suprjohn Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 has anyone here ever installed or used or have any info or favorites for after market power windows? i'm having a dickens of a time finding good window handles and i wouldn't mind having power windows. comments, opinions welcome! john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m12-lrv Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m12-lrv Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprjohn Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 LOL Well there you go! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyeights Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 (edited) has anyone here ever installed or used or have any info or favorites for after market power windows? i'm having a dickens of a time finding good window handles and i wouldn't mind having power windows. comments, opinions welcome! john This can be done this several ways. I would PASS on the aftermarket stuff personally. If the car was available with power windows then they CAN be retrofitted to your car with a few trips to the local P-N-P. I have actually done this on MANY different types of cars including older Subaru's. I might be able to help with specifics like "where is the power window controller on an EA81 or EA82?" "Can I also include the power door locks at the same time?" Here are some ideas... 1) Pull all the parts including wiring, window regulators, ect from a donor, and spend LOTS of time doing the conversion and getting all of the adjustments perfect. 2) Buy donor car and strip it so you don't have to spend so much time at P-N-P You might encounter resistance from neighbors and family members with this option, but you could actually make money on the deal if you do it right 3) Pull ALL the doors intact with the goods from the donor vehicle and install them on your car. Easiest by far, especially if the doors are the correct color. 4) You have probably noticed that I didn't include the option of selling the vehicle and buying one with Power Windows and every other option that you want. This is the LEAST fun of all of the above choices IMO. 5) I have repaired aftermarket window installations many times. They are ALWAYS harder to get parts for than factory systems and with the exception of very high end systems they never work properly or last very long. Good Luck, post lots of pictures and have fun!!! Edited April 9, 2014 by Crazyeights 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprjohn Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thanks! i'd kind of hate to change doors, unless i could find some the same color…but stripping the parts out might be doable... i have to be kind of careful about getting another parts car…She Who Must Be Obeyed has stated that if i bring in another one, i will have to live in it…lol i might see if the local wrecker has any subaru's. :-) john 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 You should be able to buy a generic Japanese replacement handle at Autozone or any store with a "Help" section. If not wreckers you can look for toyota/nissan/80's/90's hondas.......for the same type of handles. Or...if you get all the parts.....and the PW harness (which is seperate and easy to get) and install them in the doors all the connectors are there in the body harness. I put power windows in 3 of my 4 doors......I retained the drivers door as manual since I can reach it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWanderer Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm in the same boat John. my drivers side handle just kinda spins on the shaft half the time. I think Advance Auto has some cranks in their "Help" parts section made by Dorman that would work. I considered the power option as well, but if I were to do it I'd say finding power doors and swapping them would be the best bet personally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprjohn Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 I wondered if any other makes of handles would work. I may have to explore that option. I'll keep you posted. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discombobulated Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I'm not too familiar with my Suby yet but doing a manual to factory swap is going to be a lot of little work but worth it in the end, any kind of aftermarket kits are nothing less than a major pain from past experiences and I only did it on a single cab truck!!! Just putting aftermarket door actuators is a task in itself, as the post above says parts are hard to find and believe me, mounting them and getting them to work as good as factory will never happen. If you were to pull out a factory set up the only issue I see would be the door panels, as rare as my sedan seems to be in Colorado, I have yet to find one with my color panels and the ones I have found are wagons:( Post up in the classifieds and get on Craig's and eBay and see what you can find, good luck and make a thread and post lots of pics if you decide to tackle this wonderful upgrade:) Disco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alansgoat Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Hey, if it would help anyone, I do have a set of power windows out of an '84 wagon...complete set up I'd be willing to sell with wiring, switches, motors, etc. I would take me a bit of time to pull the stuff out of the doors and package up (it was easier to buy the doors than take it all apart at the time). Send me a message if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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