924Board.org

[Slam]

I had to replace the window in Mand's driver's side door. She'd made a beer run and when she got in her car and closed the door the window exploded. I think I know why and figured I'd do a write-up on the procedure while it's still fresh in my mind. Sure vacuumed up a lot of glass!

BTW, this'd be for standard windows, not power.

Door panel's gotta come off. Unscrew lock knob. Pry cover off window crank and you'll find a Philip's-head screw there. Remove that and wiggle the crank off the post. Keep the crank handy - you'll need it. Pull the door latch up, pry the inner trim piece off at its leading edge and then you can go after the screw holding the latch trim. Don't drop it inside the door. Remove the screws in the top front and top rear of the panel, then get the 3 on the door pocket and the 3 on the door pull. Last, use a wide screwdriver to lever the pops along the edge of the panel out of the door. Half will come with the panel, half will stay in the door. You'll lose one and one will break. Work the panel upwards as you pull it away from the door and it should come off easily.

Now for the window. You'll see the scissors clearly. Note where its rollers run in channels - one screwed inside the lower left (from inside) of the door and one on the window rail mounted to the glass.

Remove the screws holding the channel in the door first. Slide the channel off the scissors and take it out. There's enough room to get your hand into the door to support the glass. Now, pop the window crank back on and wind the window down (or up) until you can see the bolt that fastens the window rail to the scissors through the small round hole just to the left of the big speaker hole. Someone in the past had used an 11mm bolt/nut here, which I think contributed to the failure. TI replaced it with a 13mm one, and when you remove it the window will be free inside the door. Work the glass up until you can slip the last roller off the rail on the glass. Some wiggling required.

Lift the glass out of the door straight up. You'll have lots of room to tilt it side to side and it'll lift out towards the outside of the door. If it binds at all, retreat and work the angles.

At this point I took the glass out of a wreck we've got. I also discovered that the rails for power windows are quite different from the rails for wind-up ones. Not only that, but the window that broke wasn't tinted and the spare I had was. Rats.

I got very luck removing the rail from the donor glass. Using a flat screwdriver, I worked the rail between it and the rubber mount in the rail until the rail bent enough to be pulled off. Then I found the tinting had come loose at the front corner and came off in one long pull. Leaving the glue behind. A shot or two of lacquer thinner, some brake cleaner and lots of elbow grease later I had the glue off.

The original rail had been glued to the broken window, so I donned leather gloves and pounded a long flat screwdriver into it to get the adhesive and broken glass out. I think the smoking gun was the fact that the rail extends on one side of the glass and had metal-fatigued there. Also, the glass had been glued in and the joint was really stiff with age. Anyway, I cleaned up the rail and used the rubber rail insert from the power window rail when I put things back together. I glued and clamped the side with the overhang and shot some silicone into the rail and into the rubber mounting strip, squeezing it closed with pliers - carefully. This may not last long because that overhang is where the 13mm bolt attaches the front of the window to the scissors. We'll see.

When I installed the glass, I lowered it into the door the same way I got it out - from the outside. Slip the rear scissors roller into the window rail first, then slide the inner rear channel onto the scissors and pop its two screws into the door to hold it while you go after the front mount. Working through the little hole, pop the scissors mount into the rail and install the 13mm bolt. Don't tighten anything yet. Pop the crank on and wind the window to its full up position. Now snug up the 2 screws on the door channel and the front mount bolt. I figured this would be the best way - I wanted the window to seal properly when closed.

Sorry if I got something wrong or forgot a step, but maybe someone here will find this useful. And, of course, YMMV.
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'84 944 - kid blew motor
'83 944 - resting comfortably. For 12 years
'87 944 - sideswiped by trucker
'80 924 - gone
'78 924 - gone
'77 924 - rusting comfortably

[Chrenan]

Sorry about the kaboom. At least the door glass is small than the hatch.
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1987 951 - M193 Version for Japan

[Rasta Monsta]

And at least you weren't vaccuuming it up INSIDE your house.


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Toofah King Bad

• WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

[wombat]

at least... at least... at least.... I dont know what at least. How the hell do you break a door window by closing it??? is there something I need to be careful of???? or is this really not as common as the at leasts????
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1977 924 2.0 Auto

[Vince Ponz]

Here is what probably happened.

She slammed the door hard.
Loose bolts holding the scissors to the door caused the glass to wobble enough to break it.

I have had the similar problem but fixed it before the glass broke.

Think about how many times the crank was turned and if the screws moved just a little in time they become loose.
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"Never let them see you sweat"
77.5 924 modified track car
79 931 Euro stock
88 924S SE
87 911 Targa stock

[!tom]

[Slam]

Based on what I found when I took the door apart, I think Vince is right.

Haven't broken a hatch - yet...although when I first left home I broke the back window in my mom's Jeep Laredo. Quite the explosion.
_________________
'84 944 - kid blew motor
'83 944 - resting comfortably. For 12 years
'87 944 - sideswiped by trucker
'80 924 - gone
'78 924 - gone
'77 924 - rusting comfortably

[JackRabbit]

my driver-side glass rattles a bit, does this mean it's on it's way to explosion? should I be taking that door apart and tightening it up asap?
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'79 Porsche 924
'05 Honda Civic
'07 BMW K1200R
'78 Honda Express
'52 Willy's
'58 Wheel Horse

[Vince Ponz]

Slam,

I had a better thought. If you check the channel on the front and back of the door you will notice that one or both rotted on the bottom. This leads to the glass coming off the track and boom.
_________________
"Never let them see you sweat"
77.5 924 modified track car
79 931 Euro stock
88 924S SE
87 911 Targa stock

[Slam]

Yeah, I checked and tweaked as I went along. The window glass in my 944 came off the rail but didn't break. I think the hard urethane holding the rail to the glass didn't help, and the 11mm bolt/nut I took out of the front rail to scissors mount allowed too much play in the window. I checked the tracks in the door - the front one was a little rough. Thing is, if the tracks in the door are toast, so is the door, basically. I've got spares.
_________________
'84 944 - kid blew motor
'83 944 - resting comfortably. For 12 years
'87 944 - sideswiped by trucker
'80 924 - gone
'78 924 - gone
'77 924 - rusting comfortably