Xoutpost.com - Passenger window regulator/clip issue

Xoutpost.com (https://xoutpost.com/forums.php)

- X5 (E53) Forum (https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/)

- - Passenger window regulator/clip issue (https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/99298-passenger-window-regulator-clip-issue.html)

RB, there are no signs of either of the rear clips inside my door, so I'm sure that I need both the clip which is offered by Regulatorfix.com and the plastic clip you've shown. I actually have 2 of the ones you've pictured but I'll also need to get the retaining nut and the bolt. If I can find a genuine BMW regulator, as TiAgX5 has suggested, I'll most likely go for the complete regulator assembly. I'm not very enthused about the possibility of having to go back into the door again in a year or so if the original regulator fails then, which I understand is bound to happen.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby (Post 1021235)

I haven't yet Gary, but I will someday I'm sure. Knock on wood I haven't had a regulator issue to date, but I would use their clips when the time comes, but I think you actually need the black clip that holds the window in place based on your pic, no?

I'd get 2 fresh ones and 2 retaining nuts http://www.bavauto.com/assets/imglib...4781_IMG01.jpg

These are the things I call "window clips". PN 51-33-8-254-781.
You will need 2 of those per window. They do not come with the regulator or the aftermarket "regulator clips" if you go that route.
You will also need a bushing and screw (PNs above in my earlier post) to go with each of these window clips.

My opinion on genuine BMW vs. aftermarket on this part ... (first they're so cheap, but the point is ...) with a fairly critical plastic part like this, a Chinese manufacturer could make something that looks indistinguishable but is made of plastic that will prematurely become brittle and crack. So definitely OE on this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvmy03E53 (Post 1021232)

...Oldskewel, in my situation, would it not be better to just replace the complete passenger door window regulator assembly? It seems to me that in the time it would take to replace the clips, I could install a new regulator. Also, my fear is that replacing the clips only will resolve the issue for now, but that in a year or two I'll be back in there again to replace the regulator. Do you trust a regulator with a price so significantly lower than OEM? I'm a bit of a stickler for using OEM when I can. Not that I'm opposed to saving money, just don't want to sacrifice reliability (read chinese parts)...

Once you've got the door panel off, figured out what you're going to do, and got all the parts in hand, you're 90% of the way there (unless you triggered the airbag light, but that's another story). So complete new regulator vs. just new regulator clips is not much difference.

New regulator (with clips) takes about the same time as putting new regulator clips on an existing regulator. Yes, it will take a minute or two to R+R the regulator clips on the original regulator, but if getting a new regulator, you'll need to R+R the motor (3 Torx T30 screws = easy). So about the same effort either way. Either way, the regulator has to come out of the door (5 10mm screws = easy).

From examining the regulator clip that came off my car, vs. the ones on the replacement regulator, vs. the ones on ebay, I don't see anything that would make me trust one much more than any of the others.

When I bought my $30 regulator with clips, I figured I was getting clips for $14 and the rest of the regulator for $16. The regulator that was in there looked to be just fine and I figured I would swap the new regulator clips onto the old regulator, keeping the new regulator as an almost free spare, if the new one looked marginal in any way. But it's a pretty simple thing - some pulleys, cables, sheet metal. The new one fit perfectly and looked to be a functionally exact match, so I used the new one (not R+R'ing the regulator clips) and instead saved the original one as a spare that I don't expect to ever use.

Works fine, of course.

Regarding longer term durabilty, I've got to say that I've been driving and repairing my own cars for about 30 years now, and before buying the x5 last month, I had never even heard the term "window regulator." So here's a case where it's not like BMW is an especially trusted supplier.

If I could have found an OE regulator for $50, I would have paid the extra and hoped it was real. I don't understand pricing of many parts, but that $30 regulator I got looked just fine.