Replace white regulator slider clips only or entire window regulator?
 

Hello all.

I came out to my auto X to find my rear driver side window down. First I thought I might have pressed my key and somehow got only one window to go down. Nope. The regulator clip is broken. I found small piece inside the door.

I have taped it up with some duct tape while I order some parts. The dealer only has the entire regulator and ebay has white clips.

Have any of you just replaced the white clips on rear? It is not much more for the entire regulator using furious method.com

Since I do not use the auto more than 1k -2k miles max, I really want to do what is easiest and fastest.

I have already taken off the door panel and removed the insulation panel thing.

Thanks.

I bought the white clips for the front but then chickened out. Replaced the whole thing. Wasn't that much work, and they don't need to be adjusted like some cars. No adjustment...

Anyway, happy to send you my white clips if you want, but they fit the front.

I replaced all the clips shortly after buying the car. I had a window fall down into the door and decided that was never going to happen again, especially since winter was just around the corner. You can get them from the dealer for a few bucks and they are easy to change.

Be careful about terminology here. "White Clips" are an aftermarket product that lets you fix (some) broken regulators. It replaces the sliding part of the regulator. It _will not_ work if your cables are damaged from jumping off the pulley, for example.

The small "black clips" are the dealer part that holds the window to the regulator and are about $1.25 from the dealer.

My dealer gave me white clips for the rear and black clips for the front. They looked identical aside from being different colors.

I see. I guess "white clip" isn't a good word choice then. How about "regulator repair clip" versus "window holding clip". The repair clip is aftermarket only - not available from dealers.

I've attached a picture of a set of front "regulator repair clip". You would still need the dealer "window holding clip" which I think is what you bought.

Yeah that is a good idea.

Here is the clip I am talking about and replaced all of. I found all to be cracked if not already broken. When they break the window will no longer be attached to the regulator.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...eL._SX300_.jpg

If your cables are good and haven't shredded from jumping off the pulley, theoretically you could be able to replace the white "regulator slider clips" pictured above the the 2 black "window clips" and be in great shape.

Thanks for all of the responses. I sure am glad this happened in the summer and not the winter. My garage is full of motorcycles and my 5 series so the 2 X's and my xi sit outside. Makes me want to tear all of the doors open and replace them all. Overkill I am sure.

I always replace window clips when I do the regulator clips. Your in there, they are cheap and they typically break.

If I buy the entire regulator it looks like it includes the regulator clips as part of the assembly. Did I miss something?

Here's a tip, in case it is not common knowledge ...
I replaced just the window clip on my right rear window of my '01 3.0i a week or so ago - did it without removing the regulator or window.

I had replaced the left front regulator when I first got the car (also replacing window clips, bushings, screws, vapor barrier, door panel clips, etc. while I was in there) and bought spares of the small parts, just in case. So that window is fine.

A couple of weeks ago my right rear window fell down inside the door (I was not there, so don't know details). I expected problems again with the regulator clip, but it was fine. Turns out it was just the window clip that was bad. So I used one of my new spares along with a new bushing and replaced it without even loosening any other screws. Took just a few minutes.

BTW, that right rear window had the regulator replaced at the PO's dealer about 100k miles earlier, with no other records of work on it. What I found in there was that the window clip was cracked and held together with electrical tape -i.e., it was kludged rather than just replaced by whomever was the last one in there. The regulator, motor, and door panel clips were all excellent (e.g., only one door panel clip cracked when removing the door panel = fresh).

No you did not miss something. The regulator clips are included as part of the regulator assembly, and come already attached to the regulator cables.

You'll need to disconnect the motor from the regulator and the window/window clips from the regulator clips when swapping in the new regulator.

The window clips (51-33-8-254-781 for my '01) do not come with the regulator, and are sold separately by BMW.
Some of the parts I bought for my fix:
07-14-7-154-229 hex bolt
51-33-8-242-760 bushing
51-41-8-224-768 door panel clip with foam washer
51-41-1-973-500 door panel clip
51-33-8-254-781 clip

^Correct. You will not get the new black window clips with a new regulator assembly (aftermarket or BMW), you will get the actual sliding "regulator clips" on a new regulator assembly.

