Window fixin' party

[tom4bren]

Who is interested in having a window fixin party at my house? The date's not firm so we can adjust it if necessary (I was just picking a day when I'm pretty sure Wifey is working).

Location is Fredericksburg, VA

I've got my SBC brakets to install & will try to get a replacement weather strip for the driver's window before then.

BYOB but I'll have burgers & dogs on the grill.

[pbkid]

just for info...we are also having a window fix party in moab....(hopefully, as long as i can keep jo and dub sober long enough to fix em ;) )

[JoFotoz]

What are you insinuating young man!


just for info...we are also having a window fix party in moab....(hopefully, as long as i can keep jo and dub sober long enough to fix em ;) )



Many :_beer: = easy :smack:

jo

[vt_maverick]

I'd have to come up on a Saturday or Sunday and spend the whole day to make it worth it. Any way we can expand beyond just the brackets? I may have some more mods laying around by then that could benefit from your tools and expertise...

:naughty:

[tom4bren]

I set the date for Saturday to start with - We'll see how that goes over.

"Any way we can expand beyond just the brackets?"

Anything is possible - just depends on how many show up.

I'm focusing on windows so that I can help blujfan before he moves.

"just for info...we are also having a window fix party in moab"

kid - that helps us East Coasters ... how???:)

Can't let the Moab-ites have all the fun.

[pbkid]

well, i guess it helps you by trying to get you guys to make the drive!!!! :_beer:

all in good intentions my friend...

[frog11]

Excellent timing as my driver's side window has just started to run out of steam when going up. I need to order the brackets, etc beforehand though. Are most people replacing with the OEM plastic parts or aftermarket improvements? Any advice is appreciated. Great idea for a get together, count me in.

[pbkid]

frog-
look up SBC (street boutique customs), they make great brackets

[VX KAT]

Remember I took pics as Tim of SBC installed my window brackets last month. They're not great, but maybe they'll be of some help. Sorry I know these pics cause scrolling problems when viewing. Pics are in my gallery also.
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0799.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0800.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0801.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0802.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0808.jpg
He used the pliers here to snap off the old bracket.
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0809.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0810.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0812.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0813.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0815.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0817.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0819.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0818.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0821.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0823.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0825.jpg
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/DSCN0824.jpg

[tom4bren]

Frog,

blujfan is in Lorton. I'll probably need to pick him up since he's having shoulder surgery a couple of days before then. If you want, you can follow us down.

BTW, I haven't heard back from him yet. We'll try to hold to the 30th anyway. If he can't make it, I'll take care of his on another day.

The SBC brackets are highly recommended (& probably cheaper than all the OEM parts you'd need to replace anyway).

Tom

PB - you tear me up. Why don't you drive here & we'll take the SeaDoos out to the lake.

[frog11]

Sounds like a plan. I ordered the SBC brackets yesterday, hopefully they will be here on time!

[tom4bren]

Bump!!!

[tom4bren]

This could be a great day - I just got a PM from CSTYLES. He's planning on showing up too. Same crew as Shenandoah with a cupla newbies.

The pool's clean so if you need to jump in to cool off ...

[WormGod]

Marked on the calender.... but as my RSVP says, I have to play it by ear.

[etlsport]

i wasnt able to get the weekend off since i have to take june 5-7 off so i can go to MD for my nieces 1st birthday, ill have to catch you guys next time

[tom4bren]

Bummer Eric. Hope to catch you soon.

BTW - sorry Dude. Floor mats still sitting in my car, ready to mail. I fergot.:eek:

[etlsport]

heh no biggie, ive still got my winter mats in the vx anyway.. havent had much time to do anything lately

[tom4bren]

Only a little over a week away ... everybody have their SBC brackets?

[vt_maverick]

Bad news Tom... my family is throwing an 80th birthday party for my grandmother that Saturday, so I'm out. :(

[tom4bren]

Have fun with Gramma & tell her happy birthday from the VX family.

[Cobrajet]

I know you offered burgers and dogs, but I've got eight packs of Johnsonville brats in the freezer (they were on sale, so I stocked up!), and there's nothing better than a Johnsonville brat grilled over coals. Also, have the appropriate Maier's Italian Steak Rolls to nestle those puppies into...then top with Newman's Own hot salsa, and a slice of melted cheese... Oh, man, I'm gettin' hungry... and I JUST ATE!

So, who wants brats!?

[WormGod]

Looks like the party is gonna happen for my sis. Also have a lady friend coming into town next weekend that I MUST give some precious time to. ;)

You guys have fun and know that I will have my window brackets in my garage for another 6 months without ever doing them. *sigh*

[blujfan9293]

I never thought to look under "meets." I'll be there. My wife is in town and she'll drive us down. I'll bring all my remaining odds and ends off the Ebony.

I was late on ordering my brackets; not sure they have even shipped yet and may not make it in time.

I would like help on fixing my cruise control,which doesnt' work after the engine install. the lights come when the functions are pressed.

[vt_maverick]

I never thought to look under "meets." I'll be there. My wife is in town and she'll drive us down. I'll bring all my remaining odds and ends off the Ebony.

