Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser Rear Door Window Regulator Repair

When I purchased my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser, I knew there were issues with the power windows. Except for the drivers door, all the windows rolled up and down, not perfect but they worked. Then one rainey day last Fall, I rolled down the rear door window and pop, the window would not roll up any more. Luckily, I wasn’t too far from home.

As a temporary fix, I wedged a door shim between the glass and door panel. There it stayed until I had a dry day to diagnose and fix the problem. Here are the steps I took to disassemble, diagnose and repair the problem.

After reading a few threads on ih8mud.com and with my factory service manual in hand, I was ready to tackle the problem.

Disassembly of 80-series Land Cruiser Rear Door

	Remove Door Inside Handle Bezel. Remove the screw and pull the inside handle bezel.
	Remove Speaker Cover Insert a screwdriver (with the tip taped) between the door trim and the speaker cover to pry out and remove (don’t laugh at my blown speaker and missing cover).
	Remove Armrest Insert your screwdriver between the armrest and the armrest panel base to pry out and remove.
	Remove Armrest Panel Base Upper Remove the ash tray. Insert your screwdriver between the armrest panel base and the armrest panel base upper to pry out. Slide the armrest panel base upper forward to remove it, then disconnect the connector.
	Remove Door Trim Remove three screws from the inner door panel.
	Insert a screwdriver (or trim tool) between the trim and the door panel to pry out the carefully clips (11 total clips), and the trim by pulling it upward.
	Very carefully, remove the plastic vapor barrier and inner weatherstip from the door.
	Remove Door Inside Handle Remove two bolts.
	Disconnect two links from the inside handle.
	Once I was able to access the interior of the door, I found that the glass channel bracket had separated from the window reguator and was laying in the bottom of the door. I reattached the window channel to the glass by tapping it on with a mallet. I then lubed the regulator gear and pulley. I then crimped the end of the window channel so it doesn’t fall off again.
	Clean or Replace Door Glass Run While I had everything apart, I removed the glass run from the door. With the window in it’s lowest position, you simply pry and then remove the channel. My was quite crusty inside the track which was probably the reason for poor performance. I cleaned it as best as I could and then replaced. (After assembly, it worked better than before, but not so good in cold weather. I need to replace all the window channels.)

To reassemble the door, just reverse the directions listed above.

Since the repair last Fall, the window has never failed to go up or down. It can be a little slow at times, especially during cold weather. During warmer weather, it works fine. I eventually have to replace all the window channels (just hasn’t been the highest priority yet) so I can easily roll down the windows in the winter.