New window bushings!

[minigts]

Man, this made me feel so good to do this, just hope it holds ok. :D

I replaced the bushing in my driver's window tonight and hopefully it will work out ok for a while.

I ended up using an old alternator bracket bushing after getting new poly ones from Johnny. The old ones weren't in too bad of shape, so I experimented to see how well it would work.

The first try wasn't too good and only lasted a day, but I thought about what I did wrong. I was using an exacto knife and Dremmel attachment that will cut through things quickly. This backfired as I ended up mutilating the first one I did. So tonight I thought about it and how other bushings are made and VOILA! I came up with this.

The hole was a little small for the window guide post, so I got a Dremmel sander attachment thing and held it firmly and slowly cut into the lower part of the hole. I also took a cut-off wheel and dug a trench around the middle of the bushing allowing the bushing to sit IN the hole of the frame, which will keep it from moving when using the window repeatedly. Once I got going on it, it pretty much just too patience and time to get the hole to a point where the guide post would fit snug. A little gear grease and it worked like a champ. I'm going to focus on the passenger side one, but not any time soon as it works fine now.

I can do a full write up if anyone wants details.

[zin]

I can do a full write up if anyone wants details.

If this is a fix for L body window tip-itis, you bet! It would be wonderful to be able to roll up the Omni's window with ONE hand!:nod:

Mike

[minigts]

I think I can do that. ;) And yes zin, it is for L-body's. It may be the same for other vehicles as well, just don't have time invested in other models to know. If it's a Chryco product, I'm sure it will have similar application if not the same. I mean isn't that their motto?

Why build 100 half---- when we can mass produce THOUSANDS with even cheaper parts.

[minigts]

zin I have the write up, just need to get some pictures. I will more than likely create another one tonight for the passenger side and post pics later....hopefully later.

[black86glhs]

I like it!

[crazymadbastard]

Good job! just watch it you might piss Johnny off on encroaching on his biz. :p

[rich tideswell]

did you use a poly alt bushing or a rubber one?

[minigts]

No I used the factory ones. They actually are good because of the softness of the rubber.

[zin]

Good job! just watch it you might piss Johnny off on encroaching on his biz. :p

Heck! I say make one that works perfect and send it to him! He can make the things in better material and what's even better, all we'd have to do is install them!

Mike

[minigts]

Good job! just watch it you might piss Johnny off on encroaching on his biz. :p

Man he can have the design if he wants! I'm all for someone else doing it. I honestly wasn't sure if it would work, but with the problems I have with my driver's window, I had to do something.


Heck! I say make one that works perfect and send it to him! He can make the things in better material and what's even better, all we'd have to do is install them!

Mike

Exactly. I don't care to fabricate unless it's something neat and metal related. This was just to quick fix something, but hopefully it will hold good for a while.

[minigts]

Just for you zin. :D

Creating Bushings for the Window Tracks (L-body, possibly others)

The problem with the factory guides for the windows is that the bushings in the lower frame of the window track wear out and eventually don’t do the job they were supposed to do. There are two aspects of the window framework that guide the windows on the 2-door cars and I would imagine the same for the 4 door cars. One is at the very top and the other at the bottom, close to where the post is bolted to the door.

The top guide is made up of two hard plastic pieces that are riveted to the frame that the window bolts to. These parts usually are ok (at least for mine) and don’t truly need replacement unless they are either missing or cracked. I haven’t had to replace mine and may need to in the future. If so I will come up with a solution for those as well!  Even though my upper guide is fine, it still allows for side-to-side movement. The simple fix for this assuming the plastic is still good, is simply to squeeze the two pieces closer together. This will narrow the gap between the two pieces and make the gap width close to the diameter of the post. This can be done a number of ways, but just be careful when trying to squeeze the pieces.

The lower part is the piece that is the major concern. The plastic piece is either split in half from the factory or eventually will split AND wear down. With this piece still in the frame, it will keep the window from moving too much, but will still allow for some play. If it is totally worn down or gone, the window will have a LOT of play which can cause damage to weather-stripping or possibly other parts close to the window.