I haven't done the rear window at all, but I think there is only one clip bolting the window on that, as opposed to 2 window clips up front.

I have the white slider clips pictured above, as well as new bushing/window clip/bolts and will get around to eventually doing the slider clips and black window clips preventatively.

A tip for any time you are taking off door panels, have a ton of those panel clips with integrated foam washer. There are 10-11 clips on each door and its real easy to miss the hole when aligning the panel back up and one bad smash and the clip is toast. I ended up busting 3 new clips when I replaced the interior black door handle (peeling) this weekend, good thing I had spares because the old ones were very brittle.

Don't know about X5, but in my 1998 528i, this is my experience...

- Installed the ebay white plastic clip (about $15 or so), it lasted 5 years.
- Then the pulley system (nothing to do with the white plastic lip) fell off. So, I bought brand-new BMW dealer regulator for $130. Problem solved.
If you ever buy a new regulator, stick to BMW, aftermarket parts are terrible at best.

Theoretically and based on cn90's advice, I probably would buy the white plastic clips on Ebay, put them on a NEW, BMW regulator, before installing. The extra $15 for the white plastic clips and the new BMW regulator should theoretically last a hell of a lot longer time than just putting a BMW regulator in, since the slider clips are usually the first pieces to break.

My cables are not torn up. They are of kind of all of the place and I think it is because part of the regulator clip broke. I just have to figure out how to get the cables back in place is all.

Well based off of everyones input I went and replaced the entire regulator with a Dorman from amazon for 48.00 shipped. Too bad I did not search the site a bit more since I could have got one with a motor for 5.00 more. Oh well. I am sure the old motor will last since I hardly use the auto.

I just could not figure out how to remove the regulator clips and reroute the cable back. That and the cable looked frayed in one section. I have the new one installed and it took me about two hours to do it. My clip that is inside the window is a little damaged and I will need to get a new one. So I temporarily used it and now the window is back to normal. Just need to put the door panel back on after I swap out a new window clip.

Thanks for all of the input again.

Good to hear, the Dorman I hear is a good quality unit compared to OE.

So I notice for the rear window clips there are two part numbers../
one part number is the same as the 2 per front door (4 in total for front doors).
has anyone replaced these rear window clips and or regulator slider clips?

There is only one slider clip and one window clip on the rear windows - that RegulatorFix site has the rear slider clips available as well- should be similar repair

There are (as far as I can tell) all plastic and metal + plastic versions of that clip on the internet. I suppose the metal backing makes it more rigid, but the failure point is still plastic.

Are there all-metal versions? It looks like the metal cable/cable ends maul the plastic over time. Or is that by design...eat a $15 pair of clips and not a 150 regulator?

ordered the 4 for front doors and the two for rear doors.
thanks for posting that website all over a bunch of threads Jay!!

No worries Mike - believe it or not I still have a pair waiting to go in my front doors as we speak - its on my summer "to do" list as I'd like to get the failure prone parts out before they fail - Trust me you will be pleased with the construction of the slider clips and for $15 a pair they are worth it IMO -

If you get this done before me I'll be looking forward to your impressions :)

RB, I plan on doing them in the next two weeks since the window clips need to be replaced ASAP so I'm just waiting on these slider clips and the black window clips. I hate having a part not working so I try to fix it YESTERDAY.

^I try to do the same but my time availability exceeds my maintenance goals nowadays LOL - you probably will complete it prior to me at this rate

Mine are a bit cracked but haven't failed yet. How easy are these to replace? Do they just "pop" off and back onto the slider somehow? And how do you disconnect the clip from the cable pull? Thanks.

If you go into cn90's window clip diy thread he posted a YouTube video showing how easy it is to replace the slider clip "in situ" - fairly easy you just pop the cable out of the clip and rotate it out of the track and snap the new clip on the track by lining up the piece on the cable that is secured in the clip

Thanks :thumbup:

But there are two of these slider clips and the one closest to the door hinge seems to be a bully of a time to get to while the regulator system is still installed :( I'll find out soon and report back.

