Anyone have problems with Dorman Window Regulators?

[slanej]

My rear passenger window regulator snuffed it last week. That [expletive] plastic wire guide broke. So I went to Amazon (I'm a Prime member) and bought a Dorman 740-889 replacement regulator (no motor) that supposedly was a fit for my vehicle.

And, yeah, the regulator fit into the RP door and the door mounts lined up and everything was cool EXCEPT...

When I went to mount the old motor to the plastic receiver/gear (that part that looks like a fidget-spinner) the gear fit just fine, but the mounting holes on my old motor are about 7/16" shorter (on center) than the receiver holes on the new regulator. Also, the plastic receiver and mounting holes on the new part are almost 90 degrees off from the original regulator, making it impossible to mount the [expletive] assembly inside the door.

Has anyone else encountered this? Is there a workaround or another company's regulator that will work with my old motor?

I really don't want to have to buy a regulator + motor ass'y if I don't have to.

The tape holding the window up doesn't interfere with my Slippery Rock window sticker.

Any advice would be appreciated.

E.

[ddalder]

No direct experience with your problem, however I installed a complete Dorman regulator and motor assembly in a friend's son's car and it did not last very long.

[slanej]

So, I called Dorman and got a tech on the line. Apparently, I'm not delusional. My particular window motor won't fit the Dorman 740-889 regulator (or any other OEM or third-party regulator [!]).

This is what the tech wrote me back in an email. If this sounds fishy to anyone, please let me know because I'd like to think the tech was a good guy and that he gave me solid information. And I quote:


"E. Thanks for the pictures. After researching it seems the OEM regulator you removed from your right rear door matches images I've found online for the initial run OE part. Our best guess at this point is GM may have sourced the these motors from 2 different suppliers (Valeo and Kamco) as they did on the front doors of these H body GM's. The units as a whole were the same, but the bolt layouts and clocking were different which made them non-interchangable. We'll need to do some more investigation on our end to confirm that. At this time, I think the best option is to get the regulator/motor assembly."



In a follow-up call, Dorman's tech said for me to just flat-out ask Amazon to replace the regulator (minus motor) they sent me with the regulator+motor assembly, or ask for Amazon to send a new motor that fits FOC.

And if Amazon fails to satisfy, he said to write him back and Dorman would fix what was a genuine problem, but one they'd never encountered before.

I'll keep everyone posted as to how this works out.

And again, if anyone knows better about this issue, please let me know.

Regards,

E.

[MKMike]

Thanks for the update. I hope you're able to get the matter resolved quickly and easily.

[slanej]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to yinz, but here is how everything worked out:

I returned the mismatched regulator (w/o motor) to Amazon for a credit to my account. While I was online, I noticed that Amazon Prime Day was coming up. So, I sat back and waited, bourbon in one hand, TV remote in the other. Anyway, come Prime Day, a Regulator + Motor assembly (this one from Hansun) was on sale for $10 less than the Dorman regulator I had originally bought and returned. So I snapped it up, installed it and all is right with the world.

One thing though, for anyone thinking of buying the Hansun assembly. The motor on that bugger is pretty aggressive. Make sure you have the thing bolted in place nice and tight, and make sure you have the window receivers tightened down, too. Otherwise, a fine piece of equipment.

Thanks again for all the replies/help.