broken passenger side slider window from attempted theft.

anyone replace one?
just the glass slider section or does the whole slider door window unit have to be replaced?

best source? glass shop or junke yard?
hopefully not the junke yard, no Aeros at the three I called?

 

Where in Washington state are you?
I have gone to Pick-N-Pull in Portland, both off Foster road, and in Sherwood, and every time they have had more Aerostars than the website says they do.

http://www.picknpull.com/check_inven...ar&Distance=50

 

Also, try Canada to your north if you're more Northerly. Quite a few Aerostars to choose from where I was about 6 months ago.

 

The Ford shop manual, 1994 version, says
1. remove the quarter trim panel
2. remove retaining nuts from window module
3. push window out carefully

Looks like the whole window has to come out as a unit. But it doesn't show how to get the glass out of the frame. The drawings aren't very good. It looks like an easy swap if you find the whole window unit. Just use new sealer when it's reinstalled.

 

There are several threads here on how to remove and replace those side windows. Just get some good sealer.

 

thanks guys.
I've removed and resealed mine a couple times in years past. heavy cumbersome b#*%^^#Ds
not something I can do anymore.
was hoping the slider glass was a drop in to the slide grooves but doesn't sound like it.
called glass shop, ridiculous price
will check over in Portland area across the river
looks like time for something new.
adios amigos

 

Bummer man! It's not bad enough that most auto burglars have to break into your car, but they have to break the most expensive window in the process. Once that was such a bad problem at the Caltech campus that owners started to leave their doors unlocked and a note on their windows asking potential burglars to not break them. The campus security finally stepped up surveillance, and the problem subsided for a while.

The easiest way to remove the side glasses is to warm them up to soften the butyl rubber sealant. And butyl rubber is still the best stuff to reseal them with.

 

I believe you have to replace the whole window. Do not waste your money buying it from anywhere other than used. They are old enough that new is even more expensive than ever, and old is cheaper than ever. U-Pulls (or whatever each site calls themselves) are great because not only are they cheap, you can learn how to do it in reverse, while taking it out. Then when you take yours out you don't break anything!

It is tedious but not too hard. You have to take out the whole darn interior of the van. The seats, the rear overhead vents (if you have Rear A/C) the seat belts, and then the whole side panel. Then the old window unbolts very easily. Depending on what the old window was sealed with, cleaning away the old gunk could be the hardest part. It has to be very clean.

To reseal it, don't use anything other than what Ford recommends - Butyl Rope sealer. It is sold in Auto-Zone (made by 3M) and is not expensive. You probably don't need more than one roll. I did, but I have an extended, and I don't remember but I think I did BOTH windows one one side. They were leaking bad, so I resealed them. I made a BIG mistake trying Silicone and other sealants. Besides the waste of money, I had to re-open and do the whole job over cause it leaked worse than ever, and I had a heck of a time removing the junk I put on. Butyl is not as hard to remove but sticks like anything.

Don't tighten the bolts too tight, or it will start to deform and stress the window. Just enough to squish the butyl rope.

Mine never leaked again.

Good luck!!

 

major arthritis has put an end to me working on the Aero so window will remain broken until she has a new owner. can't even change the oil in it.

looking for a new replacement rig now

thanks guys
enjoyed the time, good info and friendship on here

 

Sorry to hear. Thank you for all your input!!

 

96_4wdr

Mine got broken also, but by a bear during one of the recent camping trips.
Get a piece of plexiglass (1/8" would do) and cut one to fit. You can use a piece of cardboard for measurement and then cut the plastic with the Dremel tool.

Don't waste a perfectly good van, my friend!

 

not by Yogi I hope?
you cooking in that van again copper? I'll be down for beans and sausage.

had a black bear in E. Oregon pull a big plastic camping container out that was jammed under the van and then our weight in the van locking it in place
wild ride at 3am, bear won. made a mess of all including the loaf of bread. they love bread-the sugar
couldn't figure out how to open the sticky jar of jam so he licked it to death. tub of peanut butter, he packed that off. hope it plugged him up.

good idea on the plexiglass copper, thanks
gonna give that a go.

thanks for the help and ideas to all

 

If you do it with lexan maybe you could bend it to get it in..Just a thought..


Dick

 

Yes, sorry to hear of really bad arthritis. I hope it doesn't inconvenience you too much otherwise.

And thanks very much for all the great advice.

Growing old sucks.

 

Thanks for this information, I have had a window on the driver side start to leak and this will help getting that fixed.