If you're looking at the Armando Quintanilla video on YT you can see the one next to the door hinge is completely doable and plenty of space to replace the slider clip (it just rotates off the track) once the vapor barrier is out of the way

K, so i got the parts and did both my front door window clips and regulator sliders. What a PITA it was to remove the factory regulator clips. Mine were not broken in the area where the cable tie clips in so getting mine off were horribly hard. And getting the new one on was also a beast. Very tight area to work in.
My factory sliders were very worn and cracked in many places but none broken.
All parts replaced but it took me 4 hours to do both and cleaned everything up.
Windows do operate so much more accurate now and no twisting òf window as it goes up/down and no rattles period when door closed.
Pita but doable.

if my spelling sucks in this post its cause im typing on a tablet.

Very glad to hear Mike! I'm glad it helped, thats actually not too bad considering disassembly, doing both sides, and cleanup - Enjoy your working front windows now for many many years! I will try to get both my fronts accomplished soon, my maintenance regimen has been falling behind lately

Glad to hear you got it done. Did you end up removing the regulator, or did you swap the regulator clips (sliders, etc.) in situ?

I did all my windows (some repair, some pre-emptive repair), and removed the regulators for all 4. Replacing the rear-window regulator clips (one per window) was more difficult than the fronts, since they attach to the cable differently. Not really hard, actually, but harder than the front windows, and I can't imagine doing it in situ.

I did the regulator sliding clips with regulator assembly in situ yes. PAIN but I didnt want to bother with removing the regs if possible. Removing the speaker from door was a god sent tho. 3 screws... its the easiest thing TO remove from the door hahah.

I really was only doing this for preventative maintenance as well. I didnt have any problems as SUCH but I was hearing some creaking sounds from the glass/rolling up into closed position and figured it could be a broken clip somewhere. Nope, none were broken to be honest but the black window clips were definitely brittle (yet fully intact till I had to remove them from glass). The plastic/metal sliding clips too were starting to crack on the grey plastic parts yet nothing had fully broken and to be honest, getting my slider clips off the cable were a very difficult procedure. Makes me not fully understand how others have had this exact area on their sliders break so easily.

I have the window clips and regulator sliders for rear doors but will tackle them some other time. not looking forward to another battle so soon

Update on my end as I just completed this on my drivers door:

Definitely do it if your regulators are original and you don't have ridiculously large or fat hands. I have decently small hands and besides a few cuts, only took me about 20 mins to replace the clips (black window, and white "RegulatorFix" clips) once the vapor barrier was off.

I have another door carrier to do on the other side and will do both regulator clips and window clips on that one at the same time.

The rear windows are hardly ever used to be honest, so I probably won't have to address them for some time.

I think the most wear on the clips is slamming the door with the windows down or rolled halfway down.

My drivers door window rolls up/down much quicker now, and no rattles, or looseness from the glass at all. Very much recommended for the $15 per side you can repair this for, and a couple hours to take the door panel and vapor barrier off and take your time.

Where to Buy Regulator Fix clips?
 

So I very much appreciate reading these threads! I know where to get the black regulator clips, but haven't yet found a source for the white "slider"clips.

I know they are on Ebay, but all from Germany or Lithuania or such. Prefer to find a stateside seller, would like to get them a bit sooner. Can anyone suggest?

Front drivers door window is rattling. Figure I better get in there!

Hi guys,

2006 X5 6spMT 125K miles.
So far so good, can't complain but...the driver's glass is making noise when going down and up (the noise the cables make when going through the pulleys), so I know the WR is going south soon.

QUESTION re BRAND. What is everyone using (ebay, Dorman vs BMW OEM) and your experience? BMW PN 51338254911 is for driver's side.

For $110, BMW is not a bad choice at all.

My dealer treats me pretty good on pricing so for something like the WR and amount of time and effort to replace it, I would go with the Genuine BMW part.

Where do you see the BMW one for $110?

Yesterday, I saw it on eeuroparts.com for $110.
I didn't bother, today I checked again, it is now back to $200 range!
Will keep looking for inexpensive OEM part.

