Fixing rear window regulator....wtf?

[Al's540i]

Okay so I purchased the rear window regulator repair kit online some time ago and last night I made an attempt to repair my regulator. Using www.bmwrepairkit.com (http://www.bmwrepairkit.com) I read over the DIY instructions and watched the informative videos. However, when I got my door panel off I noticed that the regulaor in my rear door is not the same as the regulator in the DIY instructions. As a result, the modification kit that I purchased will not work. :mad
Now, I don't know if the regulator in my car is an aftermarket one or not but it contains the same part number called out for in realoem.com.
At this point, I have to buy a new regulator because the one I have looks like this:
http://www.oembimmerparts.com/i//e39uroreg.JPG
which is different from the online DIY regulator which looks like this:
http://www.bmwrepairkit.com/instru9.jpg
My questions:
1. Did the rear regulators change sometime in 99?
2. Will the regulor from the DIY also work with my rear windows? If so I'd buy that regulator and use the modification kit on it so that it'll last me the life of the car or
3. Is the regulator that I currently have in my rear door the only regulator that'll work with my rear windows?
4. If the regulator from the DIY will work in my door, what additional hardware will I need to purchase?
Thanks in advance.
Al

[mattmartindrift]

different regulators for different model years.

[95325i]

If i recall I think 97 and 98 used the regulator on the bottom and the 99+ used the style on top.

[parsecnc4]

Looks like they changed in March 1999. What model year and date of manufacture is your car?

[udipl]

Hi,

I bought an aftermarket regulator for my rear left window - '98 528i. It just arrived in the mail and I was looking forward to diving in there over the weekend.
There's a tiny white plastic piece floating around in the box. Can anyone think what it is - is it crucial? is the thing broken? should I send it back?

There are pictures of it here: (I'm no allowed to post images yet):
h t t p : / / picasaweb.google.com/udi.pladott/528i?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6Sl-axgonUCA&feat=directlink


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Udi