Someone shattered my passenger side window in my 85 5.0 and I can't figure out how to get the old window out to get a new one in. HELP
:pbb:
Get one at junkyards for a couple of bucks...
To put out the old window just pull out the door inner panel, and check for a nuts retaining Your window, one on near front of the door, and other near rear of the door, In My 1985 Bird I have a holes in the door frame to put a box to unbolt that, remove Your window by the upper side of the door frame, and reverse to install, this is a 15-20 minutes job...
Have a nice Day...
*EDIT* I didn't see in your post whether this was the door glass or the quarter window glass. My post below applies to quarter window glass.
In the 87-88 you'll have to remove the interior panel to get at the nuts that hold the window in. There are about 8 nuts around the cirspoogeference of the glass. You'll also need to remove a couple of screws that retain the rubber weatherstrip where the door closes against it. Then you'll have to very carefully pry out on the window glass while cutting the rubber sealer that Ford put between the glass and body (since your window is broken you don't have to be particularly careful, but if you're taking another window out of a car you will be, because of course you don't want to break it). Once the window is out remove ALL old sealant from the body and the new window (should pull right off, but can be tedious), clean it with alcohol or some other high strength cleaner, and apply new sealer before bolting the new window in
I'm not good in English, but I understaded the DOOR window, not a side quarter window...
Probably My mistake...
Sorry!,
Thanks a bunch. It is the door window and not the side. I'll tackle this one the minute I find a window.
You'll also need to remove the inner window trim (long black trim that runs the length of the window on the upper door).It has two screws holding it in.If you can pull the replacement widow yourself,that would be a good time for you to see what you're doing,and get a little practice before tackling the job.It's easy,and like stated above,shouldn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.Be careful pulling the door panel off.If you haven't done it before,there are a few screws,and a few push pin retainers for the bottom and side of the inner door panel.
there aint no nuts holding the window in
there is no need to remove any trim to replace the window
find all the fasteners holding the door panel on and remove them
pry out the section of glass in the two window cradles.
activate window motor to move the two white holders up in lower half of the door so you can reach everything
grease up the track and the two wheels
add thin beed of lubricant to the tracks all the way up the sides of the door
clean out the two holders then lay a beed of good rubber cement or the best money can buy silicone.
slip window back in , align it and drop into holders
roll window up and leave it there for however long it takes the silicone to dry.
shop vac out the glass i suppose, or by hand.
If the replacement window already has the clips on it,then there are two nuts that hold the glass in,and if the clips are on the glass,the inner dew wipe will have to be removed in order to make room for the clips on the window to slide down into the door.Also,if the window was busted in the car,the clips will probably have to be removed in order to clean out the old adhesive and glass that is most likely still in it.
It's an '85 (read his user title)...it DOES have nuts holding the glass in. Earlier glass has two bolts through the bottom, and they bolt to the regulator. The 1987-88 door glass was attached with adhesive, yes. But there was NO ADHESIVE on the 1983-86 glass. Therefore it is much easier to replace and more securely attached than 1987-88 glass.
I decided to photograph both glass types so, once and for all, there is no more confusion.
VIEW #1
1987-88 glass at the top, 1983-86 glass at the bottom.
Note the clips on the 1987-88 glass, the earmarked corner in the 1983-86 glass, and also the bump-out in the 1983-86 glass where the bolts go through the two plastic guards.
(http://www.coolcats.net/ximages/doorglass01.jpg)
VIEW #2
Once again, 1987-88 on top, 1983-86 on bottom.
(http://www.coolcats.net/ximages/doorglass02.jpg)
VIEW #3
A close-up of the 1983-86 glass. Again, there is a beveled corner and two offset holes in the plastic guards through which the bolts go.
(http://www.coolcats.net/ximages/doorglass03.jpg)
The 1987-88 glass goes about 2" down deeper into the door, and also has a much more rounded corner at the B-pillar. And obviously has clips. The 1983-86 glass doesn't.
E Dogg FTW!!!eleven!!1! :headbang:
i can tell you right now from experience in both driver and passenger windows on an 87-88, the way they have the windows in there is retarded. i tried every glue in the world to hold my window on track. i even have a one sided clip. but i finally figured out exactly how to fix the problem perminantly (this is for an archive if someone is dealing with this poblem on an 87-88) glue the clips back onto the window after scuffing the surface of the clip and window with WINDSHIELD ADHIESIVE. its cheap too, and you can pick it off the shelf at any part store, they deffinatly have it in stock if you cant find it on the shelf. btw, b/c of how well the glue is as an adhiesive, you can only use a tube once. after you use it once the entire thing of glue dries hard as a rock. no other type of glue will work, i know, i've tried them all.