PS: I just saw:
- VDO (but made in Taiwan) for $90-$100.
- Vaico (where is it made?) for $60.

I need to see if the place I get the e39 regulars carries ones for the X5.

They are $25. I just stock up on them to have them on hand at that price.

The only drawback is the clip that holds the cable to the regular breaks on them. I found jbweld solves that permanently.

Yep he does have them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Window-Regu...item4b17d7c49b

$24.16 with free shipping.

Love these things.

Amazing. Makes you wonder ... if that guy can sell something for $24 (regardless of how good or bad it may be), why is it that the BMW ones for 10x the price are so bad?

And when I say bad, I'm not comparing them to other options we have for our x5's, I'm comparing them to other cars on the road, like Hyundais, Yugos, Dodges, etc. Even FIAT's. In all my years of owning and fixing cars for my family, I've never had a single problem with a window regulator, until this. Not even my FIAT Spider, back in the day. It's not like BMW is the only car company making windows that go up and down. Everyone else has been doing it too, for a long time with no problems.

It boggles the mind how anyone thought this was a good idea. I prefer metal plates with teeth cut into them for window regulators. Last forever. All you have to do is replace the motor eventually.

On the regulators for bmw none are worth flip since the design sucks so bad. So my logic is buy cheap and buy many.

Its not IF its going to fail it WHEN is it going to fail.

Since stocking them I never worry about it. Also I haven't had one of these cheap ones fail completely. Just the little plastic clip/pocket the cable sits in where it has the lug crimped on it.

Glued with jbweld I have never had one fail since. From now on if I go to install one of these I will jbweld it before I even put it in.

In the rare event I have the actual regulator fail (not just the clips)... I buy a used OEM regulator, swap my motor onto it, install new aftermarket sliders and retainer clips onto it, and then do the zip tie mod that takes all the strain off that stupid little plastic tab that holds the cable in the slider. Haven't had a modified one fail on me. Yet anyway.

Most of the system is robust but a few key things sabotage the whole window lift.

Vaico brand, anyone?

ECSTuning has a Vaico for $60:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-vaico-pa...338254911~vai/

My ¢¢ (Two cents):

I thought I was having a window regulator problem since my driver window was 30-40% slower than passenger.

I sprayed some dry Teflon lube in the tracks above the door and in 20 seconds my driver window is as fast as my passenger window.

I may never need to replace my clips. I already bought replacements being "sure" I would need them. Instead two squirts of dry lube spray (made for windows)



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^Yes good idea, I should have mentioned. I lube my tracks as well when doing the repair.

I recently swapped the white and black clips on the drivers door-perfect. Definately buy both.

Questions:

1. Any long-term report (i.e. > 3 years of use) on this $25 thingy?

2. Should I buy it and replace the slider plastic clips upfront (I have some spare slider clips from Regulatorfix.com)?

Thanks!

I just glued them with jbweld.

As for length of use the oldest of these regulators I have was bought 4 years ago.

The newest was bought this past march.

None have completely failed just the plastic clip that holds the cable to the regulator which I have been jbwelding as they fail.

All of these were put on e39's. Two different cars.

My e46 has some of them too but none of the e46's broke anywhere. Just the e39 ones which is the same as the e53 design wise I think.

My e36 of course never broke but it has REAL window regulators made out of metal plates with teeth on them. No cables anywhere. So nothing to buy for it :)

Just curious re ebay $25 WR.

How often do you lower and close your window?
I am trying to get roughly how many (hundred or thousand) cycles of going down and up before it fails...

On my e46 every time I go thru the drivethru and every time I smoke a cig.

I don't go to the drive thru that much but I do go through 2 cartons a week :)

Sooo every time I am in a car the window is rolled down some.

The e39 was driven by my wife and the other one randomly by her and me.

Her e39 was daily since she likes rolling the window down.

Basically the drivers side window is worked more on our cars than I imagine anyone you will ever likely meet aka tons.

The rest of them? Not that much. I personally threaten strangle people that think about touch the other windows switches....