I was late on ordering my brackets; not sure they have even shipped yet and may not make it in time.

I would like help on fixing my cruise control,which doesnt' work after the engine install. the lights come when the functions are pressed.

What's left? Maybe I could convince Tom to store them for me if there's anything of interest. ;)

[tom4bren]

FYI - just checked the weather report. Sunny & 82 on Saturday.

I'll PM directions to the attendees later.

Tom

[tom4bren]

PM'd directions yesterday. Lemme know if anyone needs address for GPS or mapquest.

I'm getting adhesive today & have 2 sets of brackets so we're ready to roll.

Tom

[frog11]

I have my brackets too but haven't picked up any adhesive yet. Which reminds me, after reading some of the recent window fixing posts, how long are we thinking it will take for the adhesive to fully cure so that we can put everything back together? I'm sure you don't want us camping out all night waiting for the windows to dry! And hopefully someone attending has successfully done the repairs before?

Looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow. What time is everyone showing up? Let me know if there is anything I can bring along.

[VX KAT]

Tim at SBC told me that specific Liquid Nails took 18 hrs to cure and I could drive it right away, windows up, no problem.

[vt_maverick]

So how did it go guys?

[Cobrajet]

It was great. Even though the time was unscheduled, we had 4 VX’s show up within about 30 minutes of each other. I showed up just before noon, followed shortly by blujfan9293 (Norman and his lovely wife) in their ‘00 Ironman from Lorton, VA, and CSTYLES (Andres) in his ’01 Kaiser all the way from Potomac, MD, and frog11 (Roy) in his ‘01 Dragon from Burke, VA. If Gary and Ashley had shown we would have had all the colors covered (except Astral, but we did have a Kaiser.)

After exchanging greeting and talking VX for a short while, we settled down for burgers, dogs and brats on Tom’s deck. Thanks to Tom and Jamie for hosting a fantastic lunch. Once everyone was fed and content, we put Tom to work fixing windows. The first one was fun to watch, since Tom decided to try every power tool in his garage to remove the old tabs. I’ll have to post a video of that episode. I think every window was slightly different. Some had been replaced or repaired under warranty, some due to damage, and a few were virgin glass. Seems like the earlier tabs were glued on with permanent cement, while the later tabs were put in with a softer grey RTV-type material that had failed to grip on at least half of the tabs.

Tom did most of the work on the five windows he fixed, including one of his own, but there was no shortage of helping hands. After the first couple, he had it down to a science, and was swapping windows faster than the owners could prepare the brackets. Who will be the first to try out their new windows?

The weather held out, although there were some welcomed periods of overcast sky between the pounding sunshine. Overall, a beautiful day. We should have some pictures coming, and I’ll have to see if I can piece together some of the video segments I took into a viewable rendering of the day’s events.

Tom is already planning the next event, so keep your eyes open, because this is one you won’t want to miss. I’ll be there with my “feather duster” and polishing cloth in case anybody needs a touchup.

[blujfan9293]

It was a great time; my thanks to Tom for organizing and the work.

My window had tabs completely broken off, and discovered was a replacement window. window now goes up, but still crooked like it did before it broke. I think it is catching on the front guide rail. I'll try to widen.

[tom4bren]

Thanks to all who showed up - I had a great time. Jamie says 'Hi' to everyone. She went back to college last night. Bren says 'Hi' & sorry she missed everyone.

I tried out my window Sunday morning (I couldn't wait 24 hours like I recommended to everyone else). The black RTV seemed to hold very well though. My window still tilts just enough to come out of the rear weatherstrip. Rekin I'll be widening my tracks too. It is much improved from what it was before. I'll try not to procrastinate so I can provide an update soon.

Lets all start thinking about the next meet. I'm thinking the Regional Park in Lorton so that I can bring the SeaDoos out for everyone to have some fun. I'll pick a weekend & start a new thread on the calendar.

I'll try to post a few pix tonight. We had a birthday party for my grandaughter & my son yesterday & I forgot to bring the memory card from my camera to work with me today.

Tom

[tom4bren]

For some reason, I'm not able to load the pix. You can see them here:

http://pbase.com/tom4bren/090530_window_fixin_party

I'll try to post a sample later.

Those that showed up without cameras, you can download from there in small, medium, large or original size.

Tom

[lasturbo]

Well, I rolled down the left front window this morning and the window went cockeyed as it finally broke off the bracket(s) :(. Looks like my window fixin party is solo in San Diego in 1-2 weeks as I ordered my brackets from SBC. Unless I missed it checkin' through the threads, is the Liquid Nails one tube color (in the pic) or are they all the same color and need to buy a certain application?

[frog11]

Thanks again Tom for all of your hospitality, great food and window fixing expertise. I haven't rolled mine down yet but am confident that it will work just fine now. It was really surprising to see the different states of the original brackets in each of the VXs. Looking forward to the next get together.

Here are a couple of photos....http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/frog11.JPGhttp://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/P5300323.JPGhttp://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/P5300320.JPG

[tom4bren]

turbo,

I used black RTV on the ones we did last weekend. I chose the RTV instead of liquid nails since I am familiar with it's characteristics and was confident in not only the strength but also in it's ability to adhere to glass. I didn't want to use the liquid nails since it cures hard and I wanted the option of being able to remove the bracket later if needed.

