crank windows
 

So on both my first gens I have manual windows. The go down fine but coming up take an act of god. On my 85 it will slowly come up while I pull it towards the back of the car. On my 80 it jumps completely off track. Then I gotta pull the panel off to put it back on track.... anyone know a way to fix this problem

I have to constantly adjust mine. It sucks, especially since my A/C doesn't work.

on the 85, clean off all the old grease and re-grease the little plastic rollers and channel they run in. on the 80, remove the panel and work the window up and down to see what's causing it to come off track and fix it. it too could probably use a good cleaning and re-greasing.

Mine were giving me trouble too. Quickest fix is to spray some wd-40 in between the window weather strip on the door sill and the window (stick the spray straw in there...and run down the length of the door). WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MADE.

Without maintenance or things like this (including greasing the gears) broken windows and damaged regulators will become prevalent

I was having the same problem and got tired of constantly dealing with the old worn out parts. Found a good deal on new parts over the internet and today I finally replaced the regulators, window channel track, and weatherstripping in both doors. After 30 years of use there was just nothing left to do but replace. It was in such bad shape that the drivers side regulator fell apart in pieces as I pulled it out. Now that it works like brand new I wish I would have replaced it a few years ago.

They look like a pain to replace!

For whatever reason, the whole regulator assy (same for all SA/FB manuals) are now available NEW, and cheap at BlackDragon.
BUT - maybe not needed - worth pulling the panel and cleaning and relubing as others here suggest. There is a small range of adjustment on these AND I believe there is a nylon clip that sits at the BOTTOM of the track that may be broken?? replace that too. (see on PDF of RX7 parts catalogue)

Regulators not that hard to swap out BTW....

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

There's some on ebay (new) for around the same price as Black Dragon... $60 Anyone tried either one of those...? How are they...??

The regulator is easy to replace, just 6 bolts attached to the door and 2 screws to the window grommets (the 2 nylon clips connecting the regulator to the bottom of the window). If you need to replace the regulator you should replace the window grommets at the same time since mine fell apart when I disconnected the window by removing the 2 screws. The window channel can be replaced at a later time if still in good shape but again, mine was falling apart.

Suggest you watch a couple of videos before trying this yourself to get an idea how it is done and don't end up breaking your glass. The hardest thing is realigning the glass into the channels as you reconnect the window to the new regulator. Just takes a little patience and a flashlight. Plan on 2-3 hours for your first time, less than 1 hour for your second regulator. Believe me, this is much easier than replacing the door weatherstripping and the inner and outer window seals.

I bought the new regulators and window channels from BlackDragon which were identical to the original. New grommets are available from Mazdatrix. Since I live in Florida and don't have A/C, it is great to be able to easily roll down my windows!

whats so hard about replacing it. it is very simple. If after you spray WD-40 or similar to the window channels, the crank continues to be a pain. Look a the pictures below and be sure to clean the gunk off the crank and the gear side of the crank. If it sticks and you continue to force the window to open and close, the crank mechanism/gear will break off from the housing. I used brake cleaner, scouring pads and a three-sided file to clean all the teeth. Once clean and shiny, be sure to put some axle grease on teh gear

dirty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2085.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2087.jpg

clean
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2089.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2088.jpg

damaged crank (loose, wobbles)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...r/DSCN2092.jpg