I think the main way to determine are the $25 ones worth a flip is how long they have lasted vs the other ones.

All of the other regulators lasted about a year maybe 2 tops. 90% died from the cables getting mangled with 1/2 of them having broken or mangled pulleys too. The others ones had cable issues too but it was like they wound into the motor spot wrong.


None of the $25 regulars have completely died. The only thing they have done so far is to break the plastic piece that holds the cable to the regulator. More of a chipping off than anything. Just enough to allow the cable to get out of the holder. Glued them back. The gluing fix isn't that old. Maybe a year so I cant say how long they will last glued but I cant see them messing up in that spot again with all of that jbweld on it.

So far they do decent but I wouldn't of cared if they died at the same rate. $25 is much cheaper than the others ones so all they had to do was last as long of the other ones. But amazingly they have out lived the other ones so far.

I got one of the $25 ones off ebay, and it lasted maybe 3 months, before the cable broke out of the white plastic slider thingie.. I haven’t looked at trying to fix it yet though, maybe I could just glue it back together as crowz says.. or perhaps get new slider thing, then glue it..

I smoke too, so window was being used at least once every day for that 3 months, so maybe 100-200 cycles?!

Glue sure seems to hold well from my test. I cant see it failing there again.

So, this is what I am thinking: buy the $25 thingy and install brand-new slider clips (I have quite a few of these that I bought recently) upfront.

This is b/c I hate opening the door panel and hate peeling the vapor barrier!
Not to mention airbag disconnect etc.

Worth a shot. If it fails at the clip even after that then just jbweld it.

I like the jb weld idea. After spraying the outside rails and getting 60% faster window I'm pretty sure too much friction is the cause of the failure and the broken clip is the symptom. There has to be a lot of unplanned force on the window to slow it by 38%. The vast majority of that extra friction is apparently in the side seals since that's the only place I sprayed and the window is back to normal (same speed as the other three now)


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I don't yet have the Ph.D. in this topic that crowz has, but I'm working towards it whether I want to or not. Here are some general comments from my experiences on all 4 windows in 3 years of ownership:

- the black plastic window clips (front - 2x per window, 51-33-8-254-781; rear - 1x per window, 51-35-7-011-680) get brittle quickly. Removing them will likely crack them. They need to be removed if you remove the glass. So you replacing them every time you're in there is not just a good idea ...

- regarding the window moving smoothly (andrewwynn comments), yes I agree, one root cause or at least accelerant here is when the window does not move smoothly, putting more force on the entire rest of the weakly designed system. There is a piece of rubber channel that fits securely in a metal sleeve along the front edge of the front door windows, going deep down within the door. I have found that rubber channel to have partially popped out of its metal sleeve, so it binds a lot tighter on the window than it should, causing more drag. Perhaps the spray lube worked its way down to this rubber channel, and that is specifically the problem it is helping with here. And maybe carefully re-seating the rubber in-place would help a lot too. So I'd say that whenever opening up the door, check that rubber channel and make sure it is securely in place. It is like weatherstripping in door and trunk seals - needs to fit perfectly, with little seams, etc., but when it does, it kind of snaps into place and stays there.

- cn90 - I too love the JBWeld idea. I've done the zip ties on a brand new slider clip install as a pre-emptive strengthening of the weak spot. But now that I know there is another approved use of JBWeld, I will definitely use that one. But I think if you do the JBWeld, doing it to the original ones that come with the $25 or $240 regulator you buy will be sufficient.

- when I first bought this truck, the left front window regulator clips had failed. PO attempted a repair, failed, sold the truck to me for a good price because of that and a couple other minor things. I took it apart, found the slider clips issue. Found that buying regulatorfix replacements was more than half the price of a new cheap regulator on Amazon (about $30 at the time, I think), so I figured I'd buy the Amazon one and transplant the clips. When I got it, I was impressed enough with the build quality of it, so I just put it in. Now, 3 years later, it seemed to fail a week ago. I took the door panel off, and found that the cable had just worked its way off one of the pulleys. Not having new regulators in stock (still learning ...), I put the cable back on the pulley and reinstalled while I get new parts. It works, but seems loose, noisy, and with hysteresis in the spring loaded cables. Will definitely not last long. So the message on this data point is that things like the cable + pulleys might be the weaker points on a cheap regulator, and of course the 3-year duration for me. Also, windows are used all the time for us.

