Marlin

As said WD40 is not right. Its over marketed for what it is, bascilly a very thin mineral oil to keep water off (Water Displacement).

Pretty much any automotive grease should be fine as long as it does not stink up the car.
White lithium paste in the motor and the thin white lithium spray on the track is fine is fine.

Priya

The window regulators in my manual crank windows in my Eagle had gotten so stiff after 13 years of sitting I was afraid to try to crank them because they turned so hard I thought something was going to break. I removed the regulators and washed thoroughly with solvent and applied white lithium grease both from a tube and spray can. They worked very smoothly at first and the driver's side still does but the passenger side which just about never gets used has gotten noticeably stiffer 3 years after I did it.

One thing I've found is that regular use keeps windows operating smoothly (particularly power windows). I remember back in the 70's my father bitching about us kids using his power windows too much because he thought that would wear them out when experience with many old cars with power windows has shown me its the power windows that are used the least which give out first.

wcsinx

They don't even have to be that old. I had a '93 Dodge Stealth, and in '99 I was puttering down the road, went to put the passenger side glass down (which I rarely did), and something went *twang* then *thud* as the glass fell into the door.

Wife's 2004 GP GT ... about a year ago, it was hot as hell, middle of August, she rolls down all 4 windows and one of the rears (again, rarely used) decides it's not coming back up.

Nowadays, I've learned my lesson. Cycle all the windows at least once a week or more.

Priya

Best advice yet.

vette427-sbc

Just to update my post about using the WD40... My windows STILL operate better than new. Never intended the WD40 to keep things lubed, just to keep the tracks from rusting. Although there is still a light oily film on the tracks... I havent had door panels on the car for over a year now so the tracks and rollers are even more open to dust and dirt.
Different Strokes for different folks, this is what works for me.

Redbirdman

Hi people:
hope you dont mind but I thought I would bring this subject up again for two reasons.
First; I have been putting a lot of time into my newly aquired 81 '"work in progress" and the window regulator proves to be in need of replacement. (Large gear teeth worn down and slips in certain spots) .
so, since the door panels were off I took on the project of removing the rear track and the regulator. I doubt if it has been out in 38 years and hence, the tracks and rollers were set in old grease and Arizona/Texas dust that morphed into a tar-like glue. It took av gas and Gunk and lots of time to clean the tracks down.
I looked up the grease question here and see white lithium, spray or regular is suggested mostly. Some say WD 40 and others say nothing should be used.
I tend to shy away from WD40 as we have been taught in aviation that it is not a lubricant but a water resistor and it does dry off overtime. But instead Silicone is suggested for aviation use where dust could be encountered. But of course, they are not talking about window tracks but aviation landing gear.
and the second reason I bring this up is because the thread appears to be over 5 years old and maybe something new has come on the market.
i am undecided between a form of lithium or spray silicone,
but what do you all think?

Priya

I completed my Eagle in 2012. I had the window regulators and tracks out of the car, cleaned them in solvent and used a spray of light grease from an aerosol can. The driver's window gets enough use its no problem but since I rarely have a passenger the passenger window doesn't like to move if its not used after a few months. For me the main thing I've found with old cars is after you get them out and cleaned, make sure you use them regularly from full down to full up.

Redbirdman

Priya thanks, that is good advice!
At my age I cant help but think that goes for people too!

Tampa Jerry

After cleaning out dried white lithium grease from everything, I started using Mobil synthetic grease. It is red and does not dry out and does not have any smell. Also, it was great to see a post from Alan. Anyone heard from him? I sure do miss his posts. Jerry

mk's78

Ok my fellow C3'ers..
I've read all of the posts etc which in fact are most interesting and informative..

I have one silly maybe dumb ?....Is there any way to lube those parts without having to remove the doors??

mk's78

Tampa Jerry

Yes. Remove the door panel and water shield. You will be able to get at all of the parts once the panel is off. There is no reason to take the door off as you can, if needed, remove everything inside the door without removing it. Jerry

PainfullySlow

Since this was brought up again, this is what I use for anything that doesn't have specific lube requirements. Modern synthetics are SO much better than the older, petroleum based products. No 'sticking' with this the way lithium white grease does either.

frosty80

The inside of the door is going to be exposed to the elements to some degree especially moisture. White lithium grease does not take 20 years to dry out, especially in the elements, and it is not particularly water resistant. Im sure I did extensive researching whenever I rebuilt my tracks, I dont have the links but I found that marine grade grease was the way to go and my windows work flawlessly. There is no concern of the grease being too thick, there was some slight resistance when moving a roller through the tracks by hand right after greasing but the roller quickly pushes out the extra grease and leaves the right thickness/layer of grease providing perfect operation with zero drag on the electric motor. White lithium on my seat tracks is still great but the insides of doors are virtually open to the elements. I rebuilt my whole window track assembly completely removing them from car. The old grease had to be scrapped out and any car that has not had this done is wearing the rollers out much faster than needed. I lubed my tracks years before rebuilding them completely and getting all the old grease out and it definitely helps to lube the tracks if you are not going to do a rebuild soon, but nothing beats completely taking the window assemblies out and cleaning them the right way. Someone years ago in the thread suggested you can just lube the track without removing them but again, I suggest this is only a temporary solution because not only is the super dried out and thick old grease still in there but you cannot check the rollers or the window gear to see if they need servicing. When I rebuilt my window tracks I had to replace all 5 rollers on the drivers side and on the passengers side I replaced 3. If you have worn rollers it will be a nightmare adjusting the window and the window could still shift and you could chip a corner or worse, as me how I know.