How to Replace Window Regulator 2004-08 Chevy Malibu

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In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the front window regulator on this 2006 Chevy Malibu. We'll show you the driver side. The passenger side is the same process. Same for most 2004 to 2008 Malibus. Tools you'll need are flat blade screwdriver, a T25 Torx driver, door panel clip tool or putty knife, a hammer and punch, a high speed drill and a quarter inch drill bit, a 10mm socket with a ratchet and extension and either a stubby sheet metal bolt or a rivet and rivet gun to refasten the inside door handle.

First, you're going to remove a little panel right here. Then, in behind, are the two T25 torx screws. We'll just speed it up as we remove those two screws. Next you'll want to remove your plate around your door handle; pry down and out here and up in this corner you want to try and push your . I'm working my fingers in behind here and then pushing my door handle up, up here and then up here. You can see there's a little tab here, here, here and here. Then press on the little tab right here to disconnect your lock switch.

For your power window switch, carefully go right up underneath the front here, pull up on that. Push in there and try and kind of pry on the switch a little this way. Pull it up to the front. Then there's, on these switches, a tab in behind here. Release that. There's a tab here. Squeeze and release. Then on here, the tab right there, it's usually easier just to push it with a screwdriver. Pull it off.

On the back of the door there's a little fastener. There are actually two of them. I'm missing one on this car. You just push the center right in through and then you can pry them out. Now around the perimeter, there's a series of pins. Door panel clip tool is the right tool. You could also use a household putty knife. You basically put it in and pry out on the panel. Work your way around. Pop the pins free.

That that just fell out is a little clip that goes, actually, on your power window switch. Push it back in like that. Now you're going to come up here to this triangle speaker. Pry out from the top and pull it up and out. Now your door panel should come up. You still have to reach down in now and disconnect your trunk lock.

You want to carefully pull away your water shield and insulation to expose the inner door. You'll need to use a punch and a hammer and knock out the middle of this rivet right here that holds the door handle. So, I was unsuccessful at getting the center of that rivet out, so what I'm going to have to use is a blunt-nosed, quarter inch drill bit and drill that out carefully. Obviously, here, I'm using the high speed drill to drill out the center of that rivet and then you'll see me use a screwdriver. Once I drill a certain way you can start to see the rivet start coming apart, then use a screwdriver to pry in behind the handle first and then pry on the rivet itself, and break it, so you can take it apart.

Once you get the rivet loosened up, then just slide the handle forward. You can undo this clip here, pull that rod out, and in behind it you can see that your rod is just bent. Just take the handle like that and take the handle off. You're also going to want to use your hammer and punch and just kind of try and tap this a little bit from the top and bottom, loosen it up. Push it through.

When the window's all the way up there's a few bolts to look for. That one way back in there is the bolt that holds the window to the regulator. That's one of the bolts that holds the regulator to the door. Then up front a little more, again, that one there holds the regulator to the window and that one holds the regulator to the door. There's another one here that holds the regulator to the door: one down here and one down here. So here with the window a little bit down, you can see here's those bolts that hold the regulator to the window down further and then one right here. What happens a lot . this regulator has a cable. You can see the cable right here. A lot of times this cable breaks and then you can actually just grab hold of your window and bring it up and down and hold it wherever you want, but what we're going to do is loosen these two bolts first. You're going to want a 10mm socket and extension and a ratchet. Right here is the first one. Loosen these up. I've got some painter's tape up here and all you do is grab the window, slide it up by hand, and just hold it in place with the tape.

Now, remove your two bottom bolts here. I'll fast forward as I remove those two bottom bolts, then the middle one on the motor bracket and then just loosen up the top bolts a couple of turns. Take this rail, move it over, and then right here is your lead. Press on a tab and push it out. Then lift up and out on this rail. You need to make sure you get your window all the way up. If you have too much trouble, then the easiest thing to do sometimes is just to remove these bolts totally. Now just take the regulator right out.

Installing the new regulator is the reverse of the procedure. I'm going to kind of speed through it a little bit. Just put the regulator into your door, the rail without the motor on it first. The wiring and stuff kind of makes it a little bit of a pain, but once you get it in there then you want to make sure you get it into place. You want to get the bolt right up into the slot. You feed it up over the slot and then slide it down in and basically hang the rear rail or the front rail first. Then repeat that. Take that bolt, get it into the slot, and hang it up so it's in place. Now I've just got the regulator hanging here. That bolts in place and this bolt is in place. Plug in your lead and then start your other three mounting bolts, the two lower ones and the one for the motor bracket.Then tighten those up. You want to tighten them nice and firm, no need to over-tighten them. Then tighten the top ones up as well.

Take your tape off. Slowly let the window slide down and you want to kind of keep it pushed back towards the back. It should slide pretty much right into place. Make sure it's in the clips here. Now tighten these up. Fast forward here again. Tighten up both of those clamps. Then you can hook up your switch, and turn your key on and do a little test. Run the window up and down a couple times and make sure everything works good.

To reinstall the handle, you want to put the rod through the bottom. Put it down so now it's right on there like that. Take your handle, make sure it's forward, make sure there's no wires back there, slide it back into the door, and push that in there. If you have a rivet and a rivet gun, that's fine, or you can use a stubby sheet metal bolt to hold it in place. Use a ratchet. This needs to be in there firm. It's just going to hold it in place, really.

Now, carefully put your water shield back on. Make sure you feed both harnesses through and then just kind of use some of the holes in the doors and the water shield to line it up and make sure it goes on there well. To reinstall the door panel is pretty easy. Make sure you plug in our trunk button. Lift this channel up, kind of out of the way. Make sure all your connectors come up through here. Lift it up into place. Lift it up over and make sure the lock button goes through here. Here it is. Push it on, on the shelf there. Make sure the pins go in. The little pins in the back, you want to push them back through so they're popped out. Push them in and flush to lock. Put in your two screws here. Again, speed it up here as we put in those two T25 Torx screws. For this, you just sort of look down in and make sure your wire is kind of towards the back. Push it down in and on. This little piece goes there. Make sure that you plug your power lock back in. Push that back on. Then plug in your mirror and your car window harnesses. Make sure, when you put this back in, you slide the back down in first and then clip the sides and top on.


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