Replacing windows motor in 2002 TransAm

**rsreese** · 04-06-2009, 10:12 AM

Are the instructions here: http://shbox.com/page/windowmotor.html accurate for a 2002 TransAm? Any special tools needed? This will be my second one. The first one was replaced by a dealership two years ago but I've moved and the local shop want ~$450 so I'm opting to replace it myself.

Any tips would be great, thanks!

**Orcus79** · 04-06-2009, 10:38 AM

Take your time and get an apolstry panel puller and some extra plastic clips that hold the door panel on. That's about it.

**bigrondownhiller** · 04-06-2009, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Orcus79

Take your time and get an apolstry panel puller and some extra plastic clips that hold the door panel on. That's about it.

The clips are molded to the panel. If you follow the directions you will be fine. You could also remove the regulator/motor as an assembly and you wont have to drill the holes in the door panel. Just be carefull because the spring has tension on the arms. Make sure you clean and lube all the moving parts when you put it back together.

**JoshieDoom** · 04-06-2009, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by bigrondownhiller

The clips are molded to the panel. If you follow the directions you will be fine. You could also remove the regulator/motor as an assembly and you wont have to drill the holes in the door panel. Just be carefull because the spring has tension on the arms. Make sure you clean and lube all the moving parts when you put it back together.

Drill the holes and expect 15 minute window motor changes in the future

**02transamce** · 04-07-2009, 02:01 PM

good luck,and RIVET the motor back in,my wife's "mechanic"uncle put a window motor on the driver side of her trans am a few years and bolted the motor onto the door,the nuts worked their way loose and damn near destroyed the inside of the door,left 3 slots in the inside of the door, which is fiberglass,and caused a gap between the glass and weatherstrip at the side mirror because the regulator and motor assy was not in the right place.

**JoshieDoom** · 04-07-2009, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by 02transamce

good luck,and RIVET the motor back in,my wife's "mechanic"uncle put a window motor on the driver side of her trans am a few years and bolted the motor onto the door,the nuts worked their way loose and damn near destroyed the inside of the door,left 3 slots in the inside of the door, which is fiberglass,and caused a gap between the glass and weatherstrip at the side mirror because the regulator and motor assy was not in the right place.

All replacements come with nuts/screws.

**walt's 98 ta** · 04-07-2009, 02:45 PM

Just did one of these installs last weekend... Here's what i learned: first off if you purchase (as i did) the cheapo motor on say ebay it probably isn't going to have the one touch down characteristic of the stock motor (i didn't mind that), so you simply hold the button down untill the desired spot. the door panel plastic comes off fairly easilly with some screws/bolts about 6 (no special tools needed) Once the panel is off unplug all electrical connectors to the switches, and the locking assembly. Take out the speaker as this will allow alot more elbow room (it's like 4 small bolts). Use a simple cordless drill or electric, to drill out the stock rivets, being sure to only remove the necessary 3-4 that hold the motor itself on(i mistakenly removed almost all of them and had to re-bolt on the arm assembly). Once the rivets are out remove old motor. Lube up any moving parts with some lithium grease, wd-40 or whatever you can find, and install the new motor with some small screws or bolts if the motor came with (mine didn't). Shouldn't take more than a few hours but it is working in tight confines. Well worth saving 400.00!!

**JoshieDoom** · 04-07-2009, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by walt's 98 ta

Just did one of these installs last weekend... Here's what i learned: first off if you purchase (as i did) the cheapo motor on say ebay it probably isn't going to have the one touch down characteristic of the stock motor (i didn't mind that), so you simply hold the button down untill the desired spot. the door panel plastic comes off fairly easilly with some screws/bolts about 6 (no special tools needed) Once the panel is off unplug all electrical connectors to the switches, and the locking assembly. Take out the speaker as this will allow alot more elbow room (it's like 4 small bolts). Use a simple cordless drill or electric, to drill out the stock rivets, being sure to only remove the necessary 3-4 that hold the motor itself on(i mistakenly removed almost all of them and had to re-bolt on the arm assembly). Once the rivets are out remove old motor. Lube up any moving parts with some lithium grease, wd-40 or whatever you can find, and install the new motor with some small screws or bolts if the motor came with (mine didn't). Shouldn't take more than a few hours but it is working in tight confines. Well worth saving 400.00!!

Express down program is in a module, not the motor. Autotrix makes replacements

**walt's 98 ta** · 04-07-2009, 02:51 PM

one more important note, if your concerned about the bolts/NUTS working themselves loose over time there's a simple fix rather than rivets, LOCK TIGHT, or silicone (gasket sealant) on the threads.

**02transamce** · 04-08-2009, 05:13 PM

i trust rivets a lot more than lock tight.there is a reason that gm uses rivets instead of nuts and bolts.but i'm sure if my wife's uncle would have used lock tight, the bolts would not have come loose.

**shady milkman** · 04-08-2009, 05:18 PM

THE BIGGEST THING !!!! get a inspector mirror..that will help 1000x with getting the nuts on...i also had a few missed drills

..but oh well..while your in there..i would do the door panel fix..i wrote a sticky about it.