The solution I created for my car uses a rubber-type grommet that will fit inside the area where the original plastic sleeve was. The only thing I had lying around to use was an old set of alternator bracket bushings. Amazingly, these were great to use and required only a little modification. (little is all relative)

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/bushingside.jpg

Tools/Equipment Needed

Alternator bushing (1 is fine, but 2 is good to have for good measure)
Dremmel or Dremmel-like tool
Cut-off wheel bit
Carbide cutting bit
Sanding bit
Exacto Knife or sharp cutting utensil
Grease

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/supplies.jpg

Make sure your bushings aren’t totally shot and dry rotted. If they are, you will need to get ones that are in descent shape. First, cut the excess material off the bushing to make it a perfect cylinder. I used a nice cutting knife that has an extendable blade and simply let the contour of the bushing guide the blade to create a pretty smooth cut. Once this is done, take the exacto/cutting device and split the bushing into two pieces. I personally am a little picky, so when I cut mine in two, I tried to make it as even as I could. When that didn’t work, I trimmed the excess off. Now you have your core to work with. The bushing doesn’t need to be this tall/thick, but it will prove to be useful later.

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/trimbushing.jpg

The next step is to take the Dremmel with the cut-off wheel and slowly and carefully make a trench in the middle of the bushing around the circumference of it. This cut should be made around the entire side of the bushing as shown in the pictures. The purpose of this is to allow the bushing to have a seat, so when it is in the frame where it goes, it will not move up or down but stay where it needs to. This is the tedious part. The tolerance between the diameter of where the original bushing went and the diameter of the post that rides on the bushing is very low. I would gauge it at about 3/32” (between 1/8” and 1/4”, I think). But either way, it is very tight. So you don’t want to dig TOO deep of a trench. So as you do this, simply do a little, rotating the bushing as you do it to keep it as even as possible. Don’t worry, the Dremmel will do most of the turning/rotating of the busing for you. This will take some time, but it will help to ensure a more even depth. Keep doing this until you feel it is deep enough. I think the trench I made was just less than 1/4”, but not by much. Please note the dimensions for the trench depth and the tolerances mentioned above are irrespective of each other. The trench depth will determine how much rubber will seat once in the frame. The other will is in relation to the total thickness the rubber can be from the inner diameter and the trench. They work together, but are independent of in terms of cutting and measuring.

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/groove.jpg

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/groove2.jpg

Once this is done and you can fit the bushing into the hole, the next step is to open the inner diameter of the bushing to allow the post to fit properly. It will take a little force, but if the trench is cut deep enough it should fit. Now, you MAY have to cut some of the inner diameter down before you fit the bushing into the frame where it will go. The main thing is to now take the carbide cutting bit and EVENLY enlarge the inner diameter a bit. The easiest way to do this is to move the Dremmel in a circular motion OPPOSITE of the way the bit is turning. For my Dremmel, I moved mine clockwise while cutting. Do this enough and the hole should be a descent enough size to fit into the frame or if you are good enough, the post should fit the inner diameter of the hole. I would suggest making it just big enough for the sanding bit to fit in, which is the next step.

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/before.jpg

http://www.minigts.com/carparts/after.jpg

So now the hole is big enough to fit the sanding bit, but still too small for the post to fit. And more than likely after using the cutting bit, the hole is not perfect or even close to being what it should. So with the sanding bit, turn the Dremmel on and slowly start to fit it into the hole. If you go too fast it is possible it will either stop the sanding bit or cause it to move erratically. Continue to move the sanding bit into the hole until you have sanded the entire length of it. This will still not be big enough for the post to fit. You can gauge about how much extra you will need to remove by measuring the sanding bit against the post. Remove just a little here and there, testing to see if the post will fit every so often. What I found best to do with this part is to get the bushing into the frame which will keep it from moving, thereby making it easier to work on. By the time you get the inner diameter to where it should be with the sanding bit you will have a very good round hole. And if everything worked out well, there will still be an ample amount of rubber between the frame and the inner diameter of the bushing.

