Leaking Back Window
08-30-2014, 09:43 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Leaking Back Window
I had water coming in through my back window. I already fixed my high mount stop lamp a couple years ago, but I thought it might have started leaking again. When I checked with the hose it was obviously coming through the window and not the stop lamp. So unfortunately it had to come out to be resealed. Yeah.
Here's what I did.
1 Remove the rear seat back. Even if you know how to do this it's a pain.
2. Remove the push pins that hold the felt liner to the back wall. This will expose the fasteners for the back window on the bottom edge. Here's the before pic.
Here's the after pic.
3 Then you'll want to remove the inside rear pillar trim. There's on 10mm bolt at the top you need to remove and the rest are snaps so you can pull off the trim piece by hand. This will expose the back window fasteners on the sides,
4. Pull out the two push pins holding in the rear of the head liner in. This will allow you to flex the head liner just enough to get to the window fasteners on the top side. All of the window fasteners are 9mm. Since there isn't a lot of room on the top side a ratchet works best. For all the others a deep well socket works good.
5. Now go ahead and remove all 14 of the 9mm fasteners holding in the window.
6. The window is sealed with some urethane so it takes some pressure to push it off the window frame. I started in the lower middle to push it off a little and then just walked all the way around the window until it was released. Then you can pull in off the back and this is what you'll have.
7. You'll notice there is a foam seal in the track of the window that's covered in the urethane. You'll want to remove that and clean to sealing surface of the window as best you can. Here's mine after cleaning.
You may be able to replace the foam seal. I did not. I laid in a fat bead of silicone all the way around the window frame and reinstalled it.
8. Clean off the window frame on the truck as good as you can. I used a razor to get all the urethane gunk off. Then I washed it with a soapy rag to get it good and clean.
9. Put your new gasket or sealant on your cleaned off window and carefully place it back into the window frame. Then reinstall all the 9mm nuts that hold on the window.
10. Reinstall pillar trim, head liner and rear seat back in reverse order and you should be good to go again. All in all it took me about 6 hours to get the job done, but I'm slow.
If mine leaks I'm sure someone else's will too, so I hope this helps someone's job go a little easier.
Here's what I did.
1 Remove the rear seat back. Even if you know how to do this it's a pain.
2. Remove the push pins that hold the felt liner to the back wall. This will expose the fasteners for the back window on the bottom edge. Here's the before pic.
Here's the after pic.
3 Then you'll want to remove the inside rear pillar trim. There's on 10mm bolt at the top you need to remove and the rest are snaps so you can pull off the trim piece by hand. This will expose the back window fasteners on the sides,
4. Pull out the two push pins holding in the rear of the head liner in. This will allow you to flex the head liner just enough to get to the window fasteners on the top side. All of the window fasteners are 9mm. Since there isn't a lot of room on the top side a ratchet works best. For all the others a deep well socket works good.
5. Now go ahead and remove all 14 of the 9mm fasteners holding in the window.
6. The window is sealed with some urethane so it takes some pressure to push it off the window frame. I started in the lower middle to push it off a little and then just walked all the way around the window until it was released. Then you can pull in off the back and this is what you'll have.
7. You'll notice there is a foam seal in the track of the window that's covered in the urethane. You'll want to remove that and clean to sealing surface of the window as best you can. Here's mine after cleaning.
You may be able to replace the foam seal. I did not. I laid in a fat bead of silicone all the way around the window frame and reinstalled it.
8. Clean off the window frame on the truck as good as you can. I used a razor to get all the urethane gunk off. Then I washed it with a soapy rag to get it good and clean.
9. Put your new gasket or sealant on your cleaned off window and carefully place it back into the window frame. Then reinstall all the 9mm nuts that hold on the window.
10. Reinstall pillar trim, head liner and rear seat back in reverse order and you should be good to go again. All in all it took me about 6 hours to get the job done, but I'm slow.
If mine leaks I'm sure someone else's will too, so I hope this helps someone's job go a little easier.
