a photoblog of what i did today.....

[xoxoxoBruce]

A friend had two big tanks and two smaller tanks. One night we're sitting there with the lights off, except the tank lights, half baked, watching the fish, grooving on the music, and the power goes off. Sit for a few minutes waiting, then oh crap, plan B. What a buzz kill.

[glatt]

The Prizm's rear view mirror day/night switch mechanism had stopped working and the mirror was very wobbly.

This package was waiting for me Friday when I got home.

A junkyard part from Maine, bought on eBay for $42, including shipping. Edit: actually $32, including shipping.

So Saturday I started with the mirror, because I figured it would be easy. I was right. You just snap off the trim piece that covers the screws. And unscrew it. And install the new one the same way, but in reverse. I used a putty knife to snap off the trim piece without gouging it up like a screw driver might have done.



And here's the new mirror, installed.



It's great to have a working mirror again.

[Gravdigr]

Vurry nize.

But, $42?? Daaaaaaaaaayum.

ETA: After checking junkyards around here (I used a 95 Prizm, cuz I don't know whatchya got)...That's about what they go for.

[glatt]

Then I turned my attention to the rear door windows. Both of them were really squeaky and difficult to roll up and down. I didn't know what I was going to find, but figured it would be cleaning and lubricating.

So for anyone looking up how to fix squeaky windows on a 1996 Geo Prizm, this is how I did it:

First, unscrew the two screws holding on the armrest.



Then, you need to remove the window crank. This isn't obvious at all unless you have the manual or otherwise know the trick. You take a rag and wedge it up under the crank, kind of tugging back and forth. This loosens a retaining clip just enough so you can pull it out with a pair of needle nose pliers or the tip of a screwdriver.




This is what you're pulling out so you can get the crank handle off.



Then you have to get the interior door handle out of the way. Unscrew the single screw holding it in place, and then pull it towards the front of the car about half an inch. That will allow the tabs to release from the door and it will come loose.




Use a putty knife to pop the panel off the door. Just slip the knife in the gap between the door and panel, and slide it over to where it's right next to a fastener clip and pull the panel away from the door to pop that clip free. Do that for each clip, until the panel is really loose and just being held on by the interior door handle. Twist the door handle a little and push it through the hole in the panel as you pull the panel free.




Pull the panel free, and you'll see the plastic water barrier covering everything.

Carefully remove it. I found that sometimes it just pulled easily free, and other times I had to cut at the adhesive with a razor blade. I cut through the plastic barrier around the two points that support the armrest, and I also cut a larger slot so I could slide it off past the interior door handle.

[glatt]

So now I had access to the inside of the door.





You can't even see the gears and stuff that lifts and lowers the window. But you can see part of the channel that the window slides in. I wanted to start by cleaning this channel and then lubricating it.
So I got a small brush and swept it clean and then sprayed silicone lubricant on the brush and brushed that lubricant into the channel.



I did the same thing with the channel way inside the door by the hinges. I couldn't take picture of that, but I could feel my way in there and clean and lubricate that channel by feel.

I stuck my phone inside the door and took a picture of the regulator.


The grease on the regulator had died out after 18 years, so I put a glob of grease on my finger tip and felt around for the gear and then smeared it with the grease.

[glatt]

Then I rolled the window down, and it was still pretty squeaky, and now I could see why. The roller on the regulator arm was all frozen on its little rusted axle. So I sprayed it like crazy with silicone spray.




After doing this, the window rolled up and down beautifully and quietly. So it was time to put things back together. You basically just do everything in reverse, except that once you have the plastic barrier in place and are putting the interior trim panel back, there are these 4 (or actually 5) holes in the top of the trim panel.




Those holes are there so that the padded trim up by the window opening can attach to this trim panel. There a thin metal tabs poking out of the bottom of that padded trim piece, and you bend those tabs straight with your fingers, poke them through these holes, and then reach behind this trim panel and bend those tabs over to hold the two trim pieces together.

I can't show you any of this, because the metal tabs are hidden from view, but you can feel them, and all this bending is done by sticking your arm back behind the panel and bending those tabs. After the tabs are attached, and you have fed the door handle back through the opening, then you can snap all those yellow snap connectors back into place.

The last thing to do, other than putting all the screws back in the armrest and interior handle, is to put this window crank handle and its finicky clip back into place. I used a putty knife again.






So that's pretty much it. The windows work perfectly again. I should have done this ages ago.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Vurry nize.

But, $42?? Daaaaaaaaaayum.

Yeah. Cheaper than new though.

That included shipping, and the seller swore that the switch lever worked and it was tight on the swivel, and of course once I had gotten him to answer those questions, other people got excited about the auction and started bidding against me.

I wish we had a local junkyard. I probably could have found one for $5 and an afternoon of walking around rows of old broken cars.

The DC area isn't known for its industrial sector or for its junkyards. Not many people here tinker with their own cars. Too rich here.

[glatt]

Wait! Hold that! I was just checking on something else I bought on Ebay and saw the mirror was $32 not $42.

[Gravdigr]

Most junkyards won't even let you in the yard anymore, unless it's one of those yards where you remove the part you need from the donor car yourself, i.e. Pick-a-Part, PullAPart, You Pick...none of which has locations near you (DC).

[busterb]

finicky clip, retaining clip. AKA Jesus clip. As in Jesus where the F@##$ did it go?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Most junkyards won't even let you in the yard anymore, unless it's one of those yards where you remove the part you need from the donor car yourself, i.e. Pick-a-Part, PullAPart, You Pick...none of which has locations near you (DC).

That's true. Of course the biggest problem is lawyers and insurance companies dragging them to litigationville.

But even before that they got tired of people destroying good parts to get at the part they needed. Also breaking several parts leaning how to take one off intact, of course they only pay for one.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by busterb

finicky clip, retaining clip. AKA Jesus clip. As in Jesus where the F@##$ did it go?

LOL!!!

[glatt]

Twasn't me, but the tenants of this apartment building seem to have done a little cable wiring themselves. I took the picture though. It's visible only from the bike path.

[Happy Monkey]

You're likely correct.

But don't discount the possibility of lazy cable installers.

[zippyt]

Ahh No , No way , no how would any body that knew ANY thing about Installing ANY type of wire do THAT !!!