Rear Hatch Window Replacement

[red_dog007]

Can I take it to a shop and just have a general joe do it?

[Mike B]

I did it myself. It wasn't too difficult. Do you have new glass or are you reusing what you have and just putting on a new seal?

-Mike

[Zs-ondabrain]

easy cheesy. You can do it with some string and a little patience.

I pulled and reinstalled mine when I did the paint job in the garage.

wrap the rubber seal around the glass, put a heavy duty string or 16 guage primary wire into the lip that the metal of the hatch would go into and over lap the string or wire by about a foot.

Put the top half of the window onto the hatch, about 6" from the top, get the lip of the seal into the lip of the hatch, then slide the window forward and into place. Have a friend help you push down on the glass edge on the outside, while you're on the inside of the hatch, slowly pulling the previouly installed "rip cord". As you pull it out, it willflip the lip of the seal over the lip of the hatch and into place.

USE glass cleaner as a lubricant to help things along.

Or take it to a glass shop, if they break it, they bought it.

Dave.

[Obewon]

Here's a web site, not a Z car but use the same techniques.

http://www.route66restorations.com/1.html

Good luck.

[geezer]

All good tips above...but the most important aspect of installing glass was not mentioned. A new seal is the way to go, and I would not attempt to install it until it has been sufficiently heated up. The difference in level of difficulty is like night & day. A good method of heating the rubber seals up if you are doing it at home is to use halogen work lights focused on the rubber contained in a metal or wooden box. Don't try to heat the rubber too quickly and be careful not to burn anything. When installing, the hot flexible rubber is much less likely to put undue stress on the glass.

[hls30.com]

I agree with Ron, though I was more paranoid about burning the seal.

I soaked it in a four gallon stock pot of water I had just boiled(I mixed in a teaspoon or so of dish washing soap after it boiled). The water was steaming but not boiling when I put the seal in, and I let it soak until it was hot to the touch, but not too hot to hold. I left the glass in the sun so it was warm too. It went together smoothly and fast, and the heat dried the gasket within minutes of the installation!

Will