Here goes..... Lay out the rubber, and install the trim in the little groove. Use lots of Windex here. Now work in the glass...lay the whole assembly on the hood on a blanket. Take time to pet the shop dog, Crickett. Feed rope around the groove, leaving enough to leed out the ends. I like a thicker rope, it doesn't cut into the rubber. Now set the whole thing up against the frame, lining up the center bar and the bottom lip should rest on the pinch mold. Begin in the center on the bottom and pull the rope to draw the rubber over the pinch. Pull at different angles, generally perpendicular to the rubber. After more pounding and colorful language, the glass wouldn't go in on the passenger side....the new glass, imagine that. I pulled it out and compared it to the origional broken glass, and found the cause. It is too big. I traced out the difference on the glass. Now make several straight cuts to make the curve using a cheapo glass cutter, then turn pane over and cut on the EXACT line on the underside. I used a set of adjustable pliers to grab and snap in small increments until both sides are broken all the way around. WEAR GOGGLES....this stuff flies.
Some say that you can squirt alcohol into the crack and light it to burn the plastic middle, I just used a razor blade. Cut the plastic and remove the leftovers. I highly reccommend shop vacing the whole area after this. It looks rough, but you can sand into shape with a belt sander. Go slow with light pressure so no heat or vibrations break your glass. Now reassemble in the rubber and start over. I found that the center section need a little influencing to get centered. I used a phillips head screwdriver through the center bar metal to pry to the center. If the trim pops out of the rubber, swear at it and gently influence it back in, I used a dead blow hammer in small increments, also more windex....everywhere. I'll end up sealing behind the rubber with some window setting urethane to make shure no leaks. This is a little easier with a helper to press the glass in for you, but my neighbors go running when my garage door is open, guess I abused them too much for heavy lifting in the past. Thank god it is finished.
Good stuff ! As usual Russ . FWIW , it's *very* important to not trim nor clean the rubber edges of the glass as doing so allows air to seep in over the next few years , this causes de lamination of the safety glass , bubbles and fogging . I often put a really thin line of window urethane in the rubber's slot before setting the glass into the rubber ~ some might moosh out but that's easy to clean up and you'll never get those pesky rain between the glass and rubber leaks this way . I also like to use very flexible elecrical wire , nylon or plastic rope works well too ~ the idea being you want something very slippery as you're pulling it out of the rubber...... The thickness of the glass is critical so be sure to save the old , cracked glass as a sample as many Glass Shops won't give you the right stuff , new sytyle Safety Glass is thicker , they have to order in the correct stuff for you . DO NOT let this job intimidate you ! I was intimidated for many years but so many used cars came through my hands I finally decided to give it a try and Lo ! it wasn't so bad once I settled my fears and tried it.....
