2005 Forrester window regulator & motor

Vizzy

I posted earlier in the main Motors forum about a problem I have with my forresters drivers front regulator and motor.
Basically the regulator and (possibly the motor) are shot.
A new regulator is €220 +Vat+fitting and I can't find anyone who has one s/hand.
Question is will another regulator(e.g impreza) do the job ?

Nissan doctor

Vizzy wrote: »

I posted earlier in the main Motors forum about a problem I have with my forresters drivers front regulator and motor.
Basically the regulator and (possibly the motor) are shot.
A new regulator is €220 +Vat+fitting and I can't find anyone who has one s/hand.
Question is will another regulator(e.g impreza) do the job ?

Regulators are designed to match the shape of the door so ones from another car wouldn't fit.

Check a Subaru dealers in the north for a price.

anthony4335

Would suggest buying new, try online or a motor factors, and fitting yourself they are not that hard. Although it has been a few years since I replaced one

Vizzy

Ok lads,here is the update.
I managed to speak to an ex Subaru mechanic and he advised, that as Senna said above, this seems to be a bit of a problem with the Forrester.
He told me that it would almost certainly be the motor and not the regulator.(even if you can hear the motor running the gear system is probably shredded)
I gave up on the secondhand route and went and bought a new motor(€285 )
So this morning I set about it myself.
As it turned out it is a fairly easy job,but fiddly.
Key thing to remember is that you must take the window out(or at least disconnect it from the regulator assembly).
Then you just undo 4 bolts and 2 nuts and the whole regulator and motor can come out.Once out you just unscrew the motor from the regulator and replace.
Next bit of advice is to replace the four bolts first and then the nuts this is because the whole assembly is "skewed" off centre and needs a bit of jiggling to get to fit.
Once this is done you are on the home straight,you can now reconnect the window switch panel to get the regulator in to the down position and refit the window.
Motor does not even need to be reset to ensure the window will open and close the correct amount.
BTW I also took the old motor apart and it is full of water and rusted.
The whole job took me about an hour but that was because I didn't know what I was doing to start with.I reckon I could do it in half the time if I had to do it again.
The above is just a synopsis of how to do the job but if any one needs help you can PM me your number and I will walk you through the whole job and I have a few good diagrams and photos as well.
Thanks for the help earlier
Viz

Senna

Just to add more info, this is a very common forester problem. Water getting into the motor, i presume because of the pillar-less doors, will destroy the motor. The service history in my car show a new motor in 2009, i hope this was for the passenger door, otherwise that motor only lasted 2 years.

A new motor from Subaru is about €285.
A new full Subaru assembly (including motor) can be got on the internet, fully posted for €250, new motor on its own, about €160. Dont bother getting anything second-hand, it will have the same problems.

I have ordered mine and i intend to grease it to ensure water cant damage it again, i will report back on how it goes.

Vizzy

Senna,
you are bang on with your prognosis and your prices.
I was warned not to get a second hand motor as you will only be throwing your money away.
Having taken out the whole assembly and have now taken the actual motor apart it appears to be a very bad design as the motor "faces up" to meet all the incoming water.Also,I suspect that greasing the motor wont solve the problem as the water seems to get in to the "window turning" part of the motor and from there it flows in to the motor itself.
As I said previously if you want any help or tips on how to do the job give me a PM and I will only be too glad to help.

Vizzy

Sad to say but the motor I fitted in January has gone again.
There is a serious design flaw in these moters and are really a "fault waiting to happen".
This time I went on t'Internet and ordered one from the USA.
Delivered in less than a week,major saving on Irish prices.

Fitted it today in forty minutes