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Graham,
Had the same set of problems and fixed them. Here's what I know:
I bought my 85GLE, and the drivers rear window did not work. The motor did work. I noticed that the window was not actually shut all the way (it appeared to be, but I got the seat wet when washing the car), and when I was fiddling with it, the window dropped. I had to wedge it back in the weatherstripping as it was when I got the car to shut it again.
A few days later, I got around to investigating the problem. I was able to remove the mechanism without the window by unclipping the two clips that connect the track to the lifting mech. There were three (I think) bolts that mount the track to the doorframe. I removed these, and removed the mechanism from the bottom of the door. I had to cut the wires from the motor to get it out (I am sure there is a more correct way, I was just hurrying, and didn't find the way, and I don't mind soldering).
I collected the broken peices of the lift mechanism. It was broken at 2 of the 3 mounting sites (it may have been 3 of the 4 if there are 4... only one of the bolts was still intact). I cleaned the pieces well with Bleach White white wall cleaner, and washed well with water. I then used the long-set JB weld to attach the pieces again. I used copious amounts of cement on the backs of the mount areas. I used too much, and had to use a hack-saw blade to free up the scissor mechanism when I was done. It fit between the gear and lift plates, and I just worked it throught the epoxy until I was unstuck. I allowed the epoxy to cure for 15 hours or so...
I then reassembled and resoldered the mechanism. Hooked it all up, rolled the window up and down a few times... AND THEN I FOUND OUT what caused the problem with the mechanism breaking in the first place. I noticed that the window, althouth up all the way, was still under considerable stress with the motor if forced (as in continuing to press the button after the window was up).
This irritated me, so I took the assembly back apart. This time I left the assembly in the frame and removed the window. This is done by first removing the window from the lift assembly (just unclip the clips) and removing the track on the hinge side of the window. Once the track is removed, the window will come out the top of the frame. The problem was that the bottom of the window was separated from the window channel by about 3/4". The window adhesive rubber was still on the window, but the channel metal was a bit rusted, and the rubber had somehow been separated from the metal. I applied silicon window cement to the channel, then actually used a hammer to tap the channel back onto the window. It took a while because I was kind of nervous... but it all went back on.
I then reassembled everything and the window works fine, with no excessive pressure on the window when it is closed.
If I were doing it all over again (and I may need to sometime...) I would still try a repair. I would rivet some sheet-metal on the lift mechanism, and use JB to fabricate it back togather. Check the window from the access holes to see if the bottom of the channel is separated from the glass. Fix that before you do anything. Make sure that the felt glides on the track are intact and that the window is actuall IN the glides. Mine had come out of one of the glides some time before, as the glide exhibited creases where the window was not in the track.
Hope this is thorough enough. I did the repair 4 months ago, and tried to remember everything. Let me know if you need any more detail.
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