Tom

[lasturbo]

I like that option too so it sounds like black RTV is the trick! Thanks!!

[frog11]

Well I was patient enough to wait a week for the sealant to fully dry and WOW, the window works great. It is better than new and goes up and down very quick and perfectly straight. Wish I would have done this repair long ago.

For anyone else out there that has been hesitant to try this, don't put it off.

[tom4bren]

Good news for those that needed it:

TheGanzman posted this in another thread:

"For the record, I bought a set from Merlin recently - they're ~$4.00 apiece..."

He's talking about the vapor barrier.

[Cobrajet]

I finally got around to uploading the videos to Youtube. The first one (removal) wouldn't complete processing in HD, so I had to convert it to lo-rez.

Window Removal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjL-1gkY1vs)
Window Prep Pt1 (Fun with power tools) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APnuqKSYFlw)
Window Prep Pt2 (Doing it the easy way) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooogBcDUetU)
Window Install (Simple as 1-2-3) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Z852D0dwY)

These are NOT intended to be instructional videos, just show that even TOM can do it, and not break anything. And it can be fun!!

[tom4bren]

Here is my response to some questions about VX KAT's pix of Tim installing her brackets:

1. What is he using in Pic 9 to remove the old bracket? It looks like a small sawzall.

That's funny. I never really looked at the pictures till you asked (they are of Tim installing the brackets on VX KAT's). I thought I was being creative when I used a rotary tool to make that very same cut using a drywall bit. It looks like he's using a dremmel. You may be able to skip this step if you want. Just slide a razor blade under the tab & cut through the glue on both sides of the glass. Of course if that doesn't work, you'll have to make the cut (but several of the tabs actually fell off when we removed the window from the door). If you have to make the cut, it helps to break the tab to give yourself more room to work.

2. On Pic 10 is the SBC bracket mounted 1st using both bolts to the regulator?

That's how I did it. Leave the bolts 'wobbly' loose at this point though. Once the adhesive is applied and the glass dropped into the slot, roll the window up to make sure everything is aligned. Only tighten the bolts with the window in the up position.

3. It looks like on Pics 11 & 13 the glue is applied first then window is dropped into the glue using the guides on the glass to the bracket?

Yes it is. You'll want a good bonding surface so apply the adhesive liberally and let it squish out. Remember, adhesive that you can scrape off after the install isn't providing any bonding strength so you can leave it in place or clean it off (your preference). On all 4 of the windows that we did, I bolted in the brackets first and then added the adhesive (I don't know why). In retrospect I should have put the adhesive in the bracket first since the center post on the regulator is kind of in the way and makes it difficult.

4. On pic 15 the bracket bolt is off and don?t know why?

Yer right. The bolt isn't there but it looks like it is in the next picture. I don't know why he removed it for that step - it doesn't need to be.

5. What is pic 17 trying to show?

I'm not sure. If I had to guess, I'd say that he's showing that the weather strip is not properly bonded to the front channel. Or maybe he's showing the marks from where she had previously widened her channel.

From what I've seen, fixing the window is a combination of things. The SBC brackets are the largest contributor though. Mine still tilts so I've got to open it back up & try some of the other fixes. I need to add a couple of washers between the SBC bracket and the mounting arm (CSTYLES did that after the install & fixed the last of his problems), this forces the regulator against the center guide and relieves stress from the guide tabs which are also breaking. Widen the front channel to take out the remaining binding. There's supposed to be an adjustment that will allow you to push the front channel forward slightly to keep it from binding on the edge of the glass.

[tom4bren]

I finally got my passenger window working (acceptable but not perfect). It still tilts but not enough to come out of the rear weather stripping. I tried widening the front channel - No Go. I tried adjusting the front channel both forward and back - No Go. What worked for me was to add some washers in key locations to force the window guide against the regulator (not sure if I'm using the right terms) - basically the part that slides up & down the center post.

Each of the 6 bolts got 2 washers except the top 2. I could only fit 1 washer between the door panel and the center post there.


http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/CIMG1162_.jpg

[etlsport]

tom posted his own picture!! :dance:

[Travelin2]

Tom, I had the same results when I did mine..the window still tipped down in front when going up. I used a Dremel and elongated the front hole about 1/4 inch in the SBC bracket making the hole lower. When tightening the bolts I just force the wndow up in the front bringing the bolt down into the elogation then tightening both bolts. That causes all the slack in the guides to be taken up and puts more lift in the front. That combined with widening the track a bit, forcing the front guide forward a bit and silicone slickem my windows work great. I know you will find the "sweet spot" eventually.

[tom4bren]

Travelin2,

Thanks dude. I'm not going to open it back up for any more adjustments right now. If it starts jumping tho, I'll give your trick a try.

Eric,

Don't make me come up there & learn you some manners.:slap:

BTW, my hands aren't as shakey as the arrows in the pic would lead you to believe. I was using a trackball instead of a mouse.:work: