. i am always lowering my windows so they get a lot of use. i would rather have a 12 month warranty than a lifetime of changing parts that dont last.
Trending Topics
The most time consuming part of it, is trying to make your bay look like it came from the factory with it.
Good luck, it's worth it
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
The TA I bought came with all paperwork on warranty work and all, and I noticed that the lady that bought it new and owned it before me brought it in at 2k miles for water leaking by the T-tops, in at 9k miles for a driver side power window motor, and 14k miles for leaking pinion seal...........musta been built on a Friday.............point being that things just don't appear to be made like they used to....... 
..............I got the Dorman from Autozone for my Grand Prix (same problems) and its been good for a couple years now....
..............I got the Dorman from Autozone for my Grand Prix (same problems) and its been good for a couple years now.... 
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 732
Likes: 0
From: OHIO
The TA I bought came with all paperwork on warranty work and all, and I noticed that the lady that bought it new and owned it before me brought it in at 2k miles for water leaking by the T-tops, in at 9k miles for a driver side power window motor, and 14k miles for leaking pinion seal...........musta been built on a Friday.............point being that things just don't appear to be made like they used to....... ..............I got the Dorman from Autozone for my Grand Prix (same problems) and its been good for a couple years now....
..............I got the Dorman from Autozone for my Grand Prix (same problems) and its been good for a couple years now.... I bought my 99 SS brand new and at the first oil change I had to have the pinion seal replaced under warranty and the clutch slave cylinder for squeaking when the clutch pedal was depressed. At the 5th month of ownership I had the passenger side motor and regulator replaced under warranty! At 14,000 miles I replaced the driver side with an Autozone motor and it needs it again at 30,000 miles. The motor I got from Autozone was a reman unit, not a new one.
The first time I replaced the window motors in both my Grand Prix and the Trans Am I went with the cheaper Autozone units. Grand Prix's motor lasted about 4 months, and the one in the TA lasted 6. I had AZ replace them both and got the Dorman's, and they've both worked fine. A little slow, but they keep working.............a great project would be to retro-fit some heavy duty motors with good speed to both of these cars......
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 732
Likes: 0
From: OHIO
GM should be ashamed of themselves...what pieces of **** these f-bodies are! I mean, great motor, probably the best ever (at the time)in my opinion...but the rest of the car is ****! Transmissions are as good as the motor, except for the garbage clutches but the weak-*** 10 bolts, shitty interior, shitty paint, shitty power steering coolers...AND SHITTY POWER WINDOW MOTORS! I mean Come-on $30,000+ for a piece of ****, that has its windows quit working multiple times before the warranty is even up! I had three Mustang Cobras, one 1995 5.0 and two 4.6 DOHC 4.6s and those power windows absolutely flew, and never had any problems, not like these pieces of junk!
For what these cars cost new, these problems shouldn't be happening. I think if someone could come up with a retrofit kit with say Mustang window motors or truck motors and the CORRECT wiring schematic...a lot would sell!
For what these cars cost new, these problems shouldn't be happening. I think if someone could come up with a retrofit kit with say Mustang window motors or truck motors and the CORRECT wiring schematic...a lot would sell!
GM should be ashamed of themselves...what pieces of **** these f-bodies are! I mean, great motor, probably the best ever (at the time)in my opinion...but the rest of the car is ****! Transmissions are as good as the motor, except for the garbage clutches but the weak-*** 10 bolts, shitty interior, shitty paint, shitty power steering coolers...AND SHITTY POWER WINDOW MOTORS! I mean Come-on $30,000+ for a piece of ****, that has its windows quit working multiple times before the warranty is even up! I had three Mustang Cobras, one 1995 5.0 and two 4.6 DOHC 4.6s and those power windows absolutely flew, and never had any problems, not like these pieces of junk!
For what these cars cost new, these problems shouldn't be happening. I think if someone could come up with a retrofit kit with say Mustang window motors or truck motors and the CORRECT wiring schematic...a lot would sell!
For what these cars cost new, these problems shouldn't be happening. I think if someone could come up with a retrofit kit with say Mustang window motors or truck motors and the CORRECT wiring schematic...a lot would sell!
duh - that's why GM shuttered the factory and the entire platform. The good news is that by now, you've had a chance to fix all of those problems. BTW - ElectricLife makes a window retrofit kit. I've had it in for a couple of years and it still works great. 
