Eventual Alfa content: Both power front windows have been increasingly slow when lowering on my Volvo S80 daily driver. Worse, the windows will stick in sub-freezing weather after the first 1" or so of descent, but can make it "over the hump" (or "down the hump?)" with a little manual assistance, though they are curiously less problematic going back up.
I tried running a few drops of "Finish Line Dry Teflon Lube" down each channel of the driver's window. This stuff is packaged and sold for bicycle chains etc. with a claim of "attracting less grime", and most importantly for its suitability to this application, I already had it. :) The treated window is now about 15% faster than the passenger side, and with less variation in speed. This may prove to be just short-term relief, however. I imagine the root causes are just as Micheal, Will and others have said, but I will report back on how well this band-aid works (if at all) over the longer term at least on a non-Alfa. - - Albert P.S. re: roll call: I've been a lurker (usually) on the digest since 1994 in the italian-cars-digest days. Advice from Fred DiMatteo and others let me keep both my Alfa and my marriage... --- On Tue, 1/3/12, Micheal Tedder <[email protected]> wrote: From: Micheal Tedder <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [alfa] lube for slow windows? To: "The Baylys" <[email protected]>, "'alfa'" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2012, 9:33 PM In my experience no amount of lube will overcome the weak motors. As a friend once told me... Just be grateful that they close. Micheal Tedder 83,84 & 85 GTV 6...among others The Baylys <[email protected]> wrote: >'Lubing' the channels/felts can provide gains but only if you use a proper >dry lubricant. By this I mean nothing which stays wet, greasy, tacky or >waxy. Those dry lube stocks won't do, and a lot of silicone sprays stay >wet. > >You need to use a spray lube which dries COMPLETELY. Something such as a dry >silicone or PFTE spray. Graphite works, but has obvious disadvantages. > >Make certain you test it on something first (preferably cloth to simulate >window felts) to confirm it won't add drag/friction and make things worse. > >You also need to ensure the door frames are adjusted to provide enough >clearance for the glass, but not so much that the glass can kick off and >jam/drag. > >When you have the stock system as good as it can be, it will be average at >best................ ;-) > >Beatle >Oz >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Will >Owen >Sent: Monday, 2 January 2012 8:30 AM >To: alfa >Subject: Re : [alfa] lube for slow windows? > >Stevan - > >My Milano windows got painfully slow a couple of years back, and I >thought some kind of lubrication on the tracks was needed, so I asked >the guys at Alfa Only. They said No, that wasn't it, and proceeded to >remove the door trim panels and then spray-lubed the regulator >mechanisms, after which they worked just fine. Now, removing those >panels is a real PITA if you don't do it enough to get good at it, and >now I'm back down to one crawler and one immobile (I think the switch >expired, and they're NLA!!). But I know what to do when I finally get >around to it, and greasing the channels ain't it. > >Will Owen -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
