Wanaron

Hi, newbie here( go gentle, from across the pond, so go even more gentle got a 5 cylinder 3.1 td which is I believe correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't available in the States?? Have a power window problem drivers side front.-
Had the dreaded window slide down on its own problem, took door trim off to investigate, found that the plastic cable retaining block was broken, common problem I've read. Got an engineer friend to make an identical one in aluminium and fitted, cables fitted nicely and all good. Tried it but the motor wouldn't operate smoothly, makin noises. Took the three screws out exposing the cable routing spool, all chewed up, which is probably the reason why the cable block broke .
Can anyone offer advice as to the replacement of the spool. Is such available to buy anywhere ?Or is it a case of a new unit.
Thank you

seniorgreenpants

You need a window regulator. That will come with all the good bits you need assembled together. Your aluminum block won't be needed though.

Ooh and ship me a diesel. I'd love that. I've got a 1.7 Mazda PN in a Mazda 121/Ford Festiva.

Cheers

dave1123

Welcome to CF, Wanaron! No, the EPA decided we didn't need diesels. Not until this year, that is. WHY? Why do politicians do anything. There must be power or influence there somewhere.

There was a way to get a diesel into the US by buying one in Canada, living there for a year, then bringing it back into the States with you. I had a Navy friend bring back a Triumph motorcycle when he returned after being discharged.

The problem is, none of the dealers know anything about them over here, or don't want to know.

Wanaron

Thanks for the welcome guys, most appreciated,
Ye I'll try and source a window regulator for the right pennies as we say in England. Window currently chocked up with a block of wood- not the best!
Did think I was right about no diesels produced for the States, in all truthfulness it probably was a decision made due to the high cost of petrol over here- a lot would struggle to run the big 4 litre and bigger petrol Engined models.
Interesting that mention a Mazda 121, same shape and Engine as to whats called Ford Fiesta here, take it it's Festiva there.?
Thanks again
Wayne

seniorgreenpants

Festiva correct. 121 down in ausy land.

dave1123

I find that amusing because diesel fuel is more expensive over here than petrol. This week in upstate NY petrol is $385/gal. and diesel is $418. I'm not aware what the value is in pounds, but a gallon is less then 4 liters, yes?

I was in a petrol station last month and a guy was in line in front of me. He gave the clerk a $100 bill and told him "pump 9". He was asked how much and he said "all of it." I looked outside and he had a Mercedes SUV sitting at a diesel pump! Ouch! Over here, you have to prepay if using cash. Using plastic, you can pump and drive away.

It seems weird to me that the price of petrol changes with the calender. Just before a holiday, the price creeps up slowly only to go down a bit afterward. 30 days ago, petrol was 20 cents/gal cheaper than it is today.

That's one thing I like about the UK and Europe in general. You think 4 liters is large for a motor. Over here, most guys think anything less than 5 liters is a waste of time.

Wanaron

Very thought provoking! Until recently diesel was cheaper here than petrol, lots of diesel powered cars were sold due to this and the fact that more miles to the gallon was returned from diesels. That has now reversed; petrol is now cheaper by around 15 pence a litre. Car sales have shifted back to petrol cars , A-cheaper fuel, and B - advances in fuel economy on petrol cars have come on leaps and bounds. The vibe as you can see is heavily influenced by fuel economy!
Did a few sums and figures this morning at work which you might find interesting reading;-
1 us gallon = 3.785 liters
1 uk gallon = 4.546 litres
Average fuel cost in the uk- petrol £1.29 a litre
Diesel £1.37 a litre
This equates to petrol is £5.87 a gallon and diesel £6.22 currently.
On the figures you quoted and the current rate of exchange you guys are paying around £2.28 in our money for a gallon of petrol, and £ 2.48 for a gallon of diesel, that's less than half! Only thing need to bear in mind is you get less in a US gallon than an imperial one, not done the maths but still considerably cheaper than here in the Uk!
Food for thought as to why there is A big leaning over here to smaller
Engined cars.

dave1123

We also have to contend with ethanol petrol (E10) which is 10% ethanol and knocks the mpg down a lot. We are told this is to reduce emissions and reduce our dependance on foreign oil. They give farmers subsidies to grow corn for this when it's cheaper to make ethanol from cane or sugarbeets.

Governments are great, don't you think? Not!

Wanaron

That's a new one on me, e10 petrol, is that all you can get or is it an alternative.? Ethanol is a form of alcohol I believe, is that not damaging to engines? Any research been carried out? Sounds like a government led idea to me! Gotta agree with you governments are naff! Some worse than others! It's the government that keeps our fuel prices so hiked up, yet Eastern European lorry drivers are allowed in with containers of fuel strapped to their lorries; takin a huge share of transport work due to cheaper running costs,
Sorry I'm goin on!

dave1123

E10 is all you can get unless you buy 97 octane. In South America (Brazil) they have E85, E10, and straight Ethanol. The also sell straight petrol. It's supposed to give drivers alternatives, but the engines have to be multi-fuel capable. They also make their Ethanol from sugar cane, which is the cheapest way to make it.

Alcohol contains more latent heat per pound than gasoline, you just burn more of it.

We sure have gotten away from your window regulator, haven't we? They seem to be a problem on Jeeps. I've worked in plastic molding all my life and it's far cheaper to mold a plastic part than make a metal one. You build a mold and pump them out by the thousands, all identical. Last I knew, nylon was about 60 cents/pound. How many gears and pulleys can you make with a pound of material. The mold itself can cost over $10,000, but after a couple thousand parts, it's paid for itself. These molds last for decades and can make millions of parts.

The thing that bothers me is most plastics are petrol based. What do we do when the oil runs out?

Wanaron

Ye we certainly have strayed off my window regulator problem a bit, but it's good! Regards that I've put out a couple of searches but all I'm turning up so far is Denso ones, whereas mine is a Bosch! Not prepared to try anything other than what it has originally fitted , I've done that before n caused problems!
Interesting that your working life spent in plastic moulding- mine too! Last 16 years at a firm making polyethylene( mainly) fittings for the water and gas industries! Had an 8 year stint before, but broke my service to try pastures new. It. Is concerning about plastics being petrol based, indeed as you say how long will it last?

dave1123

The most interesting project I worked on was a chassis for a optical smoke detector. This used a light source and a photocell to measure particles in the air between them. We spent months getting the lens focused so the light beam fell centered on photocell. This required multiple sampling runs and miniscule insert adjustments to get the sensitivity within limits. We found that injection pressure and cooling time were critical to get a part that worked properly.

Most smoke detectors use a radioactive source to create an ion cloud. This device was designed to eliminate the radioactive source. The company's name is confidential.

Bosch made lots of parts for Chrysler and I'll bet the Denso part will work just as well. Denso makes electronic parts of them as well.

Wanaron

My life that sounds very technical and high end stuff! Interesting though it does sound.
We on the other hand just churn out polyethylene fittings, as you say expensive tooling but will literally produce thousands, in fact millions of parts. I myself am involved with the material handling side of things, makin sure the right stuff reaches the right machine, at the right time!
Week off thou now! Jeep loaded, caravan on the back, ready for the trip tomorrow to Badminton horse trials, a working holiday.
Maybe you Dave or someone else can settle a disagreement? What would a J G Cherokee limited , have cost when new back in 2001?
Regards W