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 732
Likes: 0
From: OHIO
-- I have had multiple F-bodies...five 3rd gens:1984 Camaro 305 carb
1988 Iroc-Z 305 TBI
1987 Iroc-Z 350 TPI
1989 Formula 305 TPI
1991 Formula 305 TBI
AND...not one of these cars had ANY window problems at ALL, and you know what none of them cost $29,316.00 EITHER, like my 1999 SS did! You suppose to improve a platform as years go by not the other way around. What is this retrofit kit you're talking about? All I see are kits to upgrade from non-power window to power window. I was referring to a kit similar to the Autotrix one, but that has better quality motors and harness that would eliminate the shitty wiring nightmare the GM incorporated into our cars for the window switches. You would think the BRAINIACS at General Motors would have known better then to run the power for the passenger side motor through the driver side switch the way they did. Like I said...FIVE 3rd gen f-bodies and 3 Cobras and not one window motor issue, WTF!
I don't think its a small price to pay; before the Autotrix kit came out, all we could do is keep replacing window motors. For the poor soles out there that don't know how to work on their own cars, they get raped over and over by the dealers for new window motors and I bet a lot of those dealers sell them regulators too, probably new switches too!
I don't get it...GM can develop a bad-*** motor like the LS1 but yet they designed a power window system that burns up the motors over and over....oh wait a minute, now it makes sense! That's the design...so the owners have to keep replacing the motors once the cars out of warranty!
-- I have had multiple F-bodies...five 3rd gens:1984 Camaro 305 carb
1988 Iroc-Z 305 TBI
1987 Iroc-Z 350 TPI
1989 Formula 305 TPI
1991 Formula 305 TBI
AND...not one of these cars had ANY window problems at ALL, and you know what none of them cost $29,316.00 EITHER, like my 1999 SS did! You suppose to improve a platform as years go by not the other way around. What is this retrofit kit you're talking about? All I see are kits to upgrade from non-power window to power window. I was referring to a kit similar to the Autotrix one, but that has better quality motors and harness that would eliminate the shitty wiring nightmare the GM incorporated into our cars for the window switches. You would think the BRAINIACS at General Motors would have known better then to run the power for the passenger side motor through the driver side switch the way they did. Like I said...FIVE 3rd gen f-bodies and 3 Cobras and not one window motor issue, WTF!
I don't think its a small price to pay; before the Autotrix kit came out, all we could do is keep replacing window motors. For the poor soles out there that don't know how to work on their own cars, they get raped over and over by the dealers for new window motors and I bet a lot of those dealers sell them regulators too, probably new switches too!
I don't get it...GM can develop a bad-*** motor like the LS1 but yet they designed a power window system that burns up the motors over and over....oh wait a minute, now it makes sense! That's the design...so the owners have to keep replacing the motors once the cars out of warranty!
The Autotrix kit is an interesting item, but I think a lot of people get confused thinking it "fixes" something. What it does is send better power to a crummy motor, which keeps it going longer. The thermal resistor, etc. will still wear out over time.
When our cars were built, they were designed to a lower standard than today. Everything was built to last 100K miles. My car has done pretty well in that regard, outside of the window motors and door panels. Now that I'm at 100K, everything is needing replacement. With the US OEM's matching the foreign cars and building for longer service lives, the old factories and tooling cost a ton of money to replace. I am really interested to see how the new Camaro does over time.
The autotrix kit is pretty sweet. It provides the correct amount of voltage that not only keeps your window motor running longer but also moves the window faster. I noticed about a 30% increase in speed after I installed the auto trix kit. It is slightly faster than the driver side now.
Here's the kit I'm running in my '99 WS6: http://www.electric-life.com/shopexd.asp?id=929 I've had it in for a couple of years now with no issues.
The Autotrix kit is an interesting item, but I think a lot of people get confused thinking it "fixes" something. What it does is send better power to a crummy motor, which keeps it going longer. The thermal resistor, etc. will still wear out over time.
When our cars were built, they were designed to a lower standard than today. Everything was built to last 100K miles. My car has done pretty well in that regard, outside of the window motors and door panels. Now that I'm at 100K, everything is needing replacement. With the US OEM's matching the foreign cars and building for longer service lives, the old factories and tooling cost a ton of money to replace. I am really interested to see how the new Camaro does over time.
The Autotrix kit is an interesting item, but I think a lot of people get confused thinking it "fixes" something. What it does is send better power to a crummy motor, which keeps it going longer. The thermal resistor, etc. will still wear out over time.
When our cars were built, they were designed to a lower standard than today. Everything was built to last 100K miles. My car has done pretty well in that regard, outside of the window motors and door panels. Now that I'm at 100K, everything is needing replacement. With the US OEM's matching the foreign cars and building for longer service lives, the old factories and tooling cost a ton of money to replace. I am really interested to see how the new Camaro does over time.