And the window misery continues.
I have a grease gun tube of Teflon grease. I think that it's the Superlube brand. Teflon grease is clearish colored, thick and very sticky. It is often used to lube up aftermarket suspension parts, i.e. polyurethane and delrin. Do you think this would work well on the window mechanisms? I'm thinking the SIL-GLYDE is a thinner, less sticky grease.
I confirmed today that my OEM grease is a yellowish brown (or light brown) color and very sticky. Probably similar to the Superlube in consistency.
I confirmed today that my OEM grease is a yellowish brown (or light brown) color and very sticky. Probably similar to the Superlube in consistency.
Thread Starter
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From: Montgomery (Lake Conroe,) TX north of Houston
You don't want to do that. If you use different greases, they will gum up. The Sil-Glyde is what came on the car. Adding this will help the situation and won't cause problems. GM does use superlube but I recall that's for the door hinges. (You can check the factory service manual for details.)
Doorman has been hit-or-miss over the years along with other parts suppliers. They move around to different manufacturers and (as you noticed) different origins. The quality changes with every batch.
The "motor" you purchased was probably just fine. The behavior you saw was a bad thermal cutoff switch inside the casing. (Again, this is a common thing.)
As we have proven over and over (over the years), the direct wire kits are snake oil. They only make bad motor assemblies look a little better for a short time. A good motor on a stock circuit on a properly adjusted and lubricated door is just fine.
You don't want to do that. If you use different greases, they will gum up. The Sil-Glyde is what came on the car. Adding this will help the situation and won't cause problems. GM does use superlube but I recall that's for the door hinges. (You can check the factory service manual for details.)
Last edited by wannafbody; Dec 14, 2024 at 10:50 PM.
Thread Starter
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From: Montgomery (Lake Conroe,) TX north of Houston
I took a good look inside the door when I was removing the Korean motor and installing the Vietnam motor. All of the OEM grease looked decent, not dirty and nasty. It is a yellowish brown color and defintiley not clear or clearish. I'm the original owner of the car so I know I'm the first one to be inside this door. It's possible that the grease has changed colors over the decades.
I guess cleaning the rails and installing fresh grease would be the best thing. However, it seems like it would be pretty difficult to get in there to clean all the old, sticky grease off of all the window mechanisms.
I guess cleaning the rails and installing fresh grease would be the best thing. However, it seems like it would be pretty difficult to get in there to clean all the old, sticky grease off of all the window mechanisms.
Call it snake oil all you want - and yeah the stock thermal switch is crap design I won't disagree - but where has that been proven? I personally (and the OP of this thread, and many others) have seen it work. So I'd like to see the proof of it being useless.
I'm not trying to be argumentative just to argue. I just want to see it, since it flies in the face of what I've personally seen.
Either way, if I ever do figure out a way to upgrade my window switches to something more modern in appearance, I'll need something like the autotrix kits even if for no other reason than the modern switches can't handle the load directly.
Last edited by SparkyJJO; Dec 16, 2024 at 07:24 AM.
Thread Starter
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From: Montgomery (Lake Conroe,) TX north of Houston
As I stated in post #17, "My one experience with AutoTrix on my passenger side has also been amazing. Still working well after 8 or 9 years." I'm still running the original, OEM window motor on the passenger side and this modification still works so well it's af if it is a modern, 2024 car window. The new Vietnam motor that I installed in the driver side window works well but it doesn't work near as well as the passenger side. I have to admit, I like the snake oil! In fact, if the slower operation of my driver's side starts to bug me, I'm going to snake oil the driver's side as well.
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Just wanted to say Thank You to all the guys who contributed to the discussion itt. The threads are GOLD when we come across problems years from now and go searching. Thanks for taking the time to go back and forth and type it all out!
I hate social media and what it’s done to car forums, you guys are keeping them alive in thread at a time!
I hate social media and what it’s done to car forums, you guys are keeping them alive in thread at a time!
Either way, the direct wire kits don't "fix" anything. The motors will eventually go bad. Given the benefit of doubt, if the kits do anything, they would only prolong the inevitable failure of the motor/thermal switch by boosting voltage by a very nominal amount. (This can be measured, and we have done it in the past.)
Before preaching the AutoTrix gospel, I think its important to share the facts transparently. The AutoTrix costs $255 + fees with no warranty. New motors cost $90 + fees with a lifetime warranty and can be swapped out in 15 minutes once one has done the shbox mod. If one is going to keep the car for a long time, the latter option is a lifetime of no additional cost and minimal risk for effort. The former is a more expensive one-time shot that comes with a pat on the back and a prayer.
I took a good look inside the door when I was removing the Korean motor and installing the Vietnam motor. All of the OEM grease looked decent, not dirty and nasty. It is a yellowish brown color and defintiley not clear or clearish. I'm the original owner of the car so I know I'm the first one to be inside this door. It's possible that the grease has changed colors over the decades.
Moving to a different type of grease would involve cleaning the tracks completely, along with the rollers. The latter is impossible without breaking them. So, you'd either end up with a 95% job or a disaster if attempting a change.
But, how do you know the good results are due to the extra money spent on the kit or because the motor installed is just good? (Particularly when AutoTrix sends new motors with their "fix" package?) I haven't yet seen evidence that this kit has resurrected a junk motor from the deak.
Either way, the direct wire kits don't "fix" anything. The motors will eventually go bad. Given the benefit of doubt, if the kits do anything, they would only prolong the inevitable failure of the motor/thermal switch by boosting voltage by a very nominal amount. (This can be measured, and we have done it in the past.)
The AutoTrix costs $255 + fees with no warranty. New motors cost $90 + fees with a lifetime warranty and can be swapped out in 15 minutes once one has done the shbox mod. If one is going to keep the car for a long time, the latter option is a lifetime of no additional cost and minimal risk for effort. The former is a more expensive one-time shot that comes with a pat on the back and a prayer.
I never spent near that much on the passenger Autotrix fix. It was something like 20-25 bucks. $250+ would be a total ripoff for some wire and a couple of relays. Thread Starter
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I'm going to purchase a big tube of SIL-GLYDE so I can lubricate the window mechanisms with fresh grease the next time I'm inside the door.
Like SparkyJJO, when I installed my passenger side AutoTrix wiring kit, I DID NOT replace the window motor. My passenger side window motor is the original, factory motor. It was the AutoTrix wiring kit that made the super slow, original, OEM motor act as if it were something out of a brand new car. Here is a link to the AutoTrix kit: $36.99 as of 12/17/2024. Worth every penny!
Like SparkyJJO, when I installed my passenger side AutoTrix wiring kit, I DID NOT replace the window motor. My passenger side window motor is the original, factory motor. It was the AutoTrix wiring kit that made the super slow, original, OEM motor act as if it were something out of a brand new car. Here is a link to the AutoTrix kit: $36.99 as of 12/17/2024. Worth every penny!
Last edited by wssix99; Dec 17, 2024 at 05:31 PM. Reason: non-sponsor link removed
Thread Starter
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From: Montgomery (Lake Conroe,) TX north of Houston
I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the price ($37) really hadn't gone up all that much in all of these years.
