BenWA's 2005+ Power Sliding Rear Window Quick Install Kit

Thanks guys. I am going to try to post after each time I work on it but please be patient with me. I can only work on it for an hour or so at a time due to some physical limitations.
In the meantime, if anyone has any ideas as to the track part of the system (e.g. mounting the Ridgeline track, attaching to the window, etc.) please post them. I am trying to think of the most discreet, but bulletproof way to rig the cable system to the window.
BTW does anyone know if there is a way to pop the center part (sliding part) of the window out? I thought that maybe if it was slid open that you could lift it and pull it out, but doesn't work for me. Any ideas there?
Thanks again,
Ken

 

I know the kit had a aluminum bracket with edges that wrapped around the window and was to be glued to the window. The bracket then bolted to a piece that was mounted to the cable

 

Thanks PitchFork. I think that was his original plan. If you look at the kit now, you can see that he did away with the bracket that bolted to the aluminum strip on the window. After looking at and studying BenWAs write-ups and checking out my truck, I can see that he has made it MUCH more stealth than his original plan. The kit he was getting ready to market was VERY cool. The only problem I could see was the mounting plate. If I had one suggestion to make to him it would be to alter his instructions making the mounting plate that gets glued to the back wall optional. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, there is just not enough room on top of the back wall for the motor assembly in some Taco models unless you do like I did and cut a pocket out for it on one of the horizontal ridges.
I also took a look at my neighbors new F150. They use a VERY similar setup, except that the center window piece sits on a plastic strip and the cables attach to the ends of the plastic piece. I think this would be a good idea, but am not sure if that plastic strip would fit into the existing window track in our Tacos. Man, I sure wish I could removed that center piece of glass.
I would also REALLY like to get ahold of the aluminum strip that is (was) in BenWA's kit to get a better idea of how it was fashioned. That is just about the only thing holding me up at this point.
BTW Does anyone know if these window motors have an "auto stop" function? In other words, will the motor stop when the window hits a certain amount of resistance or are they made to just run the length of the cable?
I will keep plugging away.
Thanks again,
Ken

 

first off i hope everything is ok with the original maker of the kit... but bummer i cant get this, i have cash waiting

 

he's not making them anymore?

 

^^ AWOL for months now. Logs in couple times, but no updates. Someone from his neighborhood should talk to him.

 

My experience, as its only with the original kit, is that when the window reaches the end of the channel, it stops. I do not hear the window regulator driving itself and it leads me to believe that the regulator only has a certain distance it drives the motor? or maybe it senses itself back driving and stops. Not entirely sure, just my .02 of what i noticed in using it.

 

If you look at his original thread before he started offering "kits" he explains the need to shorten the cables to the proper length bc the motor doesn't have stops.

 

Crap. I spent the most of the day trying to fabricate an aluminum bracket that would snap into place and have a bent end that a cable stop could slip into, but so far no luck. I could install a mostly hidden kit using the parts from the Ridgeline and going by BenWA's original instructions, but I REALLY want this thing hidden and looking stock. The only thing holding me up is still the method of attaching the cables to the window underneath the weather-stripping. If I could remove the center piece of glass separately it would help.
I did take the motor assembly apart (at least took a better look at the spool). It looks like the spool is spiraled like a threaded bolt and when the power is connected one way, one cable is reeled out while the other is reeled in. When polarity is reversed the same thing happens but with opposite cables. So there is a fixed length of cable that the spool can hold at once. So I don't no about auto-stop, I just know there is a limited amount of cable that the spool can hold. I guess you can still install just about any length of cable and cable housing, but you need to follow BenWA's formula in his original thread.
I also went to the bike shop a couple of times and am learning the terminology and methods used in the "bike cable" world. I bought some lengths of cable, cable housing, cable housing ends, "noodles" (see below) and bought some ferrules from Home Depot (forgot to get them at the bike store) and ordered some more on eBay. You CAN cut the cable housing using regular cable cutters, or run it through the band saw. I have a pair of cable cutters and some cable housing cutters that I bought from the bike shop that work equally as well. The difference is that the ones from the bike shop also have crimpers and a short hidden awl that is used to clean up the hole in the cut cable housing.
Sorry to go on and on and not deliver a resolution, but I am working on it. I very much want to keep this thread alive and make it a "mod" that everyone can do on their own, I am NOT trying to take over BenWAs idea or production of any product. I will however try to post any part numbers and successful ventures.
BTW I was re-reading parts of this thread today and saw that a couple of members mentioned having a complete slide-down rear window like the Tundra. ME TOOO! I just sold my '08 Tundra and that is one of the things that I miss the most about the truck. To do that in a Taco would require MAJOR modifcations to the back wall/interior of the truck. I cannot see how it could be done. For those of you that want to avoid the "DIY" approach, you can always go with CRL HERE, but remember that you will have to pay for installation.
Ken

"Noodle"

 

Thanks for the update keninsb! My brother has access to a mill if you need any brackets made. Anything to get this going again!

