Window glass alignment in the channel

[MH77280Z]

Hi Guys,

I took out everything to clean. Have installed the passenger side correctly no issues with alignment.

On the driver side when i roll up the glass it comes out of the channel on the outside. Anyone has any idea how to handle this situation?

Is there a problem with installing the glass below in the regulator or the top door channel itself? any thought?

Edited October 22, 2023 by MH77280Z

[Patcon]

is the roller inside the door just below the window chrome trim?

[MH77280Z]

Yes, the 77-78 glass sit in a metal base which has holes which need to be aligned with the glass. So it is sitting correctly on it and 4 rollers fit at a specific place as well. I was able to mount the base to the shaft in the door as well.

But yes to your question.

[Patcon]

I am thinking of the single roller that snaps over the weld flange at the top of the door on the outside edge of the window slot. It helps keep the glass from tipping out

like this:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiL5dOcwIqCAxW7IUQIHe0tDTUQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fzcardepot.com%2Fproducts%2Fwindow-glass-roller-bumper-guide-240z-260z-280z&usg=AOvVaw26J0DVuFr-nNenUUkUe5NR&opi=89978449

[Richie G]

@Patcon I just happened to pull the door skin to start doing some work in there and like many others found my roller in the bottom of the door.  Question, other than rattle, would this also help keep the glass "straight" as it rolled up?  Mine rolls up and down nicely but what happens is the glass kind of tilts toward the front of the car as it comes up and when fully rolled up the top back corner of the glass no longer is fully "sealed" in the sash.  you can see a small air gap there.  If I guide the window up with my hand as i crank it will sit properly.

or do you think i have another issue in the regulator or channels internally?  when i get the new one is it simply pry up and then press back down in place?

[MH77280Z]

On 10/22/2023 at 1:33 PM, Patcon said:

I am thinking of the single roller that snaps over the weld flange at the top of the door on the outside edge of the window slot. It helps keep the glass from tipping out

like this:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiL5dOcwIqCAxW7IUQIHe0tDTUQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fzcardepot.com%2Fproducts%2Fwindow-glass-roller-bumper-guide-240z-260z-280z&usg=AOvVaw26J0DVuFr-nNenUUkUe5NR&opi=89978449

77-78 dont have these roller.

[Patcon]

6 hours ago, MH77280Z said:

77-78 dont have these roller.

Then I don't know right off hand. There must be an adjustment somewhere

7 hours ago, Richie G said:

@Patcon I just happened to pull the door skin to start doing some work in there and like many others found my roller in the bottom of the door.  Question, other than rattle, would this also help keep the glass "straight" as it rolled up?  Mine rolls up and down nicely but what happens is the glass kind of tilts toward the front of the car as it comes up and when fully rolled up the top back corner of the glass no longer is fully "sealed" in the sash.  you can see a small air gap there.  If I guide the window up with my hand as i crank it will sit properly.

or do you think i have another issue in the regulator or channels internally?  when i get the new one is it simply pry up and then press back down in place?

The single roller just really keeps the glass from tipping out. If it doesn't come up level then the roller guides need to be adjusted to change the tilt of the glass as it rises. The trick is getting it adjusted but not binding

[Richie G]

I'll have to fiddle. Add it to the list lol. There's probably a broken pin and roller guide from an arm on the regulator sitting down there too.

[MH77280Z]

I have loosen the bolts and moved around the channel guide and it probably is working. One of the bolts doesnt align but window glides up. May be i need to keep fiddling as there is definitely nothing broken and I did not added anything extra.

[Richie G]

On 10/26/2023 at 7:23 AM, Richie G said:

I'll have to fiddle. Add it to the list lol. There's probably a broken pin and roller guide from an arm on the regulator sitting down there too.

Fiddle completed with excellent results.  Turns out I had a bunch of problems in there so decided to do the whole thing from scratch the right way.  Tore the door down to the shell by removing the skin, lock mechanism, glass, frame, and regulator.  My window problem turned out to be a combination of things.  The regulator still had a pretty decent spring tension and crank, but the "pivot point" I'll call it where the two arm meet was pretty much shot.  not sure if the prior owner bent it during install or just never bothered addressing it during his decent but not perfect restoration attempt.  I also had a problem with the glide that's attached to the front of the glass mount.  It was missing a screw so even though the glide was within the front window channel it would pivot about half way up as the weight of the glass rose.  That pivot caused the glass to tilt forward when being rolled up and never close properly into the frame.  Oh and the glass roller was broken and missing.

So I decided to fork over some money for a new regulator, roller, the bumper at the bottom, the two weather strip pieces, and new felt for the frame.  the lock mechanism and all the rods were in really good shape but did need degreasing and a thorough cleaning.  While the door was empty i even did the whole outer side with killmat and now the door is quiet as a church mouse. 🙂

Couple of things I learned.  First, I'm getting better at this.  I was really intimated by removing the glass for some reason.  All the videos I watched and the stuff I read made it seem easy but for some reason I was worried about breaking glass or just not getting it back in properly.  It wasn't hard at all and everything I did worked on first attempt.

Second, unfortunately this isn't the original door for some reason .  When I pulled the skin it was green!

I also noticed the PO probably had a speaker in there since there's a chunk of door missing in that first cutout lol.

Couple of things that might help the next guy.  Waiting to install the front channel until after the regulator and glass are in and working was key.  You do that, roll the window down mostly to the bottom, then can slide the channel over the glide in the window and easily attach the bolts.  Keep everything hand tight then adjust front, back channels and the four screws around the regulator to your liking.  I also found that the roller I put in worked better in the back notch near the pull knob for the lock rather than the notch up front near the mirror.  No matter how I adjusted the roller angle, tension, or location when in the front just didn't keep enough pressure on the glass to keep it from coming out of the frame.  i was happy with the frame and smoothness of the window so i really didn't want to adjust anything.  Moving it to the rear solved everything without starting over.

I also notice now that i have new weatherstrip between the door and body the door takes a bit more force to close.  Not a slam really, but I need to keep my hand on the door all the way to the fully closed position (rather than just a decent push).  I assume the strip needs to compress a bit but I'll wait to adjust any latch or lock location until after i also install the new weatherstrip around the body opening (need to do some floor board work first).

Heres my after, no more green door!  This project came out so good I'm gonna strip the other door too in a few weeks.  I don't think I'll need to invest as much though, probably just need weatherstrip and felt since everything seems to work fine.

 

 

[Patcon]

Well done!

[Richie G]

One thing i didn't ask now that i have it back together.  Any recommendations on how to "polish' out the tiny scratches in the window?  I also have this streak you can see here which is probably from the original roller that used to be installed in the front position.  I'm guessing it was too tight and that's from the rubber pressing against the glass.  I've tried some non abrasive glass cleaner but nothing i seem to do will get that streak out.