The passenger side window in my R56 has been slow to rise for a while now (ever since it sat unused for about four years - it was fine before that). I took the door panel off and found that some of the grease on the guide posts was dried up, so I cleaned it all off and added new white lithium grease. Nothing else was amiss. I put it all back together, and if anything it seems even slower now - a couple times since reassembly, it's stopped raising and gone back down mid-cycle. I've been able to get it closed by holding the button down, but it's definitely not an improvement over before.

Any suggestions? Maybe I've used the wrong sort if grease? Or the motor is just slowly going back and will eventually fail completely? Any suggestions appreciated.

 

This^ tells you that the motor is likely fine and that the window glass is still binding in the channels, triggering the anti-pinch safety feature. Silicone spray would be a much better lubricant choice.

Do you have a Bentley manual?

 

Thanks for the advice. I tried to go with a grease similar to what was on there, but I'll give the spray a shot. And no, I wasn't familiar with the Bentley guides. I have an old Chilton guide, but it's not very detailed on questions like this.

 

If possible, remove as much of the old grease as possible (the silicone spray may help do this) and then completely replace with silicone lubricant.

If you want to DIY repair your Mini, I recommend that you buy a Bentley manual, which is not perfect but is superior to the alternative of flying blindly. For example, the images below show the section on adjusting the glass position.

 

Very cool - thanks for sharing! I'll definitely pick one of these up. I've had a lot of luck finding YouTube videos for the larger jobs, like the clutch replacement, but less on smaller jobs - looks like this would be very useful.

 

Yep, hit with spray/ silicone and check the pulleys on the regular, they mike to bind.

 

Huh...nope, still no change. I completely cleaned away the lithium grease and applied the silicon spray grease to the tracks and the pillows - still no change from the original behavior. I tried applying some dry lubricant to the inside of the weatherstripping, and opening the door, in case the issue was the window being out of alignment and rubbing excessively on the upper weather stripping, to no effect.

It sounds like the motor is struggling, bogging down as I raise the window. Maybe it's a bad pulley?

 

Did you inspect the rubber channels for signs of dry rot, cracking, or tearing? Post some pictures.

 

Rubber channels? Do you mean the strips at the top of the door that the window runs between? Those are fine, no dry rot.

 

Here's a photo of the inside of the door - nothing notable. I suspect I'll just have to replace the regulator eventually.

 

I do question the efficacy of this spray lubricant, though - it looks like it all runs off, leaving the tracks dry. Is this the stuff you meant?





ETA: I did the research myself. 🙂

 

The silicone may look dry, but it leaves a slippery surface where the glass contacts the upper weatherstrip.

Can you run the power window with the door panel off to observe the moving cables, gears, and window glass? Maybe this would reveal the problem? If possible, post a video.

 

I was in the process of putting it back together again when you sent this. I was able to run the window with the panel off, and nothing looked out of the ordinary. While running it back and forth, I sprayed the lube on the cables, made sure they were thoroughly coated. It actually seemed to be running a little more smoothly after that, but now that it's back together it's even worse than before - I haven't been able to get the window to run all the way to the top.

ETA: It is rolling all the way up now, at about the same speed as when I pulled it apart the first time, so I guess I'm going to call that a win. It won't go up with a single touch now - I have to hold the button - but at least it's mostly working. I guess it'll just fail eventually, and I'll have to replace some parts, but it's ok for now.

 

Without the door panel installed, did the glass roll up and down perfectly or were there still problems? If all was good, then I would think that the issue is a misaligned glass or an issue with the upper weatherstrip. What else could it be?

 

I guess the one thing I haven't done is put the glass back on with the panel out. I don't know how the glass would spontaneously go out of alignment when the car is off the road for years, though, and the weatherstrip seems fine. As long as I've gone this far, I guess I'll do that tomorrow.

 

Watching the glass roll up and down without the panel installed but with the glass installed may be the key to identifying the problem. Also inspect the inner side of the removed door panel for marks that may indicate rubbing and binding on a moving part of regulator (cable, pulley, etc.).