The driver's power window motor on my '92 244 died two months ago, and yesterday's nice weather prompted me to finally bite the bullet and replace it. I got the replacement motor from a rear window in our parts car.

The job was conceptually simple, but very difficult in practice. The motor is held to the window linkage by four 10 mm screws arranged in an "L" pattern. By removing the screws and single nut that hold the linkage to the inside door panel, it was possible to access two of the three through a cut-out in the panel. It was almost impossible to reach the lowest of the three. Through contortions and with the aid of some ripe language, I was able to get a 12-point wrench on the screw head and turn it one point at a time! I finally got the thing out and removed the motor. Installation was another question. It was almost impossible to get the lower screw started and tightened; the threaded hole in the motor was about 3" below the cutout, and there was very little room between the hole and the inner door panel. I even considered leaving the motor installed with only two screws.

Now here's the tip. When manipulating the linkage in attempt to bring the lower hole up to the existing inner panel cutout, I noticed that the problem screw hole traced an well-defined arc along a flat part of the panel. I marked this path and drilled a 14mm hole in the panel along the path's end. When finished, I repositioned the linkage so that problem screw hole was aligned in my new access hole, and started the screw by hand. The new 14 mm access hole was large enough to insert my 1/4" drive 10mm socket to tighten it.

In retrospect, I would have drilled the hole BEFORE removing the old motor. If you use this method, make sure you vacuum the drill chips from the inside of the door. Rotate the linkage assembly cw as far as possible so that the drill bit misses the motor and linkage when it passes through the panel. The new access hole is small and is in a part of the inner door panel that causes absolutely no reduction in side impact strength.

Live and learn, I guess.