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So I'm far enough along now in getting my truck functional to start worrying about quality of life things like not having a cardboard window. Some jackass a couple weeks before I bought the truck smashed the passenger side smoking window and really torqued the frame around. What I'm wondering is if anyone has experience replacing the window section from another vehicle or if I'm better off just finding an entire new door? I haven't had a chance yet to evaluate how much I have to tear apart to get at it.
No reason to replace the entire door, but you will pretty much have to remove the guts from the door to get the vent window frame assembly out of it since it's bent and not savable. It's not difficult. I worked in the parts department at a Ford dealership back in the '90s and the vent window assembly was the most expensive piece of glass on the whole truck at the time. People would lock their keys in their truck and think that they'd just break out the smallest piece of glass to get in thinking it would be inexpensive to replace, then find out it was a few hundred dollars and you had to replace the whole works (still not cheap now, NPD lists aftermarket replacements for $225, at a guess LMC is similar). The door glass, on the other hand, was dirt cheap and could be replaced in about 30 mins. Hopefully you can get lucky and find one in your local U-pull-it yard, which is going to be the cheapest route by far, but if not they do show up on ebay.
Since the frame of the vent window is bent you'll have to replace the entire vent window. Here's a search engine you can use to find parts near you. There were so many trucks built, that trucks from that era still appear in salvage yards from time to time.
Found one nearby for $37 which is fine by me. Just need to grab some tools from home and head over there.
Be careful to select the correct glass and frame. Evidently there are differences. @FuzzFace2 may be able to elaborate. Anything I heard about differences was from his build thread
EDIT: First time I heard it called a smoking window. In southern Indiana it's called a wing.
Be careful to select the correct glass and frame. Evidently there are differences. @FuzzFace2 may be able to elaborate. Anything I heard about differences was from his build thread
EDIT: First time I heard it called a smoking window. In southern Indiana it's called a wing.
Yes the glas and fram the glass is in is the same but the full frame that uses 2 screws at the top and a bolt in the door is different.
I don't remember the year breaks but the divider between wing & main glass is wider and longer between the years.
I think ours have the skinny divider and the 87+ the wide ones but measure to make sure.
I had thieves break mine a couple decades ago to try to get my stereo out… all they accomplished was to bust the glass and scratch up the center bezel… a local junk yard had one that worked, but I recall it being ridiculously expensive… around 250-300 if I recall…
I don’t know the technical name, but I always called it the “vent window” … the generic one I hear people call it is “the triangle”.
Must be a Canadian thing, the only time I ever saw them used growing up was for people to vent the smoke out.
Good to know about the dimensions, I'll bring a tape measure with me too.
Of course this morning everything is being stupid, the signal lights and the heater blower both aren't working when they worked last night and none of the fuses are blown for them. So I get to go root around with a multimeter this afternoon.
trucks built, that trucks from that era still appear in salvage yards from time to time.
