Quarter Panel Windows
Tips for Completing the Job

 

There are several writeups on this procedure already available, so this article does not rehearse the entire process. I just want to provide several detailed tips I think will be helpful. The KEY to making this easier, for me, was WINDEX (and lots of it). If you just want a good writeup to follow, go here:

Thist job totally sucks. BUT IT feels really good to have it DONE! I think I'd much rather replace engine seals, pull a cam, or replace injectors or something like that :)

I had a small window of opportunity (a few days or warm weather in Utah) to get this done (while STILL waiting for parts to roll in). I started yesterday when we were mid 60's and finished up today, low 60's but running out of time (wind, clouds, and a cold front blowing in this afternoon). You want to do this job when it's warm because it makes it easier to separate the original seal and easier to squish the new seal during reinstallation. If it's too cold, you may have little to no success in making a good seal, and you also risk breaking the window as more pressure will be needed to reset it.

My windows were not visually leaking and I don't have rust, but the BLACK GOOP was starting to crawl out at the top/center sections of both windows. I wanted to tackle this before it became a real problem. I already had a bit of the black residue around that area of the trim. Also, when the car was painted, they didn't pull the windows, so I wanted to get the windows pulled and clean off the paint on the rubber trim around the edge of the window moulding.

I suggest wearing latex gloves throughout most of this process, although you can opt to just keep your hands soaked with WINDEX to avoid getting the sticky stuff all over your hands.

Here is the writeup I followed to complete this task

I followed the same writeup several years ago when I worked on my '84 1/4 panel windows. If you are going to do this, read this a few times so you are familiar with the task. Then go at it. ORDER YOURSELF two REPLACEMENT rear clips for the outside trim --- Part # is 01553-01102. It comes with the plastic clip and a thin foam washer to seal the hole (much easier than using a sealant or butyl there). You may want to order some other clips for your interior trim --- no part #'s on those yet : )

I have now done four windows (two for each of two cars) and I finally figured out something that was VERY helpful for removing the original black goop. The key is to use a LOT OF WINDEX through the process. As you will read, this will make the job MUCH cleaner and much quicker.

Once you pull the window out and go to scrape out the bulk of the original black butyl seal, take WINDEX and absolutely soak all the black stuff down on the car. Place some cardboard under the working area (on the ground) to catch any mess. Then take a plastic putty knife and scrape off the butyl (don't use a metal scraper unless you want to clean up COMPLETELY and prime where paint is removed). If you have ever tried to remove this black stuff before, it is very sticky, gooey, and stretchy. It often sticks to things and producing little "spider webs" everywhere making a huge mess. If you wet it all down before stripping the bulk off, you will NOT have these kinds of problems. You can roll the whole mess up into a ball as you go, even with bare hands, and not get much of anything messy.

For the window itself, same thing. Soak it with WINDEX before you try to remove the stuff --- I can't believe what a difference it made.

It probably took me an hour or more to clean the first window this time around. But soaking the black stuff on the 2nd window it probably took 10 minutes, then another 10-20 for finally cleaning. I used one full bottle (20 oz?) or WINDEX for the job, and a lot of paper towels, too.

Once you have the bulk off, and you have only a thin layer left, getting it wet doesn't help as much. But if you keep everything soaked while you clean up (including your hands/gloves), you will have an easier time avoiding a black, goopy mess. Clean up the harder, dirty/grime stuff by continually soaking with WINDEX while using a clean toothbrush to rub it off. This worked well for me.

This is pretty common -- the stuff melts and decents over time, then sticks to the window trim. Again, SOAK in WINDEX, then use a plastic scraper to remove bulk, then clean with MINERAL SPIRITS.

Last, once you are down to only a film or build up around edges, use some paper towels and MINERAL SPIRITS and clean up around the edges. NOTHING else works as well (orange cleaner did o.k. for the dirt and grime, but did little to help with the butyl itself). Quickly follow with WINDEX cleaning, then go over everything one more time with MINERAL SPIRITS, and then clean up again. I can't tell you how easy this made the process (not that I'd want to go at it again). You can leave a thin film on the surfaces if you plan to use BUTYL again (which, as recommended in the writeup, is probably a good choice). I almost completely removed the stuff and cleaned up a lot with MINERAL SPIRITS.

After you are happy with how clean everything is, make a final cleaning on the mating surfaces and make sure they are completely dry before starting with the new bead of butyl rubber. As I mentioned, I also wanted to clean the outer rubber trim on the window moulding...I used a fine sand paper and mineral spirits and gently wore it off, being careful not to sand paint off the metal itself. Then I took a worn, fine scotch pad and polished the rubber surface, then applied MOTHER'S BACK TO BLACK to give it a final shine.

Another tip -- when you pull the windows, you will likely put a bit of stress on the rear portion of the trim. This will bend it OUT from the body a bit. Before you place the window back in, remember to pull the rear back just a bit to help get it to sit flush on the body again. If you don't, you will either have to live with the gap, or pull the window back out, which I don't think you want to do. I did not do this the first time (on my 84) and I hated looking at that small gap everytime I went to detail the car. The gap also allows dirt to lodge down in there, making a good atmosphere for corrosion.

Because I had the trim and carpet pulled, I took advantage to clean up all the dust, rubber bands, jelly beans, confetti, and other paraphernalia. I also dettached the rear carpet and cleaned it up with our KIRBY shampoo cleaning system. The carpet was already pretty clean (though wrinkled permanently like most, from heat over time). I can't believe how clean and soft it ended up...only a few stains that won't come out. The larger stain in the crease was some sort of spill that went through the bottom and dissolved some of the rubber backing.

The interior window trim panels have a common problem with the metal clips coming loose (held on by melted plastic). I took some Gorilla glue and reset all of those (give plenty of time to cure). I'm also replacing my rear speaker mounts because the previous owner thrashed them.

Remember to apply pressure slowly and at all edge locations as you reinstall the window so you don't break it. I did a final go around with Mineral Spirits on a paper towel once I had the windows back in and firmly set. Then I cleaned them with WINDEX again.