**Retired Cop** · 04-11-2009, 03:17 PM

Did mine this morning tough getting the door panel off. I used an Advance A

uto parts motor, 58.00 with tax lifetime warranty.

**rideon1200** · 04-13-2009, 02:27 PM

My mechanic just replaced mine for 170.00. I hate tedious jobs!

**TA98** · 04-19-2009, 07:02 AM

have fun with this. But definitly keep you fingers away from the spring. Its under alot of tension and if it breaks loose it spins a bracket around and will tear your hand up, and itll be stuck in there till you can relieve enough pressure to get your hand out. I work at a shop and have seen this happen.

**kccutthroat** · 05-10-2009, 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by 02transamce

good luck,and RIVET the motor back in,my wife's "mechanic"uncle put a window motor on the driver side of her trans am a few years and bolted the motor onto the door,the nuts worked their way loose and damn near destroyed the inside of the door,left 3 slots in the inside of the door, which is fiberglass,and caused a gap between the glass and weatherstrip at the side mirror because the regulator and motor assy was not in the right place.

we bolted it back with locknut washers and locktight cuz the rivet gun wouldn't fit. the most time consuming was the adjustments for no binding!! but those damn diagrams would have helped!! and just get the motor and regulator assembly it makes it easier because the springs tension is a BITCH. we tried jus the motor and it didnt move as fast as the side with a whole new assembly!!

**JoshieDoom** · 05-10-2009, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by kccutthroat

we bolted it back with locknut washers and locktight cuz the rivet gun wouldn't fit. the most time consuming was the adjustments for no binding!! but those damn diagrams would have helped!! and just get the motor and regulator assembly it makes it easier because the springs tension is a BITCH. we tried jus the motor and it didnt move as fast as the side with a whole new assembly!!

The passenger side will always be slower because it isnt a direct flow to the battery. Autotrix kit fixes all of this

**Sommer86@6LE** · 05-10-2009, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by 02transamce

good luck,and RIVET the motor back in,my wife's "mechanic"uncle put a window motor on the driver side of her trans am a few years and bolted the motor onto the door,the nuts worked their way loose and damn near destroyed the inside of the door,left 3 slots in the inside of the door, which is fiberglass,and caused a gap between the glass and weatherstrip at the side mirror because the regulator and motor assy was not in the right place.

Originally Posted by 02transamce

i trust rivets a lot more than lock tight.there is a reason that gm uses rivets instead of nuts and bolts.but i'm sure if my wife's uncle would have used lock tight, the bolts would not have come loose.

so how did you fix this?? I've got the EXACT same problem (the holes are now ovals), and my window stays open an inch or 2....but i live in Cali, so it isn't raining yet...but it needs fixed....and QUICK!!

**02transamce** · 05-10-2009, 02:29 PM

i kinda jimmy rigged it.on my car the three holes were slotted vertically causing the motor to slide down,so what i did was i got a large nail,cut it into three pieces,cut a horizontal slot into the door right under the bolt holes,and inserted the nails with some gasket maker silicone,they fit tight which was what i wanted had to knock them in with a small hammer.i did this over a year ago and have no problems since.pm me if you have any more questions.

**kccutthroat** · 05-11-2009, 03:19 AM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

The passenger side will always be slower because it isnt a direct flow to the battery. Autotrix kit fixes all of this

When i replace the side with just the motor with a new regulator too it moves a lot faster. It was $20 more on ebay but i'm going to look at that Autotrix!

**kheflw** · 10-02-2009, 06:37 AM

Just went through all this fun last night. For future purpose - the original post was asking if the directions were correct on http://shbox.com/page/windowmotor.html.

Those directions are excellent, but not all correct for the 02. Have the photos setup on a laptop near the car, it really helped.

First - the spring clip to remove the control panel is in the back (farthest south) on the panel. Comes off very easy. Pulling the connector to the mirros is the hardest, find the clip with a screwdriver and it will release.
Locate all the screws holding the door panel on, Two of them are kind of hidden underneath, feel around for the entry holes. The screws are not in the same location as the photos show.
Everything else is correct I think.
The hole locations for drilling are very accurate to the photos. You need to pull the cable assembly away from the door to access the two lower holes.
Drilling the rivets is easy, and the motor falls and makes removing the connector through the speaker hole easy - Oh yea, remove the speaker and housing.
Putting my new motor in was a Bitch. I got the Dorman from Autozone for $60.
The three holes did not line up correctly. I could get the bottom two, but ultimately had to find a longer screw for the top hole, I got it lined up kind of crooked, the longer screw allowed me to get the nut on the back.
Took me 5 Hours - That's right, I was not happy reading how everyone online said this was a one hour job, 2nd time would be easier.
My install worked great, although there is a whining noise when the window goes down, I tested it out and it is not the motor, I cannot tell where the noise is coming from. I'm living with it for now.
I found a Boston Acoustics Module in the door, started to cut it out, luckily had the tunes running cause on the first cut one of the speakers went out. I wired it back up. I had a new stereo installed in my car, didnt think it was being used.