andyeccles

I searched and searched and couldn't find any tips on how to replace a rear-side quarter window on a 997, so for future people tackling this, I hope it helps.

My window was smashed, so I found a used replacement on ebay. I don't know why it has a big #45 on it, but it's silly and silly things me smile, so I don't care. I never had to handle the glass 'roughly' so I had no fear of breaking the window.
I think removal of a window would actually be quite straightforward even without it being smashed first - if you're removing one, follow these steps bottom-up.

Counter to almost every thread that I read on the internet, the window is NOT bonded in. It's just bolted in place with three fasteners.
I repeat, it's not bonded in. I am sure the seals are, but the glass window isn't.

I didn't replace the outer seals, there was no need. They're riveted into the body. You can see that really clearly when the window is out.

So here's what I did.


Removed B-Pillar trim, which reveals the two front window bolts.


Removed only the seatbelt guide from the C-pillar to get to the third bolt. It's a 5mm hex. I never removed the headlining/c-pillar trim.


Unbolted the remains of the old window from the inside, and wiggled them free. The glass is bonded to these mounts.

Vacuumed out the broken glass and gave everything a clean. The window bolts have three components - the thread bonded to the glass, a stud to mount to the body, and a nut inside the car.



This aperture between the outer and inner seals is where the rearmost mount sits.



I left the studs in the b-pillar with nuts on the back to loosely hold them in place.



I mounted the window with just the threaded studs - it's a fairly tight job to align them into the seals and the studs.



I offered the window up by hooking it up and under the roof seal, and sliding it slowly towards the rear of the car until I could locate the mount threads and loosely screw the studs onto the window to hold it in place. At this point it still needed sliding rearwards and down into the quarterpanel seals which was just a process of sliding the window around and popping it behind the lower seal.



Only light "thumb" pressure required to seat the glass and pop out the outer seal. Then I tightened the bolts - there is adjustment between the studs and the nuts to 'align' the window - and I used a hose to check for leaks.



These are the tools I used - sockets for the seatbelt guide and the window nuts, 5mm hex key for the rear bolt, a torx bit for the window studs, and a PH2 for the b-pillar trim. I didn't need any "pry" tools, I just used my fingers to save scraping anything.




Done. Fitted with the funny/silly 45, it matches my wrap and I quite like the fact that there is no reason for me to have it there.



Cheers.
Andy