Broken window regulator... and more.

As usual it didn't take long for something else to go wrong and stop working. This time it was the driver's side window regulator.

Now I think I had this problem once before, and the general consensus was that a swift hand to the bottom corner of the driver's door would usually get the motor working again. While this may have worked in the past, this time something more sinister was afoot.

The noise of the motor didn't sound right and there was a crackling sound coming from near the window. Further advice was to try and open and close it a few times to get it working properly. After the first lowering attempt and inability to close the window again, I decided this was a bad idea - considering I would have to leave the car alone at some point. And with the weather still wintery, it's clear that I didn't want the windows left open.

So with a little bit of persuasion I managed to get the window 3/4 closed and decided not to open it again! Calling up my pals at Mintech, in Bury, they were booked up for the week, so I'd have to make do somehow. 

For the next few days I tried to get the window closed, but it wouldn't go up, only down, and so each night I had to wrap the steering wheel and cover the door as much as possible to prevent it getting wet. What a ballache.

After a few days of this I noticed the horn had stopped working. Great, something else to fix, but no point doing it now with the window still open.

Eventually the day came to visit Mintech, and my old friend Martin wasn't about to help. I suppose he's got to have some time off! So Nathan was tasked with fitting a new window regulator for me.

After popping off the door interior I helped hold the window whilst he tried to untangle the wiring that had chewed itself up. Ahhh the source of the problem. After lots of fiddling around we managed to pull the window clear (in one piece), and pick out a load of crap from the bottom of the door before fitting the new regulator.
 

Once done, I asked about some arch fasteners as some of mine had broken, so he pulled that off and fixed that too. My list of things to fix was still quite lengthy and whilst I was there I had a look around the yard for anything useful. I found an aerial unit. Mine had been broken since I bought the car and I just hadn't got round to replacing it. Over the winter I had also noticed the boot getting wet, and with a big hole in the roof I guess this is where it is coming from. So I picked up one from here for a job to do at home. I also mentioned I was after some spacers or wider wheels, and the lads said they had a set of spacers going, so I took them too with the extended wheel nuts. That'll look good.

Spacers, long wheel nuts and an aerial base.

Back at home I thought I'd give the aerial unit a crack and finally be able to listen to the radio for the first time in the MINI. It was quite an easy job really. Just fold down the headlining from the boot and there is a big nut holding it all in. Undo that, disconnect the wires and put the new unit in and reconnect the wires and do up the big nut. Simples. Hopefully this will stop the wet boot too.

The last thing to do was to get the spacers fitted. So down to my local place - Tyre Bay in Nelson - where they let me use their tools to do jobs myself, but they were happy to take over and do it for me, so I let them.

After having a chat with the boys I mentioned something about the exhaust sounding louder, so we put it on the ramp to find a nice hole brewing in one of the backboxes. Still, it sounds good, so we'll leave it for now!

Wide look.

MINTECH: 
0161 761 1615
www.mintechspares.co.uk/