Missing or wrong bolts

[jalexquijano]

Yesterday the window of my driver door in my 240z got shifted due to slamming the door to hard. I had to remove the window crank and panel and discovered that some bolts were missing. The original window regulator works fine but some bolts should be replaced. Are they available? Who sells the hardware?

[Mark Maras]

Are any of the missing bolts laying in the bottom of the door?

[zKars]

I see one missing M6 nut and flat washer on a short stud sticking out (first pic), but everything is as it should be. That's all you're missing.

Edited March 24, 2019 by zKars

[Namerow]

There is something seriously odd going on with that 'short stud'.  A butcher-mechanic has been at work here.  The threads are mangled and it looks some kind of additional fastener has been added above it.   Also, if you look closely, you can also see that the slotted hole in the door panel has been elongated at the bottom to create additional adjustment room.  Strictly speaking, this shouldn't have been necessary, but who knows what was going on in the mind of the person who decided this was the right thing to do.. 

The stud in question is one of two used to secure the the rear 'guide channel' to the inner door panel.  The locating holes for this guide channel have some adjustment because the vertical position of the channel determines the max. height that the rear of the window achieves when it`s raised within its sash (chrome window frame).  Here's what the rear guide channels look like (note: the rear guide channels are the short ones at the bottom of the photo.  The long ones at the top of the photo are the front guide channels):

 

The fasteners look like this (please excuse the rust):

The nuts are 'serrated shoulder' design that (theoretically) provides high 'bite' at low torque.  Difficult, but not impossible, to source.  Any competent metric fastener supply house will stock these (try Bel-Metric, located in Massachussets).  Not a big deal, though.  An ordinary M6 nut with some Loc-Tite (anaerobic thread-locking fluid, available at hardware stores and auto supply stores) applied will work just fine.  Note that the M6 washers have an oversized outside diameter (these are sold as 'fender washers' in auto supply stores.  Like the serrated shoulder nuts, these are 'nice to have' but not 'need to have'.

The elongated locating holes in the door panel also allow some adjustment to the angle of the guide channel relative to horizontal.  After getting the window rise set properly, you may need to play with the angle of the guide channel to achieve smooth action for the regulator assembly as the window glass is raised and lowered.

I agree with Zkars that no other fasteners appear to be missing.  However, I am concerned by the fact that someone has mangled the locating stud and performed 'modifications' on the fastener and the locating slot.  It suggests that bigger issues may be lurking out of sight inside your door (bent regulator arm?) and these may have contributed to the window 'shifting' when you slammed the door.  Just how hard did you slam the door?  Unless you were mad at the car, I expect that you didn't slam it that hard, so perhaps the problem was already there and just waiting for the appropriate time to surface.  Was the window moving up and down smoothly before it 'shifted'?  If the action was stiff, then I think you may have regulator issues.

The late, great E. Scanlon posted an excellent write-up on this site that outlines the procedures for assembling and adjusting the window and regulator assemblies.  I believe you can find it in the new 'Knowledge Base' section.  Or maybe someone else can post a link.

[jalexquijano]

Thanks so much. I will check

[jalexquijano]

Question: Should i spray some WD-40 on the springs and mechanism inside of the door. I read some people even use this product:

http://cyclo.com/cyclo_product/liqui-shield-2/

 

 

[Namerow]

WD-40 is, in my opinion, essentially useless as a lubricant.  It is designed with a very low viscosity so that it flows into holes and openings.  Unfortunately, it has minimal effectiveness as a long-term lubricant.  It is intended for what I would call, 'household' applications (i.e. good for house door hinges, not so good for automotive work).  There are better spray lubes conveniently available. 

However...

I am skeptical that you will be able to get the tip of the spray wand ('straw') to point in the direction needed to properly lubricate the regulator spring.  You are welcome to try, but I think you're just going to get spray lube everywhere but where you want it.  The regulator is best dealt with after it's been removed from the inside of the door.  The main items that need oil are centre pivot pin for the arms (just like a pair of scissors), the pivot shafts for the nylon roller wheels (the ones located at the ends of the regulator arms), and the centre pivot pin for the hand-crank gear.

Everything else should be greased (not oiled).  Use synthetic grease, not mineral-based.  Grease goes on all of the gears.  It also goes in the front and rear guide channels.  

For the big coil spring, I would use spray-on lithium grease (available at hardware or automotive parts stores).

The only way to properly apply grease and oil is to take the door apart.  THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHETHER YOU WANT TO ATTEMPT THIS.  Are you confident that you will be able to re-assemble the parts successfully?  Are you really sure that the parts desperately need lubrication?  IF YOU FIND YOU ARE UNABLE TO PUT THE DOOR BACK TOGETHER, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR.  Don't make this discovery after you've taken the door apart.

Disassembling and re-assembling the door is not rocket science.  However, it takes care, patience, and attention to detail.  If you lack these, don't try it.

In my experience, it's the guide channels that are most likely to have lubrication issues.  The original grease tends to turn to hardened crud over the years. 

In general, I think that lubricating the front guide channel is the item that will give you the greatest results.  You can probably get some spray lithium grease into that channel using a long (12" or longer) flexible spray wand.  Lower the window all the way.  Look down the front of the window slot.  After you're sure that you have identified the top of the front guide channel, you will have a target for the spray grease.  DON'T OVER-DO IT!.  Some of the overspray is going to go on the window glass and that will muck up the felt window channel guides.

You cannot grease the rear guide channels without taking the door apart.

Other members may have additional or better suggestions.  Wait a couple of days before you decide what you want to do.

[jalexquijano]

Ok. Thanks