I just got a window motor and regulator for the civic. 97 lx four door driver side. I replaced everything and got the window screwed on, the window went down fine, then all of a sudden there is a grinding sound when the window rolls all the way down but the motor doesn't stop. I pull up on the switch and the grinding stops, but when I try to have the window roll all the way up there's a grinding sound again and it doesn't want to roll up. I tried adjusting the screws that hold the motor and regulator in and the screws that hold the window in, but no luck. Then I check the (I think they are called) rails on the side, the black rubber area and everything is in there and lubricated it with some silicone but the motor seems to have a hard time pulling the window up and down. Could it be i got a bad motor?

 

Where did you get the window motor and regulator? Sound like both could be bad.

 

I got it from a parts store that distributes oem parts. It says Mitsuba just like the one in the car

 

To be more accurate, it sounds like the motor is having a hard time pulling the window in both directions. When I roll it down and starts "grinding" I just push down on the window from the top and it slow moves down.

 

The motor may not be mounted properly. You need to push it towards the gear on the regulator so the gears mesh fully. Running it not fully meshed may have stripped the tips of the teeth off the regulator sector gear.

If the motor is making noise like it's running but the motor output gear is not turning, the motor is bad.

 

I do not understand what is being referred to as pushing it towards the gears on the regulator. The one that I have is the one piece that has the regulator and motor connected together.

it's marked as 1 or 7 in the image

 

Oh I see it's a cable style. Never mind about the gears then. Though if the window has excessive resistance to moving, the motor should just stall rather than grind.

 

Was the assembly new? Pull the motor and regulator back out of the door and then hook the motor directly to battery power. Switching polarity of the wires will make the motor run in opposite directions. If the motor is still noisy without load under these conditions, then return the whole assembly for a new one.

 

would that mean I need to lube the rubber tracks more? Could it be the 1 that slipped by from the manufacturer? I already called the place and they will be ordering another one to come in tomorrow.

Yeah the part was brand new. I will do that (directly connect to the battery) later and see what happens.

I actually connected it to the connector and tried it without load and it was fine. I actually had to move the support up to meet the window because I didn't want the window dropping while I took out the unit. (window was held up by tape) Could that cause problem?

 

Hmmm. It move fine up and down without a load? The window may be binding. What support are you talking about?