DIY repair 996 rear window regulator cable - fix a window that doesn't go up!

[slknv]

So my new-to-me 996 cabriolet busted a rear left window about a month after buying it. Motor seemed to work OK as it made plenty of noise, but could hear a chewed up cable. The previous owner gave me a bunch of receipts and he paid a porsche specialist $1600 to replace a regulator on the other side of the car 6 months ago - I figured that's plenty of petrol money I could save by repairing it myself.

Followed a tech article published here which was excellent for instructions: https://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/41648-how-to-remove-rear-window-regulator-996-cab/. Print out the diagrams and step by step instructions as they'll save you hours! I won't relist it all here, just go to that link for the step by step instructions.

I needed a couple of hours to get the old window regulator out - taking my time, plus i'm not as young as i used to be. Have a full set of tools, sockets, torx bits, and a wooden block minimum an inch thick to get the window regulator out.

This pic shows the cable with lots of slack, it's come right off the pulley, and when the motor is removed the cable is all chewed up. Bought a replacement kit from eBay usa which had everything required to replace this cable. Note that the top pulley has a metal bearing through it - if you want to replace this pulley the old bearing needs to be angle grinded off, and a vise press or similar to press the new bearing in. Didn't have those tools, so my mechanic put it all together for me for $40. The new cable is under a lot of tension and pretty difficult to get on!

 

Replacement cable is on - nice and new, lots of tension. Do a test refit and plug in the control cable to make sure the range of motion is correct before reinstalling everything. Reinstalling everything is much quicker than removing. Enjoy your working rear window and $$$ saved by DIY!

[Fraz]

Nice, great to see someone having a go at fixing this type of stuff.