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72whitewesty
Samba Member
Joined: October 13, 2003
Posts: 30
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 Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:26 pm Post subject: rear wing window removal on 72 westfalia |
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| I was wondering if anybody could help me with some tips on removing the rear wing window on the drivers side in a 1972 bus. I wanted to remove it and keep the seal intact, is that possible. Mine is rotten and I am replacing it with a non rusted window. Thanks for your help, Ian |
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ratwell
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2003
Posts: 8717
Location: Victoria, BC
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Amskeptic
Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2002
Posts: 8568
Location: All Across The Country
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 7:54 pm Post subject: Re: rear wing window removal on 72 westfalia |
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| 72whitewesty wrote: |
| I was wondering if anybody could help me with some tips on removing the rear wing window on the drivers side in a 1972 bus. I wanted to remove it and keep the seal intact, is that possible. Mine is rotten and I am replacing it with a non rusted window. Thanks for your help, Ian |
You have two choices:
Remove the big glass then the vent window.
Remove the vent window only.
My choice would be to remove the vent window only.
The key here, is to find the two tabs on the vent window frame that bend forward (towards the front of the car) and bend them out so they face directly towards the centerline of the car. The rubber surround will protest this operation, ignore it. They are hidden behind the rubber surround (on the inside of the car) Then you can peel the rubber away from the headlining material and squirt some vinyl dressing to serve as a lubricant as you shove the whole mess outwards. You will see the rubber fold as it slowly begins to slide out, so don't expect the thing to pop out and crash to the floor. Keep the vent window open and you can just hold on to it as you push it right on out. There is a friction bolt/clamp at the bottom of the vent window assembly that you disassemble to clear the vent wing from the frame. Upon reassembly, you must bend those tabs out on the new frame just like you did on the old one. Then you can install with your string or whatever, and bend the tabs forward to lock the frame into the opening. The tabs may not lay down perfectly flat against the opening, so your rubber may have two little bumps when the job is done. I bashed mine flat pretty good. I use 3M sealing strips ( monkey shit, in the trade) to ensure a good water-tight seal between the front of the rear window and the vent frame. Use it along the top of the vent frame as well. But keep the drain holes open in the rubber seal *under* the chrome window frame and black frame, or you will be plagued with dammed up water leaks that will never be cured no matter how much you try to seal it. These vent window rubbers have lots of hidden engineering in them.
Colin |
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ratwell
Samba Member
Joined: April 26, 2003
Posts: 8717
Location: Victoria, BC
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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Here's the advice from the broken link:
| Quote: |
Richard & Chris the Librarian:
I just saw the thread (and I'll spare The List - no, what the heck!) - and I
have to concur with Librarian the Librarian... It REALLY looks like the
itty bitty tabs that secure the vent window have not been properly
"adjusted", and/or the larger/rearmost pane of glass was installed first,
and the vent window second. If you lift up the seal on the inside, you
"should" be able to see them where they "should" be poking through the new seal, and bent/wrapped over onto the bodywork. After one or two junkyard removals of said rear compartment vent windows, I figured out that the appropriate order of dis-installation is large rear glass first, and THEN the vent window. As is oft said, installation is the opposite of removal.
There are some little cut-outs in the bodywork where the tabs fit through / fit over, and then the whole mess is slid front-wards (FiF) about an inch - inch and a half; once past the little cut-outs the tabs can be re-bent
around the whats-it... THEN the rear most window(s) are installed once the vent window(s) are secured. Those little loose rubber tabs off the vent window seal give me the hint that it's been installed back-*ssward. I've seen many a vent window extracted from 'yard buses where the rear most window has NOT be removed, but I suspect that the internal metal frame was corroded into non-existence or it was boogered to bits by this extraction method, the extractors apparently only interested in the glass - caring not for the precious and NLA'd frame that may or may not have been salvageable...