I have used 5 minute epoxy with much luck. every tbird i had ended up needing the clips re-attached at one point or another. instead of using 50/50 resin/hardener i used more like 70/30 resin/hardener. kind of keeps it flexible. you have to apply it when its right in the middle of cureing and you have to be quick. the clip and the glass have to be cleaned very well. i drill a couple small holes or one bigger one through the clip to let air bubbles out as well as give the epoxy a place to go and a channel to hold well. anywho...i never had a problem with any of them afterwards.
the window adhesive im sure is the "right" way to do it but this way does work well.
Alot of the early ones (at least all mine have been) are riveted instead of bolted. I do replace the rivets with 8mm/5/16" bolts though.
Perhaps it's an 83-84 and 85-86 thing on the bolts vs rivets. Like I said, all mine have been riveted ....but they have all been 83-84 that I have removed/replaced door glass on. I never had to on either of my 85's.
I've had both, Chuck...but it could have been that someone replaced the window before I bought the car ('86 GS, '86 LS) and drilled out the rivets. Either way it's still a more stable system and relatively easier to remove and replace.
oh yeh, i forgot about the tip of drilling holes in the clips to give it a "handle" so to speak, did that with mine too.
ill agree with that part of being stable. I never noticed this on either of my 84's i had. I did a window on my 84 v8 back in 89 and i dont remember encountering bolts or rivits. ive only done three of these windows and two have been on the 87 model so i stand corrected on that for the misleading info
Oh, no problemo Scott...it was nothing against you or anything. I just saw that he had an '85 and thought that showing the actual pieces of glass out of the car would be a good visual aide. ;) When they're in the car, with the regulator assembly in the way, and all the metal from the door, it's really difficult to get a good idea what the actual glass looks like. I just so happened to have a pair of both sets of glass loose.
I think a lot of the reason why the 1987-88 glass was so different was because of cost savings. I'm sure it cost Ford a lot more money to cut the glass in the 1983-86 style. With the flush glass redesign in '87, it seems logical that they cut a few corners. That's painfully obvious with those plastic clips. And it also kind of sucks that you can't retrofit the older glass, or even make the newer glass like the older glass. But that's Ford for ya LOL.
I used an epoxy stick that is made for marine use.Even dries under water.Mine has held for a very long time,and it's wicked durable.
no bolts equals less fasteners
less fasteners equals quicker production time
GLUE>>>>>>>>>>> Its on the move,,,
modern marvels:D
Well I found a Cougar with the glass I need (with the rivets) and it was a b---- getting out. How do I get the rivets out (I have no drill). I was able to get the new glass out by taking the window motor off so I could get the glass wiggled out. That could prove to be a pain on the install. HELP PLEASE!!!
When installing,have the window track raised about half way.Also,remove the inside dew wipe and the window fuzzy on the top middle of the door to give plenty of room to pull the window out..You don't have to touch the motor on the running car.If you need to remove the rivets,and you don't have a drill,borrow one,or take the window to a glass shop and let them do it.You risk breaking the window by not using the right tool for the right job.
AHA!!!!
I was able to replace the window without removing the bracket at all. It took a long time removing it out of the donor car (until I figured it out) but was maybe a 20 minute job getting it back in.
Now you got the know how!,sometimes you got to do it to understand it.
I pulled mine out of the project car yesterday and fixed it.It was out of the clips.No big deal.i used my epoxy stick made for marine use.It holds tight,dies in two minutes,and it's waterproof,and on my daily driver,it has lasted for a few years.
I wish it would have been that easy to fix. I have the bracket with the rivets holding the window in.
I had to replace a window on my truck, it had the rivets like you describe, and my drill was at my other farm, didn't have time to get it, so i took a small phillips screwdriver, and a hammer, and gave the inner round part of the rivet a few sharp raps until the thing pushed through, then just take a little pry tool (i used my pocket knife..lol) and pry the little cap dealie off, and you're ready to go...
bolts are so much easier, able rivets :flame:
on the 87 -88 thunderbirds any idea where i can get replacement clips for the glass, local advance and napa doesnt have them.
We always found the 83-86 cars with rivets in the salvage yards. Used an 1/8" punch and a small hammer to remove the "stem" of the rivet, cordless drill, and the window was out in about 15-20 minutes. I always reinstalled them with the rivets. I can see where the bolts would be easier but I have a Mac Tools hydraulic hand riveter so the larger rivets were not a big deal to reinstall. I never had to remove the wipes as I just popped the large metal/plastic washers off the bottom of the window while it was still in the door.
I would suggest removing the felt in the door frame that the window rolls up into and give that a cleaning. Sometimes small fragments of glass get in there when a window is broken out and it will cut some tint up in a hurry.
Everyone does it a bit different but at least it gets done.
Darren