TIA,
Dom
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These are instructions for removing the rear regulator, but it should give you most of the tips you need.

John G
95 740i

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Last week, the RR window on our E38 went down and would not return back up. It turns out that this was a fairly simple failure; the cable ends came undone from the the 'trolley' that pushes/pulls the window.

Unfortunately, in trying to see what was wrong, my wife pressed the up and down buttons a few times (pretty normal reaction), but this ruined the cables, requiring a new window regulator (no separate parts are available, and fabricating new cables seemed too labor intensive to be worthwhile).

Anyway, if your window gets stuck up or down, STOP and do not press the buttons. If you then take the door apart, you may be able to re-attach the cables (none of the parts appeared broken), and avoid buying a $220 window regulator.

Now, a quick how-to on this job:

Special tools needed: T-30 Torx driver (male tool) for lower window mount, and E10 Torx socket (female tool) for upper regulator-to-door mounts. Also need a T-25 driver if you are planning to repair your regulator.

First, remove the plastic plug behind the door latch, and remove the phillips screw behind that. Then, using a panel tool, pop the door panel off (standard plastic bayonette type mounting) around the sides and bottom of the door. Then pull the panel upward off of the clips at the top. There are a bunch of electrical connectors to undo, but none of them is the same, so none to get confused. One of the speaker leads could be installed in two different directions, so I marked it to be sure. Also it's easiest to remove the courtesy light in the bottom of the door panel, to remove the wire lead.

Next, using phillips screwdriver, remove speaker assembly from the door. Next pull off the insulation/liner from the door, around the sides and bottom (leave the top on). This is glued on with that nasty black tar stuff, which can be cut or pulled apart.

Remove both the inner and outer trim pieces from the horizontal part of the door sil (these are the ones that guide the window). They both are fairly tight, but pull straight up, with caution not to bend them. Also, the inner one has a very sharp edge which can tend to scratch the interior plastic, so be careful.

Ok now the fun part. You have to remove the window glass (otherwise you cannot remove the two upper screws from the regulator frame). With your T-30 driver, remove the lower window mounting screw. There is a small plastic piece glued to the bottom, rear of the window glass. Remove it, noting it's orientation (later you'll silicone it back on). Now, the window comes out of the door, up through the window frame, toward the outside of the car. It's similar to the window's normal upward travel, but with the bottom screw undone, the top of the window can tilt outward (about vertical), and pull straight out. You may want a little lubrication on the window side seals for this--it's pretty tight coming out. (This method is from the factory fische manual).

Next, remove the window regulator. Unplug the electrical connector. The two upper screws are near the top of the door. Each one has a hole in the door, covered by tape (remove), to allow access for your E10 torx socket on an extension. Unscrew. The lower mount is a 10mm hex. Unscrew. The regulator comes out the bottom of the door.

That's basically it. Reverse order to assemble. Good lighting really helps.

From my observations of the dealer parts turnover of the regulators, it must be a somewhat common problem. So watch out.

John Goddard
95 740i