Who has rebuilt their SLIDING side windows?

[Corts60]

Oh. My. Good. Lord.

Installing the weather stripping on these windows is hands down the hardest thing I have ever done on an automobile.

Now I know why all of you guys went to solid side glass.


Has anyone on here rebuilt these before? I really would like to hear from you. Anyone, please! Tell me some tricks!

[LT1 Burb]

Whose rubbers are you using. I rebuilt mine and bought a set from Brothers and after struggling for 4 hours I threw them in the garbage and installed Steele Rubber products ones.If they aren't molded in the corners do yourself a favor and throw them out.

[Corts60]

I am using Steele rubber ones. The "square" formed ones were easy to install but the rounded ones I found to be a real pita. How did you do it?
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[MusicMan70]

Cort, this info came from a 6066 GMC member; Jim Jazz

I don't know if he posts here, but he has several Suburbans and sent me this breakdown. I saved it for the day I would tackle the Sliders. All credit to Jim for sending me this; hope it helps. Thanks Jim

Also included some pics he sent along with the breakdown

Hey there Henry,

Yep. Been there, done that before to the sliders on 3 or 4 occasions. It's
amazing how well they work once you restore them. Just don't rush it, take
your time, and pay some attention to detail.
First off, when you remove them and strip them down, you will need to cut
the old crusty and tired rubber at the pinch weld on the top, front, and
rear for you to be able to tilt them in and lift them out. You will most
likely encounter some rust in the bottom channels of the rear set. I just
wire brushed out the loose bubbles and then painted with Hammerite spray
paint to keep the already rusted metal from further propagating. If your
frames are rusted badly enough to where the metal channel is just too rusted
up to accept new channeling, then you will probably need to hunt for some
replacements, or have some competent welding done with new stock. I've seem
some that were a total wreck and were not rebuildable, and I've also had the
good fortune of finding some in really good shape in the dry climate where I
live. In any event, you will not find these to be rust free in the bottom
channel run, so don't expect that.
Do one set at a time- take one down to the frame and while putting it back
together, you will have the other side as a reference.
Make sure that your windlace channeling is all the way down in the channel
top, bottom, front and back, otherwise you will find that your newly rebuilt
slider will have trouble closing and latching. You will find that using
something really slippery (like dishwashing soap) will help to let things
move around and find their place in the channels, especially with regard to
installing the fixed glass to the front or rear of the frame (location
depending). I used a woodworkers' vice and some wood blocks for mine to be
sure that the glass and rubber are fully seated. These are the vices that
use standard 1-inch pipe that is threaded on the end, and the vice can
accommodate any length of what's to be drawn in or clamped by the length of
the pipe stock. I'm sure you know what I am talking about here.

You should think about attacking the rear set first, since these are the
ones that you will probably not use as often, and the frames typically have
more rust in them. The hardest part of this is bending the channel that the
glass slides in at the bottom rear- that's a pretty tight "round" corner for
the glass to slide in, and the galvanized metal channel with the cloth over
it that you are bending will distort. You can bend this first piece around
the glass to the top corner while out of the frame and then squeeze the
distortion of the accordion metal to the glass, and then set the channel
into the frame using the frame as a reference for the bends. This will need
to be notched, to make the top run to the top front part of the window where
the rubber "stop" channel is located.

Study these frames before ripping them apart, and make some notes. You will
also benefit by marking the tops of the frames for where they fit in the
truck, marking the location as LF, LR, RF, RR with arrows pointing to the
outside and to the front or rear. Front and rear sliders are not
interchangeable as they appear to be.

You can get the kits from a variety or places, like Brother's Trucks
http://www.brotherstrucks.com/prodin...number=SSW5566 or Steele Rubber
Products https://secure.steelerubber.com/homeframes.html Several places
that used to carry the Suburban quarter window kits have either dropped it
from their line, or are out of business, like Harmon's. Steele rubber will
be the most expensive at over $200 for a set of 2 for left and right, since
their rubber is made to stand the test of time and the elements. Brother's
is at about $50 each window. The biggest difference is that Steele has
vulcanized pieces for the sharp corners which is basically welded rubber, so
it is one piece and specific to left and right like it was from the factory.
The other is the kind of generic rubber kit (extruded) that you would cut to
fit. There's nothing particularly wrong with this type, but the rubber won't
hold up as well by the way it is made like the Steele product. An example
would be after installing and then getting some sun on the cheaper kit- when
you go to wash your truck, you will get some black rubber coming off onto
your rag or whatever, whereas the Steele product will not shed like this.
That's kind of what you are paying for.

Don't stretch the rubber channels to fit- they will shrink over time, so
stuff as much as you can into the space you have. That way, when they do
shrink, you won't be left with a large gap that will leak air and water and
such.

The latch will be the last thing you attach to the sliding window for it to
lock in the closed position. You only have about 1/4" up-and-down play in
their location, and once you "set" the latch onto the glass over the rubber
that grips the latch to the glass, it will be difficult to move on the up
and down for proper location. Using any kind of liquid on this latch rubber
is not recommended, as it is designed to swell once it gets wet, so this
will need to be done dry. Pulling the latch off the glass can be tough when
disassembling- just be careful with the tools you use to remove the latch,
or you can chip (or break) the tempered glass plates.

Removing or installing the fixed or sliding plates to the frames requires
that you move the glass piece to the center of the frame and pull up on the
top of the frame (while standing on the bottom rails) to get the glass out
or in.

Before you install the new glass and you have your new channeling in the
sliding part, you will need to drill holes in the bottom where there are
slots in the frame to allow the moisture a place to drain to. When the
sliders are out, it's a great time to paint the inside track recess for rust
protection.

Good luck!

Jim

[Corts60]

Thanks for that!

Well, it sounds like I have done everything the same way as him...I guess that just means that it is not an easy process any way you cut it.

[LT1 Burb]

I did mine over 7 years ago so I really can't remember how hard it was now.

[Big Fenders]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Oh. My. Good. Lord.

Installing the weather stripping on these windows is hands down the hardest thing I have ever done on an automobile.

Now I know why all of you guys went to solid side glass.


Has anyone on here rebuilt these before? I really would like to hear from you. Anyone, please! Tell me some tricks!

Its been a while since I've done the rebuild but I remember that it wasn't easy..
I did convert two of the windows to solid glass so I have two extra frames if anyone is interested..
Bob