K5dreamer said:
hey everyone, been away for a while, real busy with school. someone smashed my window and stole my stereo system. so i got an entire door from a buddy, and i need to swap the window glass. (yeah i know swapping doors would be easier, but mine is in much better shape). it should be pretty strait forward, just lookin to get a heads up for any "gotchas" like special tools, or tricks to get it out easier. especially without breaking anything.
thanks for any help.
Edit: to get the vent window out, take a sharp razor or packing knife, and cut the weatherstripping at the top of the window frame, in the top corner where the vent window seals against the big window. By cutting it that way, it shouldn't leak when it rains and getting the vent out will be much easier.
Been there... Spray some aerosol canned white lithium grease on the track while you're in there. I posted this on Usenet quite a while back (2006). Here it is:
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You pop off the door panel first obviously. You'll need a cheap door
panel-removal tool, available at any parts store. You may want to grab
a pack of the plastic fasteners that hold the door panel on, as they're
usually damaged when removing the panel. They're cheap...
Then get to working on the vent window. Look on top of the door, where
it angles down toward the firewall. You should see a couple of Philips
head screws. Those are holding in the top of the vent window frame.
There's also a bolt in the door you'll need to remove. A socket with
an extension makes that easy.
You may have to work the vent window assembly back and forth a bit to
get it out, but it's not too hard once it's loose. Keep the main
window assembly rolled all the way down during this.
Then remove the remnants of the old main window, and slide the new one
in. You'll again have to work the window back and forth to get it on
the track properly. This may involve rolling it partially up and down
to get everything aligned. Not hard, just annoying. That took just a
couple of minutes.
When I had the window on the track, I didn't secure the bolts. This
let it "float" a bit. It made getting the vent window back into the
door much easier. Once the vent was reinstalled and secured, I
tightened all the bolts on the main window.
Temporarily reinstall the window crank and check that the window moves
freely and properly goes into the weatherstripping. Take the
opportunity to grease the track for the window too--it'll make rolling
it up and down a lot easier. This is something I forgot to do, and the
replacement window is much more difficult to roll up and down because
of it.
Once you've done all that, replace the plastic fasteners that hold the
door panel on, and replace it.
The whole thing took me about 30-40 minutes, and that involved figuring
most of it out as I went along.
Good luck...