 

Thanks Nut. I was just thinking about using a mill this morning, but the part has to be so thin that I am now thinking of gluing a strip of aluminum or thin steel to the bottom of the window that sticks out a little on each end and then attaches to the cable ends. Still working on how to attach the cable to the ends of the metal strip, there is very limited space.
Boy, it is too bad there is not more room in the track. Ford uses a piece of plastic that sits in the track and the window rides on it. The cables attach to the end of the plastic that the window rides on.
Ken

 

Quick update:
I have been to bicycle stores, hobby shops, OSH, Home Depot and every other place I can thing of and have picked up a variety of materials in various shapes (angle, channel, even Z-shaped) and think I have a method. I was going to start on it today, but spent the afternoon changing the belt (then repairing) my crappy Skill bench top band saw (NEVER buy one, they suck).
I have resigned myself to come up with a solution or combination of options on Monday when the wife's car is not in the garage and the kid is in school. I just wanted to let you guys know I am taking this thing seriously (I think a little too seriously).
NUT: That is one disturbing picture man!
Ken

 

lol thanks for the update!

 

Good luck Keninsb. I'm anxiously waiting. Here in Canada, it's hard to get parts. I checked out some of the sites that sell the Ridgeline regulator, but none will ship outside the US. I wonder if you can make 2 clips, one for each side of the sliding glass, and glue them on. These clips will each have a slot to the cable.

 

sub'd!

 

Hey guys, sorry I have been MIA for so long. I've had a lot of stuff going on with my personal life and haven't had much time to come here to answer everybodys questions. Looks from the recent posts like some folks are trying to figure a way to fab up their own window mods, which I support. Looks like Adio nailed it -- good job man.

Regarding the full-hidden version that i was developing (which it sounds like some folks here are hoping to replicate), I need to reiterate that you won't be able to make your own. The full hidden kit requires a regulator with super long cables with custom ZAMAK die-cast cable ends and a motor that is compact enough to fit between the storage cubbies of the double cab. I had one of the largest window regulator manufacturers in the world make prototype samples for me. This is NOT something you can just make in your garage, or even in a well equipped machine shop. Trust me, I have spent a LOT of time doing research on all of this, with a lot of dead ends. The only feasible way I have found was to go straight to the manufacturers that are already set up to make regulators. But this is not something you will be able to do if you are just making one for yourself. These sorts of manufacturers have minimum order quantities of hundreds of units per production run.

The cables are similar to bicycle brake cables, but they are not the same. Bicycle cables are much stiffer and will wear the grooves of the regulator spool rapidly after repeated use. Window regulator cables are much softer, and nearly impossible to come by. I'm not trying to dissuade you, I'm just trying to save you a lot of time, money, and frustration.

The best you are going to do is a semi-hidden version (or full hidden for access cab) using a Ridgeline regulator, which is very difficult do. I have done several installs of this version with catastrophic results. It is not straightforward and not something I would recommend attempting to anyone who isn't extremely mechanically inclined.

The pull-pull bracket for the semi hidden version is a 0.25" thick piece of aluminum machined down to 0.125" where it sits on the glass. There are holes on each end that clipped cable ends insert into, and then two threaded holes on the bottom edge that very small set screws thread into to clamp the cables down. The brackets that secure the cables to the window frame are very difficult to describe and to make by hand, but they consist of formed sheet metal brackets riveted to 3/8" thick plastic blocks with holes for cable housing and cables.

I support folks who try to do this mod on their own, but the one thing I ask is that you please don't try to replicate my ideas as a means to start selling these types of kits. There is a lot of intellectual property here and I hope that you all can be respectful of the many, many hours of hard work and thought that I put into this.

Cheers,
BenWA

 

Will you have any time or have you made any progress on your full hidden kits?

 

Unfortunately, not in the foreseeable future. It may or may not be something I come back to. There were a LOT of roadblocks to overcome, such as launching a business (lots of overhead expense, taxes, etc), getting startup capital, etc. The way it was shaping up was a full-time job unto itself, which is a venture that I currently don't have time or desire to undertake. The projected profit and relative lack of interest didn't make it worthwhile for me.

 

For those who are hoping for a full hidden version, my recommendation would be to explore the possibility of using an F-150 or Dodge pickup regulator assembly and trying to make it work for the Tacoma somehow.

Trying to make your own, however, will probably cost you a lot of time and money in customized parts. You may just be better off going for a CR Laurence for the amount of time and money you will likely spend.