Exterior
Side Rear Window Trim Installation
>Does anyone know of a good tool to install the trim on the rear side
>windows?
Procedure #1
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My experience with same tells me you cannot get the trim into place with the rubber seal
installed in the window opening. In other words, you must remove the glass and weatherstrip,
put the trim into the goove, and install the whole assembly (glass, weatherstrip, trim) into the
opening as a unit. There is a secret tool (shhhhhh!) that can be used, as mentioned below.
Because this has come up several times in here, I'll take a stab at the procedure that worked for
me.
Procedure for quarter glass/trim R&R:
Removal -
1. Cut several feet of strong chord (I prefer nylon chord/string).
2. Open back hatch. Fold up the weatherstrip lip at about the center bottom of the glass until
you can push some chord down between the body (window opening) and the weatherstrip.
You can use a flat piece of wood or other helper to try to push the chord all the way down.
3. Carefully (!) find/fish the chord from the outside of the glass by moving the weatherstrip up
enough to find and grip the chord (I used a toothpick). Pull the chord out so that there is equal
amount inside and out of the car. Do not get heavy handed or pull too fast as the result could
slice the chord into the rubber weatherstrip.
4. Put on some gloves. Either wrap some chord around your hands (I prefer this method
because it allows you to 'feel' the tension), or use dowels or something to act as handles for the
chord ends. Very carefully 'saw' the chord while pulling/pushing in order to roll the inside
weatherstrip lip over and away from the glass opening. Watch what you're doing as you can
cut into the rubber if you get heavy-handed. While a cut won't necessarily ruin the
weatherstip, it should still be avoided. Continue to work around the glass until you can grip the
assembly and pull everything out of the opening.
5. Pull weatherstrip off of glass. Clean glass edge all around, clean out glass groove in
weatherstrip. Clean opening in car. Using a quality silicone weatherstrip lubricant (I prefer
Wurth's, but there are many brands out there), put a small amount into the glass groove of the
weatherstrip. This will provide a water seal for the glass and facilitate installation. Next, slop a
liberal amount of lubricant on the car opening. You really can't get too much on here, but you'll
have to clean off any residue, so no need to get gonzo.
6. Install the glass into the groove of the weatherstrip. Then, place the reveal trim into it's
groove around the weatherstrip. Do not use lubricant for the trim. You should now have a
complete assembly that holds together on it's own - glass, weatherstrip, and trim.
7. Cut very long piece of nylon chord (3 meters or so), and place the chord into the outside
groove of the weatherstip - the groove that fits over the car opening. Put enough chord in
there so that the two ends pass one another in the groove by maybe six or eight inches. Hold
the whole thing together and place the assembly into the window opening making sure the
weatherstip lip is positioned properly starting at the area where the chords pass one another. I
found the top corner at the B pillar to work best as a starting point. While holding the chord in
place, continue to press as much glass/weatherstrip into the opening as possible. Keep close
eye on positioning. If anything pops out of position (glass to weatherstrip, trim, etc), you must
remove the whole assembly and set up again. The silicone lubricant is a tremendous help here
because you (or an assistant) can maneuver everything fairly easily. Once the assembly will
not press into place any further by hand, FROM INSIDE THE CAR, slowly pull outward on one
end of the chord while holding the other end steady (so it doesn't get pulled along through the
groove). Watch to make sure the weatherstrip lip is being folded up and over the window
opening and back into it's proper position. Again, if anything doesn't go properly or slips out
of place, you must pull the assembly back out and start over. While pulling on the chord and
positioning the weatherstrip, continue to move the assembly in the opening so that the
weatherstrip fits properly when viewed from the outside. You'll be surprised at how much you
can move the whole affair due to the lubricant. Keep pulling chord, checking inside of
weatherstrip, and adjusting fit as you go until fully installed.
7. Clean off excess lubricant from around the opening. Make sure the weatherstrip is properly
in place. Inspect that the outer lip on the outside of the weatherstrip is not folded under in the
body opening. It's a minor thing, but a perfect installation demands that the seal fit perfectly! If
you find (as I did) that the weatherstrip had several places where it was visibly folded in, you
can pull it into proper position by getting behind and under the weatherstrip. It only takes a
blade or similar flat tool to run along the opening causing the weatherstip to position itself
properly (when viewed from the outside of the car). The trick tool (credit to Gary Campbell) in
the trade is called a 'Ford Board'. This was created by a Ford employee on the assembly line
and is a flat piece of nylon designed to do this job without fear of scraping paint or damaging
rubber. It's about the size of a nail file, and works like magic! Although I have one in my tool
box (thanks, Gary!), perhaps you can fashion one from the description.
Well.....there you have it. I do not have the skill necessary to explain the procedure any better
or shorter than this. For the two of you still awake, PT might send you a bumper sticker?
JP Rodkey
79 Euro
Procedure #2
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I have found a much easier way to do this (necessitated by many hours of blood, sweat and
tears, plus many *$&#^@ words ;-).
With this procedure you do not have to remove the glass or seal from the car and once you get
the hang of it, it only take a few minutes to install the quarter window trim.
Cut a 3-4' long piece of 24-26 gauge speaker/electric wire etc. and insert the wire into the
"groove" where the trim inserts into the rubber on the upper or lower side (one at a time). Leave
some of the wire sticking out of each end of the "groove".
Align the trim to it's proper position and press it in as far as you can into the "groove".
Start at one end and apply firm pressure on the trim piece and pull the wire down, or up
depending on which one you are doing first (up on the upper one and down on the lower one)
and work your way in slowly in one direction (end to end) continuing to apply pressure along
the way as you pull (up or down) on the wire.
After you do one of them , insert both of the metal corners on the inserted trim in their proper
location, then insert the wire in the other "groove"and align the other trim while making sure
you "tuck" the trim into the corners before beginning the above process.
What the wire is doing is actually "opening" the "groove" to allow the "teeth" of the trim piece
to engage with the rubber seal.
After you do it a time or two only take about 10-20 mins per side.
Hope that helps,
David Roberts
928 SPECIALISTS