- when I did that left front window repair, I saved the original one that came out, with things looking good except for the failed slider clips. I am inclined to check to confirm the condition of the pulleys, etc. I think it is a BMW brand. If it looks good, I might buy just the slider clips, use zip ties and JBWeld to hold them in there, and put that thing back in.

Good stuff.

If there is a spot on the cable that doesn't go through a pulley you can tighten your cable with a simple jig made from some aluminum c channel.

Tap a few holes alternating sides of the channel, put in screws left-right-left-right slip over the cable and clamp the screws into the cable forcing it into a zigzag.

If you just need a tiny bit of "tighter", disconnect an end, counter-twist the cable to form a "basket" and insert something, I like to use a small cylinder of brass that I taper on the ends. Once in place some super glue or UV activated resin.

If it came off a pulley the pulley axle is suspect: did it wear in the center to allow it to twist? It would account for the new noise.

Also: I did attempt to work the spray down the edges of the window in case the channel went the whole way down. I didn't really notice the internal channel when I had a door apart a couple weeks ago is that fromt or back or both edges ?


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Rubber channel is front edge only. Can't be seen, only by feel.

On the other stuff, regarding adjusting tension, I'd hate to spend too much time on tuning it up since I'm not completely sure where the problem is. Pulley might be a little loose? When I drive it up and down, I can see the springs moving a lot where the cables meet the motor pulley. When it drives, it makes clicking noises sometimes. In this case, rebuilding a cheap part is just not worth it.

On the other hand, I'll look at the one I took out 3 years ago. I think that might be BMW, might be low mileage, only failing due to the slider clips. That might be worth a little effort.

Anyone with review (long-term) on this Window Regulator by Siemens-VDO WR51136 (made in Taiwan), about $90-$100:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Window-Regu...5/302574361237

Did you say you also had to replace the door handle carrier: the last one I did, the spring was too long and hit the glass! Make sure the window is not hitting something that is out of spec like a bolt or screw where design was a spot weld etc.


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I fixed mine yesterday. The one I had removed and saved from before was BMW original, made by Brose. It was in pretty excellent shape other than the slider clips.

The cheap Amazon one that had failed (cable came off the pulley and I quickly put it back temporarily a week or so ago) failed at the point where the cable attaches to the motor spool assembly. There is a piece of plastic the cable goes through, and that plastic seats the cable housing and is supported by a spring. It broke. So the tension was all off, and the cable housing was starting to deteriorate. The slider clips looked good.

So I transplanted the slider clips to the BMW regulator, applied JBWeld as recommended, and put it all back. Pretty quick and easy (had to wait an hour or two for the JBWeld to start curing in there though), and works great again.

Comparing the BMW and china-brand ones side by side, it still is amazing that the price difference is almost 10x. But still, the BMW one does seem to use better materials throughout. For example, tougher plastic on the piece that broke on the China one would have kept it working. Typical cutting corners to reduce the price, taking it a little too far here. Also, I'm here in NorCal with pretty mild climate. I expect brittle plastic will have even more problems in more extreme climates, unless those climates mean the windows are never used, of course.

So I think the best repair approach would be to keep the BMW regulator (that seems to always fail at the slider clips) and replace those clips while also doing a strengthening upgrade such as zip ties or epoxy. With this one data point on my driver's door regulator, the China-brand ones may no longer have the slider clip as the weak point, because other things are worse.

I've also replaced the door handle carrier, and rebuilt the door lock cylinder and door lock actuator on this door, so yes it has come apart a few times, but everything is in place with no problems.

^That's the method I've landed on as being the "perfect" recipe for long term functionality. We also use the windows here all year round, while still "enjoying" fairly extreme temps in the summer. I have not had a repaired OEM regulator fail on me yet having done it 4 or 5 times now on the E53. Many more times across BMW chassis.