The following 2 users liked this post by Rick's 06:
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08-30-2014, 11:29 AM
#3
I had water coming in through my back window. I already fixed my high mount stop lamp a couple years ago, but I thought it might have started leaking again. When I checked with the hose it was obviously coming through the window and not the stop lamp. So unfortunately it had to come out to be resealed. Yeah. Here's what I did. 1 Remove the rear seat back. Even if you know how to do this it's a pain. 2. Remove the push pins that hold the felt liner to the back wall. This will expose the fasteners for the back window on the bottom edge. Here's the before pic. Here's the after pic. 3 Then you'll want to remove the inside rear pillar trim. There's on 10mm bolt at the top you need to remove and the rest are snaps so you can pull off the trim piece by hand. This will expose the back window fasteners on the sides, 4. Pull out the two push pins holding in the rear of the head liner in. This will allow you to flex the head liner just enough to get to the window fasteners on the top side. All of the window fasteners are 9mm. Since there isn't a lot of room on the top side a ratchet works best. For all the others a deep well socket works good. 5. Now go ahead and remove all 14 of the 9mm fasteners holding in the window. 6. The window is sealed with some urethane so it takes some pressure to push it off the window frame. I started in the lower middle to push it off a little and then just walked all the way around the window until it was released. Then you can pull in off the back and this is what you'll have. 7. You'll notice there is a foam seal in the track of the window that's covered in the urethane. You'll want to remove that and clean to sealing surface of the window as best you can. Here's mine after cleaning. You may be able to replace the foam seal. I did not. I laid in a fat bead of silicone all the way around the window frame and reinstalled it. 8. Clean off the window frame on the truck as good as you can. I used a razor to get all the urethane gunk off. Then I washed it with a soapy rag to get it good and clean. 9. Put your new gasket or sealant on your cleaned off window and carefully place it back into the window frame. Then reinstall all the 9mm nuts that hold on the window. 10. Reinstall pillar trim, head liner and rear seat back in reverse order and you should be good to go again. All in all it took me about 6 hours to get the job done, but I'm slow. If mine leaks I'm sure someone else's will too, so I hope this helps someone's job go a little easier.
Here's what I did. 1 Remove the rear seat back. Even if you know how to do this it's a pain. 2. Remove the push pins that hold the felt liner to the back wall. This will expose the fasteners for the back window on the bottom edge. Here's the before pic. Here's the after pic. 3 Then you'll want to remove the inside rear pillar trim. There's on 10mm bolt at the top you need to remove and the rest are snaps so you can pull off the trim piece by hand. This will expose the back window fasteners on the sides, 4. Pull out the two push pins holding in the rear of the head liner in. This will allow you to flex the head liner just enough to get to the window fasteners on the top side. All of the window fasteners are 9mm. Since there isn't a lot of room on the top side a ratchet works best. For all the others a deep well socket works good. 5. Now go ahead and remove all 14 of the 9mm fasteners holding in the window. 6. The window is sealed with some urethane so it takes some pressure to push it off the window frame. I started in the lower middle to push it off a little and then just walked all the way around the window until it was released. Then you can pull in off the back and this is what you'll have. 7. You'll notice there is a foam seal in the track of the window that's covered in the urethane. You'll want to remove that and clean to sealing surface of the window as best you can. Here's mine after cleaning. You may be able to replace the foam seal. I did not. I laid in a fat bead of silicone all the way around the window frame and reinstalled it. 8. Clean off the window frame on the truck as good as you can. I used a razor to get all the urethane gunk off. Then I washed it with a soapy rag to get it good and clean. 9. Put your new gasket or sealant on your cleaned off window and carefully place it back into the window frame. Then reinstall all the 9mm nuts that hold on the window. 10. Reinstall pillar trim, head liner and rear seat back in reverse order and you should be good to go again. All in all it took me about 6 hours to get the job done, but I'm slow. If mine leaks I'm sure someone else's will too, so I hope this helps someone's job go a little easier.First off, that adhesive used on the rear glass on these trucks is not urethane or glue. It is foam-core butyl tape. You DO NOT use any other type of adhesive, ESPECIALLY silicone to ever adhere automotive glass. It will inevitably leak again because it is not the proper type of adhesive. You need to use fresh butyl tape when re-installing this glass. If you ever break this window, or need to have it replaced...you have basically lost all chances of having a good, proper seal in the future. Butyl is semi-permanent, meaning it can be removed if need be. You will will not be able to get this window out again without the high chance of breaking it. Using soapy water and not a proper cleaner also has a negative effect on proper sealing. And any scratches you may have caused in using a razor blade to clean off the old butyl will rust and ensure a failed seal in the future.
I am a certified automotive glass technician for SafeLite, and I've done more of these rear glasses than I can count. I'm not trying to rag on you, but I have to rectify improper fixes all the time, and this is a textbook case of what not to do.
Last edited by JByrd825; 08-30-2014 at 11:32 AM.
08-30-2014, 11:56 AM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Is Butyl tape readily available? If so I guess that's the way to go. Maybe you can suggest where it can be purchased. Maybe it's a dealer item.
