BJ 8 Side window broken - Help !!

[DavidThorn]

Yep, that's it just last Saturday out in the car all fine my wife shuts the passenger door (its right hand drive) and all the glass from the window,that was wound,up lands in her lap.

Well clearly the cost is coming out of her pocket money but what to do now?

In fairness the glass did seem a little loose in the frame and had slightly come away from the top channel,near the small side window. So perhaps it wasn't all her fault!! I had sort of ignored it thinking it would get better by itself but of course it didn't.

So I have this morning removed the door card and the chrome trim strip from the outside (something which I had done a few months ago for some paint work to be done and may have been the precursor to this of course).

I can see the window channel and the mechanism. My question is can I just drop a new glass in (I am thinking not) or do I have to take everything out and if so how?

Also what parts am I likely to require just the glass and the nylon guides or should I replace other parts at the same time?

Finally one slight concern is that when I attempt to wind the window up now (with no glass in it) the front slider seems stuck and only the rear moves so that the glass channel starts to go up at an angle. I suppose that could be because there is no glass to press against at the front but it doesn't seem right.

David Thorn
Bath, England

 

[Bob_Spidell]

You can just drop a new glass into the winder mechanism. Traditionally, the glass was held in place with 'glazing rubber,' but that didn't work for me and I ended up using a urethane sealant.

Unless the door was slammed extremely hard I don't think the glass should shatter. One thing that can cause this is if you use too-long sheet metal screws with sharp points to secure the closing handle, and they scratch the glass. The correct screws have a blunt tip.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

David, that is a very common occurrence and it happened to me once. The problem is that the screws that attach the door pull have been replaced at some point with screws that are too long and have scratched the glass as it is rolled up and down. This makes the tempered glass very vulnerable to shattering when a load is applied, such as when slamming the door. When the original screws eventually pull out of the door, it is difficult to find sheet metal screws that are large enough in diameter to fit the (now enlarged) hole while still being short enough not to scratch the glass.

My fix for this was to file open the screw holes in the door and weld in square nuts to fit machine screws. These are easy to find in larger diameters while being short enough not to scratch the glass, and the machine screws and nuts are a stronger combination than the original door sheet metal and screws.

My advice is to buy a new glass from one of the usual suspects, then take the window frame out of the door and have a glass shop install the new glass, along with new nylon guides. My local shop did that job for $7.50 after I had struggled unsuccessfully with getting the glazing rubber to grip the glass.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

I can see the window channel and the mechanism. My question is can I just drop a new glass in (I am thinking not) or do I have to take everything out and if so how?

Finally one slight concern is that when I attempt to wind the window up now (with no glass in it) the front slider seems stuck and only the rear moves so that the glass channel starts to go up at an angle. I suppose that could be because there is no glass to press against at the front but it doesn't seem right.

David Thorn
Bath, England

The way to remove the window frame from the door is to remove one of the bolts from the window stop (an L-shaped piece of metal that stops the window regulator gear) and loosen the other one so that the stop can be swung out of the way of the gear. Crank the window up until the spring-loaded conical slide on the end of the lifting arm can be removed from the channel on the bottom of the frame.
The window frame can then be lifted up out of the door. Reinstalling the new glass and frame is a bit of trial and error to get the glass exactly the right height to be able to fit the spring-loaded slide back into the channel.



I think you are correct that the frame is sticking because there is no glass in it to stiffen the assembly.

 

[DavidThorn]

Thanks for your help. I have ordered the glass,nylon guides and rubber sealing strip (to sit in the channel) and they should be here soon.

When you say it can be dropped into the mechanism Bob do you mean fit the nylon guides,slide down from the top and silicone into the window channel? That sounds relatively simple and perhaps I should try that fist.

Steve thanks very much for the photo if I undo the bolts as you suggest will I just get the window channel or or will the side channel`s come out as well?