Mind you, I have not worked up the courage to do this on the '72 Weekender with it's one rear vent window (but have the rubber to do both of the windows), and it's going to be practice for the '73 Deluxe with the 3 (count 'em, 3) vent windows - eeeep-a-lay! I figured it was much better to take a
few practice runs on 'yard buses (and harvest a few frames to boot), because while the seals are once again available, last I was told the frames are not. Paint, paint, paint those "new" used frames, guys, until the Gods of Repop bless us with their wares!
Incidentally from what I've been able to observe, the frames are a two piece affair: the "vertical" piece that the vent latches against is left or right handed depending on location in the bus, the more "U-shaped" piece is universal and can be used left or right, right-side up or up-side down then riveted to the "vertical" to close the framework. Left-hand frames are relatively easy to find, but the right-hand units are much tougher because the "yard-folk" usually RIP the Deluxe doors off the poor things.
Fortunately, the "vertical" doesn't seem to be as prone to corroding as the "U", so all is not completely lost.
Jim Hayden
www.savethebays.org |
BTW, If you haven't been to the website, the top ten list is funny.
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'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ |
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levi20AE
Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2005
Posts: 485
Location: Las Vegas, NV
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| Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 4:47 pm Post subject: Re: rear wing window removal on 72 westfalia |
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| Amskeptic wrote: |
The key here, is to find the two tabs on the vent window frame that bend forward (towards the front of the car) and bend them out so they face directly towards the centerline of the car.
Colin |
Just did this today and did not find the tabs during removal of the old rusty frame but made sure to bend them before installation of the not so rusty vent window.
Here is a pic of the upper tab for folks in the furture.
_________________
1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs |
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airschooled
Air-Schooled
Joined: April 04, 2012
Posts: 12721
Location: on a bike ride somewhere
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| Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the pic.
And I think you should win some kind of award for posting in a thread that's almost 10 years old!!!
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levi20AE
Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2005
Posts: 485
Location: Las Vegas, NV
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| Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| asiab3 wrote: |
Thanks for the pic.
And I think you should win some kind of award for posting in a thread that's almost 10 years old!!! |
haha. Didn't notice the date, guess camera phones weren't around on '03.
At least I used the search function...
_________________
1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs |
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Tcash
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2011
Posts: 12844
Location: San Jose, California, USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 3:53 pm Post subject: quarter window vent wing removal/replacement |
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steponmebbbboom wrote:
quarter window vent wing removal/replacement
several people have mentioned in the forums how difficult it is to remove these units without damaging them. it is simple if you know what you are doing. the trick is to move the entire unit seal and all to the notch in the hemflange shown here. first, remove the quarter window and seal. then, peel back the flap at top and bottom of the wing seal and scrape the black urethane sealant from the seam. dig in as far as is practicable. then, go around the entire seal inside and out with a plastic pointed tool. auto glass shops will have these available. this will break the bond between the rubber and paint, or headliner.
now that the bond has been broken between the seal and the paint/headliner, you must pry the unit back in the window opening until the locating tabs are aligned with the notches in the hemflange. begin prying at the top and bottom edges where there is strength, and once the unit is moving freely pry in the center to move top and bottom evenly. this tool was forged in a few minutes, a small prybar will do the same task but wrap the tip with electrical tape if you do not wish to harm the paint.
it is tempting to use the heel of your hand to strike against the upright to break the window free. shown here is why such practice is ill advised. the upright is held in place by two tiny rivets, and the steel tabs are thin gauge at the best of times. a good whack with the quarter window removed would easily break a rusted one. also shown is the flap you need to peel back when reapplying black urethane sealant, closing the flap over it will help force more of it into the joint. the window is now in position to be tipped out of the opening. note the locating tab. tip it out from the top.
the window removed. to remove the window from the frame for lubrication, cleaning, seal replacement and so on, the rivet on at least one side of the upright needs to be removed. this rivet is not a pop style, it is a solid rivet with the shop head on the inside. 68-69 wings had a window frame painted light gray, 70-71 frames were flat black, and all deluxe frames and standard 72-on were chromed. fill this void with black urethane prior to installation to avoid accumulation of dirt and moisture.
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