I got a call the other day where one of my customers needed help with a repair on his Land Cruiser. He felt that he could tackle it since he had a factory service manual (FSM), but he was a little unsure about a few things, so he called me …
The window glass fell down in the bottom of one of the rear side doors on a 1994 FZJ80. What do I do to fix it?
Bektemir Any ideas on what could have happened?
1. The window glass could have come out of the channel.
2. The channel that holds the glass to the regulator could have disconnected from the regulator.
How do I fix it?
Remove the door panel (follow the FSM procedure).
– A few caveats
- Clips (check the FSM to see where the clips are)
- Make sure they are clips and not screws so you don’t break something.
- Clips are usually of the pressure type, and if the vehicle is older the plastic could be harder. It could take some prying to get them loose.
- Hidden screws
- There are probably a couple of hidden screws under the door grab handle.
- Sometimes screw heads are hidden by small access covers.
- Door handle cup/retainer
- The door handle may be connected to the door handle cup. If it isn’t connected permanently you’ll have to release it from the door handle with a small screwdriver.
- Door handle release rod
- The door handle release rod will need to be removed from the door handle using a pick to release the retainer clip. The retainer clip rotates in the door handle and will rotate off of the rod. Then the rod can be removed from the door handle. Sometimes it still takes a little pressure to remove the rod from the door handle.
Assess the situation
Once the door panel was off the customer found that the channel on the window had moved forward on the window which made it so that the regulator roller came out of the window channel and then the window fell down in the bottom of the door.
Make a plan for repair
Remove the window.
Reposition the channel on the bottom of the window.
Replace the window and get the regulator roller back in the channel.
Repair
The customer got the window back in, but was having trouble getting the regulator roller back in the channel.
A caveat …
- You may have to roll the window regulator up or down to get it to the right position so that the regulator roller will go back in the channel.
Verify that the repair was successful
Before completely reinstalling the door panel, make sure that the window will roll up and down smoothly and not reintroduce the issue.
Reassemble
Put the door panel back on completely. Don’t forget any screws or clips.
NOTE: You can download the instructions from the FSM through Toyota’s Technical Information System (TIS).