I understand the issue about the protruding door pull screws mine were pointed at the end (not now as I ground the tips off) and it may have been the cause but there were no marks on the glass. I shall be very careful in re assembly of the door pull

David Thorn

 

[BJ8Healeys]

David, when you pull the window frame up out of the door, the front and rear channels that it slides in will not come with it. The front channel is the rear of the vent window frame, which is bolted to the door. The rear channel is also bolted to the rear of the door. Oh, yeah: you also have to remove the rubber tip at the top of the vent window frame.

I really don't think you can very easily install a new glass with the frame in the door. The bolts I referred to only attach the regulator gear stop. You just need to swing the stop out of the way in order to crank the window up high enough to disengage the lifting arm from the window frame channel (it comes out of the front of the channel). It's actually pretty easy to remove the frame to install the glass and therefore not worth the effort to try to leave it in place.

I also don't think if you are going to install the glass with silicone or some other sealant that you actually need the glazing rubber. The instructions I received with the new glass and glazing rubber (from Moss Motors, USA) said to wipe the rubber with petroleum -- gasoline or oil, I assume. This was supposed to make the rubber swell and grip the glass, but it didn't work at all for me. Maybe I just got a bad one. The theory is that the glazing rubber grips the glass to keep it in the frame. If that works for you, you don't need the sealant.

Most windows I have heard of that shattered had scratches on them, but I suppose that if the glass hit the point on the screw hard enough it could do the job without scratches.

I would also suggest that before completing the installation of the window in the door that you lubricate the glass frame channel (that the lifting arm rides in), the spring-loaded conical gizmo on the end of the lifting arm that goes into the channel, the regulator gear teeth, and maybe a spritz of oil into the little box that the window winder shaft comes out of.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

... When you say it can be dropped into the mechanism Bob do you mean fit the nylon guides,slide down from the top and silicone into the window channel? That sounds relatively simple and perhaps I should try that fist...

David, It's been a very long time since I did this and my memory is very hazy. I know I had the glass out because it was rattling, and I used a urethane window sealant to secure it, and I don't recall ever pulling the regulator out. IIRC, there is enough play in the glass before it's secured to fit the guides before the glass is secured. I think it can be done; suggest you give it a go then pull the regulator if it doesn't work, and if anybody knows definitively whether it can be done or not I would defer to them.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

One thing most often overlooked is the nylon guides must remain loose if you glue the windows in place. To back that up, the original type of seal stopped at the nylon guide so the guide was loose. I had to reduce the thickness of my guides so they would slide in the track/channel. Use clear silicone for lube in the window channel.

 

[BJ8Healeys]

David, It's been a very long time since I did this and my memory is very hazy. I know I had the glass out because it was rattling, and I used a urethane window sealant to secure it, and I don't recall ever pulling the regulator out. IIRC, there is enough play in the glass before it's secured to fit the guides before the glass is secured. I think it can be done; suggest you give it a go then pull the regulator if it doesn't work, and if anybody knows definitively whether it can be done or not I would defer to them.

Bob, I wasn't saying the regulator had to be removed. The stop that limits the travel of the gear and lifting arm has to be swung out of the way of the regulator gear so that the window glass and frame can be cranked up high enough to take the lifting arm out of the glass channel. The glass and frame can then be lifted out of the door. See the photo attachment with my post above. I didn't label the gear stop, but it's the L-shaped piece of metal you can see in the photo.

 

[DavidThorn]

Success,all fitted without to much trouble!
Steve I didn't understand why I needed to remove to the window stop as I had not done so when I took the channel out (no glass of course) but then I did as I came to reinstall,otherwise there would have been no way to locate the riser, so thanks.

I did not use any adhesive or silicone in the bottom channel,I had left the old rubber in place and on re assembly on the bench it went in so tight,without glue that I could not get it out again. I have left the door card off just in case it looses up over the next few weeks

Finally I thought the nylon guides were too large and I ground one down a little so that it went in easier,but then I realised it was loose in the track. So I fitted the 3 new nylon guides as they came but just opened up the top of the channel with grips slightly so that I could get it started and then nipped it up again once all was in. It has all fitted nice and snugly with no movement at all

Thanks again

David Thorn