Removing the Rubber
New Seals
The rebuild kit (kit URL) from Wolfsberg West contains 4 types of seals: the grey outer seal, the drip-edge, the glass-to-metal u-shaped seals and a long spool of a "T"-shaped seal for all the openings. I skipped the u-shaped ones, because those seals are completely fine on mine. The glass frames separate the same way as the main frames: Phillip's head bolts from top & bottom at each end. I found installing the seals to be similarly easy for some, hard for others. Oddly enough, the ones which were easy to get out were the hardest to put in and vice-versa. The drip-edge and bottom "T" seal were easy: start at one end, thread it in to start and then pull with a pair of needle-nose pliers. For orientation of the "T" shaped seals, the flat half should be on the inner-side of the opening and the stripped edge should be on the outer-side. To install the "T" seals on the sides, you will need to fiddle the louvers up and down while feeding the seal through. I found a putty knife was a useful way of creating a tiny space between the louver arm and the seal channel so I could slide the seal through.
New Cranks
head will interrupt the operation of the crank. Orient the bolt so the nut is on the outside of the window for the same reason. Put on the crank handle and tighten it down. Rotate the handle (moving the controller) all the way open.p
Putting The Crank Back Together
Okay, so the seals are in, the metal polished (sorta) and the glass has been cleaned. We're ready to put it all back together again. First, grab the louver control arm. It needs to have the 2 little tabs that look like old can pull tabs put back on the arm, if they aren't already. They need to point the same way. Take the rod and fit it into the crank / controller thing such that the pull-tab looking thing points towards the outside of the window and upwards. Push the louvers up as if the window was all the way open. Now, pull the C-clip off the louver control arm, slide the pull-tab thing onto the end and return the C-clip. Repeat the process on the other end of the control arm. I may be overly laboring this description, but this is key to getting your window to work right. Once the louvers are connected, assemble the lower half of the window.
Window Assembly
At this point, you have a control rod barely holding 2 louver control parts together. Grab the lower window frame and set it into place, lining up the outer window edges. The screw holes and channels should line right up. Thread in the 4 screws, checking the alignment along the way. Before you torque them all the way down, check the movement of the louvers with the crank handle. Next, start installing the glass panes from bottom to top. These should fit right in, bolting in 2 bolts at each end. I found it was easier to do the bolt further from the hinge first. Once its most of the way in, start the bolt near the hinge. After the top pane is in, crank the window closed and then install the top of the frame. The drip-edge rubber, at least in my case, really wants to flop under the top glass pane. So, check that as you thread in the screws, and then tighten them down. Now, the window is back in one piece. Next step: re-install. I have some painting to do first (if the weather ever gets above freezing again), so it may be a while before I post that part.
That's it for today. Thanks for following along!
1 comment:
8 years later, the window that I rebuilt during these 2 posts is still holding strong. The crank works great, the window seals well, no water gets in, it isn't especially loud on the highway, etc... all, of course, in comparison to how it was before. Prior to rebuild, it would flop over bumps and rattle in the wind. I hope some folks have found this useful, if for nothing else, at least for the pictures.
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