Automobiles are manufactured today with a much tougher glass than they were 10 years ago. Despite this technological advantage, security glass window is broken thousands of times per day in the United States. Unfortunately, the cost of repairing this damage has increased dramatically over the same period of time due to the complexity of the modern car door construction. The average car enthusiast can still replace the broken glass door provided they have a basic set of automotive tools and follow some simple procedures. Doing so will result in hundreds of dollars in savings as well as provide the opportunity to perform routine maintenance on the whole door.
- Put on eye protection and work gloves. Clean all broken glass pieces if safety glass breaks the door. Remove large pieces of glass by hand and then vacuum the small pieces with a vacuum cleaner. Be sure to get all the small pieces of glass that are minted at various places in the door and throughout the car. A workshop vacuum cleaner with small irregular shaped accessories is very useful for doing this. Do not roll the window up or down yet, wait until you are sure all the broken glass has been removed
- Remove the access panels from the door and the screw cover the holes.. These are usually held in place with small Phillips screws. Remove additional covers such as switch panel covers and the remote switch covers if any. Many lids are held in place with clips, so it simply pulls out when pressure is applied in the right direction. The end result should be a bare door panel without the remaining accessories (covers).
- Vacuum the safety glass particles you find yourself like dismantling the door. If you are not sure of the correct placement of the pieces as they are removed, label them with tape and a pencil. Lower the window so that it is 3/4 of the way open.
- Remove the electrical connections from the door switches. Most connections will be of the plug type variety, which you just pull out and can only be put back in one position. These include window switches, electric locks, rear view controls, etc. Mark each group of switches with tape and a pencil if you are not sure how they will be reassembled afterwards.
- Locate the panel mounting bolts (or bolts according to the manufacturer). Most door panels use a combination of screws and plastic pushing fasteners. After all the screws have been located and gently pull lever up and out to remove the door panel. It may be necessary to rotate and rotate the panel when removing it to clear any obstructions. Be sure to unhook the electrical connection clips that are intended to secure the electrical wiring to the door panel before pulling too hard. Place the door panel aside.
- Remove any time (plastic) from insulation. Do you remember how it was installed? Locate and remove the reinforcement bars for door reinforcement. These usually run vertically or horizontally through the inside of the door frame, and are held in place with medium size screws. Carefully vacuum the entire interior of the door frame and remove all the pieces of unseen glass by hand.
- Insert the new door glass through the greater access into the door frame, or through the glass channel at the top of the door (depending on the manufacturer). Place the glass in the proper position on the glass support arm. Begin carefully reassembling the components in the reverse order of their removal. Apply lubricant (very small amount) to any of the moving mechanical components, such as sliding levers as maintenance precaution.