My son's 2004 quad dakota 3.7 drivers rear window is not working. Had a mechanic take a look while replacing tires. He said the track is broken. Said that track and motor are one piece that had to be replaced. He priced the part at $325 plus labor. I figured $400 plus tax. How difficult is it to replace? Should I stick with OEM or does anyone have a site to go to for this? My level of auto mechanics is tune ups, brakes, that sort of thing.

Thx

 

It's probably the regulator, not the window track that is broken. It is a fairly common problem on Dodges and is not hard to replace. If you can do brakes, you can do a window regulator with no problem. You can remove the door panel and moisture barrier and will probably see the broken regulator cable in the bottom of the door. Remove the two nuts holdiing the window to the top side of the regulator, slide it up by hand and duct tape it in place. Then there are 6 or 8 10mm bolts holding the regulator and motor assembly in place on the door panel. Remove those and collapse the assembly inside the door and pull it out through the large hole in the left side of the door cavity.

You may have a scissor-type regulator but the removal and installation process is pretty much the same. Dodge only sells the regulator and motor as an assembly. I have heard the price is around $125.00. Advance Auto Parts sells Dorman brand aftermarket regulators, but I have no idea what the quality or the cost is. You can try to find one in a junk yard but it is more reliable to use new parts from the dealer.

You can collapse the new regulator and insert it through the hole in the door cavity, then open it up and bolt it back in place on the door. Plug the motor and switch back in and run the regulator all the way down, slide the window back down and bolt it back in place. Reinstall the moisture barrier and door panel and check the operation of the window.

If you don't have a broken regulator, check the master window switch on the driver's door and the rear door. You can remove the switch and spray some electrical contact cleaner in it and on the wire connector and its contacts on the switch. Sometimes they get corroded and dirty and the window won't work. You can also have the ignition key on, and smack the flat area of the door panel with your hand, hard but not too hard. If the window works after that, the regulator/motor is definitely bad.

$325 for parts and $400 installed is way too much money to pay for this job. You can get your own parts a lot cheaper and fix the window in a couple of hours at home.

Jimmy

 

Sounds like a dealer price. I agree you can do this at home for under 200.00 easily. Its a pretty straight forward job.

 

I had the same problem, hope my fix helps. like everyone has said Dodge wants to sell the whole regulator. in my case it was only a broken plastic roller. but you can't get one. Chevy uses a replaceable plastic slide for about $10. If you have a decent mechanical savey you will see how to drill out the pin that holds the roller and bolt the chevy part in it's place. mine has been working about 4 yrs now with no problem. wish I could be more specific with chevy part # but it was a long time ago. the chevy part is kinda oval shaped looking from the top and "T" shaped from the side. but of course my Dodge was mad at me for a month for using chevy parts on it.

 

My '98 dakota just had the same thing happen. Mechanic took it apart and it was just the 2 rollers had broken. Of course you can't just get the rollers, it's a 1 piece everything assembly. Got the whole assembly including a new motor for 175.00.