My friend’s '85 Astro van was broken into. Despite that it was unlocked, someone opted to toss a brick through the window on one of the rear doors. The broken glass is out, but the rubber seal is in. I’ve seen people install glass, and IIRC they put the glass into the rubber and then use a cord to slip the rubber over the lip. But my friend can’t get the rubber off of the door in the first place to put new glass in. (He doesn’t have the glass, BTW, but can get it.) He tried prying it off and it’s pliable, but it just doesn’t want to come off of the lip.
How does one remove the rubber from the door frame, and can you give me details as to the installation of the new glass (using the cord method or other)?
Glass replacement technicians in these parts tend to know what they are doing and they have seen everything. I have insurance to cover all of it and I have have windshields replaced four times in the past 10 years. They are usually done in 30 minutes and often same day if you need it. You should never worry about screwing around with it yourself. Let them do their thing.
He doesn’t have comprehensive insurance. He doesn’t want to spend the money on a professional job. Since it’s a fixed window, it doesn’t seem that it should be difficult – but the rubber doesn’t want to come off. (Incidentally, the clutch slave cylinder replacement went relatively smoothly even though he hadn’t done it before.)
Sometimes, letting the pros handle it is actually the best route, as Shagnasty pointed out. The last glass that I replaced was the back window (fixed) of an S-10 pickup. I paid it out of pocket, as it came in at just over $100. Didn’t even come close to the deductable. A lot of times, glass places will give a considerable cash discount.
Had I gone to the salvage yard, I could have purchased a used one for about $25, but only after spending at least half a day calling around to different salvage places, another half day going out and pulling one and a good share of the next day cursing while attempting to install it myself, only to have the seal leak after three weeks in the hot southern sun ( like my last time :smack::smack::smack: ).
If your friend insists on DYI, using the string method isn’t that hard, but getting a tight seal is.
In my experience there are two types of rubber-set windows.
The first uses an H-shaped channel, with a groove for the glass and a groove for the sheet metal. (Sometimes the H is pretty contorted.) You install that type by putting the rubber on the glass, then wrapping a stout cord around the rubber in the sheet metal channel, leaving loose ends of about six inches. While one person holds the glass in place from the outside, a second person pulls on the cord from inside, “zipping” their way around the window. The cord, as you pull it, pulls the rubber channel lip up and over the sheet metal.
The second type is similar, but has a plastic or rubber “lock strip” which fits into a channel on the rubber to hold everything in place. I’ve never installed that type, but I gather that you slip the rubber onto the glass, slip the whole thing into the window opening, slipping the rubber over the sheet metal lip, then install the lock strip (using a special tool, which I’ve heard is worth buying) to install the lock strip.
But I wonder if your friend’s window is glued in. I hear that GM tends to use glued-in windows, with a plastic trim strip that snaps into place around the window to give a finished look. You have to buy the gookum from an auto glass shop; I’ve never seen it available anywhere else.
[quote]
Special tool J-28628, Adhesive Push/Pull Knife, or equivalent, is required to perform this procedure.
[ul][li]Remove the door garnish molding.[/li][li]Remove the window molding.[/li][li]Remove the window retainers.[/li][li]Remove the window assembly from the vehicle using tool J-28628. Cut through the urethane adhesive from the inside of the vehicle.[/li][li]Remove all the urethane from the pinchweld.[/ul][/li]
To install:
[ul][li]Clean the pinchweld flange and the new window assembly with solvent and allow it to air dry.[/li][li]Apply urethane adhesive primer to the pinchweld flange and the window assembly molding in the area shown in the figure. Allow the primer to dry at least 30 minutes before applying the adhesive.[/li][li]Apply a triangular bead of urethane adhesive 10mm high into the trough of the window assembly molding.[/li][li]Install the window assembly in the pinchweld flange.[/li][li]Install the window assembly retainers.[/li][li]Apply a light mist of water to the window to check for leaks and to enhance the cure of the urethane.[/li][li]Install the window molding.[/li][li]Install the door garnish molding.[/li][li]Allow the urethane adhesive 6 hours to cure before moving the vehicle.[/ul][/li][/quote]
As luck has it, somone has one of those special tools on eBayfor twenty bucks plus ten bucks for shipping. Looks like a good way to slice your hand open.
If the necessary tool is $30, a used window is $25, plus the adhesive and a local glass shop can do the whole job for $100, I’d happily let them do it.
A lot of times, glass places will give a considerable cash discount.