How to Replace the Rear Window in Vehicles

by Contributing WriterUpdated June 12, 2017

Vehicles come with lots of different options, including solid back glass and sliding rear windows, also known as a Vehicles. While a solid back window offers added security, a Vehicles will allow wind to flow easier throughout the cab, making driving with the windows down a more comfortable experience. It also allows communication with those in a camper, if one is mounted on the Vehicles. If you want to install a sliding back window in your Vehicles you can do it yourself with the help of an assistant and some hand tools.

Under The Hood:

 How to Replace the Rear Window in a Chrysler Sebring Convertible

Use a sharp blade to cut away the black rubber weather stripping perimeter around the edge of the window. Begin by making an incision at the top of the perimeter and proceed to cut around the tape in a clockwise direction.

Enter the back seat side of the window, and carefully press the back window out of the window frame. Have someone on hand outside the vehicle to help take the weight of the window.

Use a cloth to clean away all of the adhesive around the edge of the windshield frame.

Use the caulk gun to insert a thin layer of urethane caulk around the edges of the window frame. Place a layer of window sealant around the edge of the rear window

Lift the new window and place it into the window frame. Press the edges against the frame to allow a seal to set in place. Leave the window and caulk to cure for 24 hours to allow an airtight seal, and to set the window firmly in place.

Items you will need

  • Sharp blade

  • Caulk gun

  • Urethane caulk

  • Window sealant

 How to Replace a Rear Window With a Slider

Open the cab doors and use the flathead screwdriver to work the rubber seal around the back window out from the inside of the vehicle towards the outside. The flathead screwdriver can push the rubber lip out, then can be drug around the mounting lip to remove the rubber. Make sure the assistant is holding the glass from the outside while you are pushing out the seal. Then remove the back glass.

Place the rope in the rubber seal around the slider window, leaving at least 12-inches of rope hanging outside of the rubber seal. Make sure the rope goes around the entire perimeter of the glass and stays in the channel.

Place the window in the window channel on the cab of the truck with the excess rope on the inside of the vehicle. Have your assistant hold the glass in place while you move to the inside of the vehicle.

Start to pull one end of the rope, parallel to the ground, while the assistant pushes the glass in towards the interior. This is going to pull the rubber seal out and around the factory lip, mounting the glass in place.

Continue to pull the rope around the glass while the assistant follows you, pushing in the window. Once you've gone around the entire window, you may have to use the flathead screwdriver to pull some of the rubber seal towards the inside of the cab, just to clean it up a bit.

Items you will need

  • Flathead screwdriver

  • Assistant

  • 15-feet of 1/4-inch rope

  • Slider rear window

 How to Replace the Rear Window of a BMW Convertible

Lower all of the side windows. Unlatch the convertible top and lift it up an inch or two from the windshield frame but leave it in the up position.

Run the plastic tool that comes with the new window between the black rubber bead and the old window on the outside of the top. This will separate the top from the double-sided tape that is on the window. Don’t worry about damaging the rubber bead since the new window comes with new parts as well.

Pull the black rubber bead all the way out and discard it.

Remove the metal clip that is located at the bottom center of the window by prying up the teeth on the clip with a screwdriver. Remove the support plate for the clip. Loosen the clip from the inside of the car and move to the outside and pull it out.

Unzip the existing window and set it aside. Clean the top cloth where the window was glued on with rubbing alcohol and a rag. Remove any traces of the old glue.

Zip the new window into place. Be careful not to scratch the top or get any grease on it. You will need a helper for this. Have the helper hold the window in place from inside the car while you get the zipper started on the blue side of the double-sided window tape.

Install the metal clip that ensures that ensures that the zipper does not come undone. Insert the clip from outside the car, install the support plate and then bend down the teeth of the metal clip from inside the car.

Apply some extra 100mm double-sided tape over the clip. Apply rubber cement to the cloth top where it comes in contact with the double-sided tape on the window.

Pull back the protective plastic on the double-sided tape to expose the sticky side. Push the black rubber bead on the window around the edge of the top with the plastic tool.

Run your finger around the cloth top where it overlaps the window and press the tape firmly onto the rubber bead. Fasten the top and leave it in the up position for 24 hours.

Items you will need

  • New top

  • Plastic tool

  • Rubber cement

 How to Replace a Rear Window in a Toyota Tacoma

Pry up the edge of the rubber gasket on the inside of the truck with a flat screwdriver. Push the screwdriver under the gasket and work the gasket off the window frame while pushing out on the window.

Continue around the frame until the gasket is loose enough to remove the window from the truck body. Pull the window out from the outside of the truck, being careful not to drop it or break the glass.

Remove the gasket from the window. It will just pull off all the way around the window. Install the gasket around the new window, slipping it onto the frame or glass and working all the way around the window.

Wrap a long piece of nylon cord around the gasket, letting it sit in the bottom of the groove where the gasket sits on the truck. The cord is used to pull the gasket out around the lip on the truck body.

Apply soapy water to the gasket and the truck body where the two meet. Position the window against the outside of the truck and pull the cord from the inside to position the gasket on the truck body lip.

Tap on the gasket from the outside of the truck with your hand to help seat the gasket as you work your way around it. Continue around until the cord is out of the gasket and the window and gasket are seated firmly into the truck body.

Items you will need

  • Flat screwdriver

  • Thin nylon cord

  • Replacement window

  • Soapy water

 How to Replace the Rear Window in a Jeep Cherokee

Open the rear hatch of your Jeep Cherokee and remove the trim panel. The panel is attached to the hatch with plastic clips around the edges. Work around the edges using a trim stick or wide, stiff tool to pop out the clips. Remove the panel from the Jeep through the cargo area and set it aside.

Close the hatch and locate the retaining clip on the rear window wiper arm. The clip is a small, flat metal piece on the side of the arm where the arm attaches to the wiper motor. Insert a flat screwdriver between the clip and the arm and rotate the blade either direction to force the clip away from the arm. Pull the arm straight off the motor.

Move into the cargo area of the Jeep and insert a wide, flat screwdriver or similar tool under the edge of rubber window gasket, prying it up and off the lip on the rear hatch. Continue around the window pushing the gasket up as you go. Push out lightly on the glass as you work until the glass is free from the opening. Remove the glass from the outside of the Jeep.

Remove the gasket from the old glass and reinstall it on the new glass. Wrap a long piece of nylon cord around the gasket, in the channel where the gasket sits on the mounting lip of the rear hatch.

Coat the mounting lip on the hatch and the rubber gasket with soapy water to help lubricate the gasket, making it easier to install and seat to the frame. Position the glass and gasket in the window opening so the bottom of the glass is sitting on the lip.

Pull the nylon cord up and out, slowly working around the gasket while a helper holds slight pressure on the outside of the glass. The gasket will pull over the lip as you work your way around the gasket. Continue around the window until the entire gasket is seated over the lip on the hatch and the window is secure.

Tap on the outside of the gasket with the palm of your hand to help seat any problem spots where the gasket hasn't quite pulled out and over the lip. A little pressure will often help the gasket pop loose in those areas.

Reinstall the window wiper on the arm by pushing it straight onto the motor and push the locking tab in with your flat screwdriver. Open the hatch and reinstall the plastic trim panel on the hatch. Line up the plastic clips with the holes on the hatch and push in to engage them.

Close the hatch and check the gasket one last time to be sure there are no folded edges and it is properly seated into the hatch.

Items you will need

  • Trim stick

  • Flat screwdriver

  • Nylon cord

  • New glass

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