I will say the window frame cleaned up nicely with a sharp razor without scratching the paint at all so hopefully I'll be okay there. What do you recommend for a cleaning agent to remove the butyl?
Anyway, perhaps my steps on how to remove the window will be helpful to someone. Just looks like you need to use the butyl tape to reinstall and not use silicone. Thanks for the feedback.
I will say the window frame cleaned up nicely with a sharp razor without scratching the paint at all so hopefully I'll be okay there. What do you recommend for a cleaning agent to remove the butyl?
Anyway, perhaps my steps on how to remove the window will be helpful to someone. Just looks like you need to use the butyl tape to reinstall and not use silicone. Thanks for the feedback.
Last edited by Rick's 06; 08-30-2014 at 12:00 PM.
08-30-2014, 12:50 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I couldn't find anything that said it was butyl tape, but I did find this 3M product at Advanced Auto specifically for Windows. I just pulled my window back off and will try this product. Fun fun fun.
08-30-2014, 01:14 PM
#6
Is Butyl tape readily available? If so I guess that's the way to go. Maybe you can suggest where it can be purchased. Maybe it's a dealer item. I will say the window frame cleaned up nicely with a sharp razor without scratching the paint at all so hopefully I'll be okay there. What do you recommend for a cleaning agent to remove the butyl? Anyway, perhaps my steps on how to remove the window will be helpful to someone. Just looks like you need to use the butyl tape to reinstall and not use silicone. Thanks for the feedback.
I can't get that picture to load, so I can't tell if what you're showing me is actually butyl or not. You'll know what it is when you see it. It looks like tar-covered rope. It instantly adheres to whatever CLEAN surface it touches and will shred when you try to pull it away. As far as removing old butyl, the easiest thing to do is pull a chunk of it off one surface, and tack it against the other surface and rapidly pull it away. It's like removing chewing gum. You can use goof-off or any product with Naptha in it to remove any leftover residue. Now, I honestly don't know where to buy it from. SafeLite is a nationwide corporation that buys their materials in bulk from certain suppliers, and where we get our butyl from is the only question I don't have an answer to. Honestly...if the job is done...I would leave it and hope it never leaks. The problem with silicone adhesives is that is leaves a residue on surfaces it makes contact with that will hinder any other type of adhesion. If you were to try this again but with butyl, you may not get proper adhesion. I just wanted to state my previous comment for anyone else who wants to try and tackle this themselves.
09-01-2014, 09:16 AM
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
JByrd,
Yeah I thought you came on a little strong, but it's all good. We're all just trying to help people make their trucks better. I've gained so much information off this forum, that I like to post up when I do repair work on my truck. The forum is a great place to share information. Most of us are not Ford certified mechanics, so to me I think a disclaimer on any post is almost implied. It's up to us as readers to decide if what we read makes sense. I certainly wouldn't want to post up bad information intentionally, but if I make a mistake I think the folks here will likely find it as there's a lot of talented people here.
In the case of my rear window, I did pull it off again since you said the silicone likely wouldn't work and I really don't want to do this again. I reinstalled using the 3M ribbon sealer I purchased at Advanced Auto and I think it did the trick. I ran the hose directly over it yesterday and it didn't leak a drop. Hopefully she'll stay that way for a long time.
Yeah I thought you came on a little strong, but it's all good. We're all just trying to help people make their trucks better. I've gained so much information off this forum, that I like to post up when I do repair work on my truck. The forum is a great place to share information. Most of us are not Ford certified mechanics, so to me I think a disclaimer on any post is almost implied. It's up to us as readers to decide if what we read makes sense. I certainly wouldn't want to post up bad information intentionally, but if I make a mistake I think the folks here will likely find it as there's a lot of talented people here.
In the case of my rear window, I did pull it off again since you said the silicone likely wouldn't work and I really don't want to do this again. I reinstalled using the 3M ribbon sealer I purchased at Advanced Auto and I think it did the trick. I ran the hose directly over it yesterday and it didn't leak a drop. Hopefully she'll stay that way for a long time.
Last edited by Rick's 06; 09-01-2014 at 09:21 AM.
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09-01-2014, 05:11 PM
#8
Senior Member
JByrd-
How much does this usually run with SafeLite? I need to have mine replaced, and I'm a beginner to repairs and projects on my truck. I don't want to mess it up too bad.
Kevin
How much does this usually run with SafeLite? I need to have mine replaced, and I'm a beginner to repairs and projects on my truck. I don't want to mess it up too bad.
Kevin
09-01-2014, 05:15 PM
#9
Fbcoach - Is yours within the 04-08 body style? And is it a full glass, slider, or power slider?