Last thing to do is apply some grease to the bushing, but mainly to the post. Do a few test movements along the post to ensure it will move smoothly. If not and you need to enlarge the inner diameter of the bushing, be sure to remove the grease from the bushing before beginning any more cutting. This will do a couple of things. Mainly it will keep grease from being thrown everywhere with the rotation of the sanding bit. It will also keep the bit clean and reduce the amount of greasy/rubber residue when cutting.

The rest of the pictures up top are the final product of the bushing in the window frame. Let me know if anyone has questions.

[zin]

VERY Nice!

I kinda figured it would go something like that, but I had it in my mind that I'd want to use Nylon or Teflon for the bushing. I was thinking that rubber would want to grab, but, duh, a little grease can do a long way.

So, the big question is: How close to "like new" do the fab'd bushings make rolling the windows up and down feel?

Mike

[minigts]

Well all I can say is, when the window is up there is very little movement. I mean, there will be some because of the upper guide, but the bottom is rock solid. The bushing at the bottom is a hair smaller in diameter than the post is, so that provides the stability and virtually zero tolerance. The grease helps to keep it from binding and in some ways I imagine keep the rubber from drying out. One thing I was thinking about though; it would probably be a good idea to enlarge the hole on the window frame where the bushing will go. I think that would allow for a little more cushion. Right now the gap between the post and the window frame is very small, under 1/4" for sure, maybe just over 1/8". If the hole on the frame is enlarged, it will all the bushing to have that much more thickness, so the gap between the post and the window frame isn't so close. I need to experiment with that, but a suggestion for anyone who will attempt to do something like this.

[minigts]

I hate to post this, but I am having issues. :( Everything seemed fine, but I think there is some tension against the bushing causing it to be pressed against the metal and thereby cutting it slowly. I tried to make another one, opening the hole up where the factory bushing goes and it was worse. Back to the board on this one. So the directions I will leave up, but I am not doing well with this. I should have done a test for a year and then posted. I think I'm going to cry.

[minigts]

Ok after my attempt at fabricating a bushing, I decided to go to Lowes and just get one out of the drawer!

Yes, I found one that is the correct perfect size with ZERO modifications to the assembly.

Part number is H#881262 and the size is 1 1/8"x23/32" (ID) It works like a champ and I've had it in for about 2 weeks so far with no problems.

Hopefully this will help some of you. :D

[zin]

Ok after my attempt at fabricating a bushing, I decided to go to Lowes and just get one out of the drawer!

Yes, I found one that is the correct perfect size with ZERO modifications to the assembly.

Part number is H#881262 and the size is 1 1/8"x23/32" (ID) It works like a champ and I've had it in for about 2 weeks so far with no problems.

Hopefully this will help some of you. :D

That's great news! Could you let us know what brand that part number goes to? I don't have a Lowe's near by and they might not have the same stuff....

Mike

[minigts]

The information I can provide is this:

Hillman
Rubber Grommets
1-1/8OD x 23/32ID
Lot# HO1548234
H# 881262
139378

That's what's on the package. I tried looking that up online, but no go. You may be able to find something if you combine the right information in the search.

[minigts]

http://www.hardwareandtools.com/invt/u835055

That's about as close as I can get to a picture. They carry Hillman, but I'm sure they can order from their catalog with the part numbers posted.

[badandy]

May I suggest you sticky this or put it in the knowledge center? As time goes on more and more restorations will take place. People will need to find this information quickly and easily. Might I suggest finding a link online for those that may not have a Lowe's nearby?

...you know, like that guy from West Virginia who apparently looks just like me (scary!):lol:

[ScottD]

Good write up!

Before replacing bushings though spray the assembly with silicone. I did this to my GLHS and the windows go up and down like new.

[minigts]

I used standard grease, but you are correct. Some type of lubricant should be used. Had I any lithium grease, I would have used that.

[ScottD]

I think I used Prestone silicone lubricant. I had spray lithium grease but that was a little sloppier so I tried the silicone first. Worked great and saved time.