DIY: BMW E46 Coupe window regulator fix

As suggested in the 'Today I did something to my car thread', I wanted to start a new thread in here to detail how I replaced my E46 coupe's window regulator, so here goes.

Right, starting off, I was pulling up to a carpark and letting the window down when I heard an almighty bang. It was so loud I didn't know if the glass had actually broken itself at first. So once I saw that the glass was ok, I could pull it up by hand indicating that the regulator had busted.

Having looked at a number of the Irish online suppliers, they had plenty of regulators for the E46 saloon, but none for the coupe. I found one here from a place in Belfast for £70 delivered.

The first pic shows the 5 screw points to get the door off. You'll notice the sun visor window suckers at the bottom of the glass. These worked well in keeping it in place for the last few weeks. After the five screws are out, I pulled it from the bottom and worked my way around. Be careful pulling it off, as the handle cable will be the shortest connection and it will be the first to remove.


The DIY guides mention disconnecting the speaker cables from the door, but I could not get at them without removing the whole panel which looked like an extra amount of hassle, so I just let it sit on the side. It didn't cause any problems.


This shows the moisture barrier that has to be removed next. I had to take off the airbag while pealing the barrier off, then screw it back up when done. I had been warned not to disconnect it, as to do so would have put the airbag light on the dash, then needing a reset.


With the barrier off, it shows the guts of the door. First point is the three screws for the motor, then we have to put the window in the right spot to loosen the mounts on the glass, they work on the basis of clockwise to loosen. The inner one was grand, but the outer one was a PITA, as I wasn't aware that the glass actually has a hole in it, so totally different to the one on the inside. This took me a bit to figure out, and even longer to figure out when putting it back in, as a piece had fallen down into the corner and I wasn't even looking for it. Its essentially a bolt on the outside, going through the window, which has a plastic surround. I found out after that you can remove the outer door trim and have a look inside before you take it off, just so you can visualise it before it gets taken apart. After that, its the five screws for the regulator itself. A bit awkward to manoeuvre out, but nothing major.


And here is everything out.


Old and new. You can see the rust discolouration where it snapped.


So just a reverse of the above really, all back in and working. I didn't take a picture, but under each holder on the regulator, there is an adjuster to move the glass up and down to suit the final position when the window is closed. I just matched mine up with the old regulator, so the position was fine.


Its running fine going down, but sluggish going up, so I have to open it up again to modify, but the urgency of the situation has past, so I'll do it soon enough. Tools used were a ratchet set and some Torx screw drivers, a T20 and T30 if I recall.