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The driver side window in my 86 2.9 has gone into the door and I cannot get it to close. The motor works enough on the upstroke to move the window just to the surface of the door, but not enough to where I can grab it.
Any suggestions on how to get it closed, or any thoughts on why it stuck in the first place would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jan

does the motor still run it will just not push it up? or does everything stop in the same place every time?

if the motor still runs the little gear is probably bad if the motor stops in the same place every time then the motor probably has a dead spot.

pull the door panal off and push from the bottom.

I'm not 100% sure on an '86 but the bronco II window motors are great for eating the little nylon pins (three of them about 3/8" round X 1/2" long). <- Size is a guess.. With the motor out you remove the cover at the small gear and pull the gear and a white nylon gear cage out of the motor housing. If the pins are shot you will know it, there will be grease and a bunch of broken plastic pieces inside. I think this setup with the pins is to prevent the window from taking off fingers and breaking bones if caught in a closing window. I had to replace these pins in my '90 B2 motors and every motor I looked at at the junkyard was the same way. I bought a fix set of the pins on eBay pretty inexspensive and they fixed the problem. Anyway, like stated you may be able to get the window up by pushing it after removing the door panel. Just be carefull you don't get you hand caught in there!
If your door guts are still riveted in the door you will need to remove the rivets to get the motor out without having to cuss for an hour.
Removing the window motor:
1. Using a small punch and a light hammer, drive the rivet's center pin out (they come out easy). When removing the window rivets put a wood block between the door and the window so you don't break it.
2. Using a drill and a 1/4" drill bit, drill out the rivet head. Should go fast, they are aluminum.
3. Remove bolts that hold the motor to the door and any regulator guides you need to. Disconnect motor and reove motor and regulator as a single unit.
4. Seperate the motor from the regulator and repair.
5. When istalling the regulator and any parts removed by drilling rivets use 1/4"-20 bolts and lock nuts to replace the rivets. Just be sure they are not too long that they will get in the way of the regulator and/or window operation.
The whole thing can be done in about an hour or two depending on mechanical ability.

I took the panel off this morning. It appears as though the white plastic chanel the wheels run in is broken in at least one, but maybe two places.

The motor runs in both the up and down positions, but it's weak in spots. I had to help it along when it stalled. I don't yet understand whether the weak spots coincide with the breaks in the plastic window chanel.

Is the window chanel part of the regulator system, or is it a piece I can replace separately?

Also, I'm a little leary of taking the window out of the door. Glass in tight places makes me nervous. Is it possible to replace the chanel without completely removing glass?

Thanks!
Jan

The regulator and channel parts are seperate pieces on '90. You actually have four channels. One on each side, one in the center, and one at the base of the glass.
I don't know on your year (for sure) but I would doubt there is little difference. On mine, in order to get at almost anything you needed to remove the glass. Everything is tied together to make the parts work. Regulator to glass / glass to channels. It's rather easy to do and the small channel at the bottom of the window stays with the glass when you remove it so it really can't go anywhere until you move i the regulator out of the small channel (it runs horizontal and is about 6 to 8 inches long at the base of the window glass. To remove the glass you just slide it up and out the inside of the door. You do need to tilt it some to get it out but I'd think you would have to be pretty inatentive to break it. With the window out you can get at everything. If you do find a proble with the channel, by all means fix it, I'd still remove the motor and physically check the internal parts at the grearing end. It only takes removing one screw with the motor off and removing the cover. There are no parts that can fly out and it can only go back together one way so it pretty much a no brainer to chek. If yours has the little nylon pins I'd say thre is a good chance they are pretty well worn out or even broken. Skipping this check may require you to take things aparts a second time for the sake of a few minutes to be sure.