How to Fix the Rear Convertible Window., Removing the vert back seats! Options

[luisitol]

replace the entire bottom assembly. and get it before its discontinued

anyone have the part number? both my windows are "leaning in severely" and I'm gonna have to take a whole day it seems from the instructiosn to try and fix this... OH WHAT FUN :-/

[xrav22]

replace the entire bottom assembly. and get it before its discontinued

anyone have the part number? both my windows are "leaning in severely" and I'm gonna have to take a whole day it seems from the instructiosn to try and fix this... OH WHAT FUN :-/

I would like to verify that the white bushings snap on and off. If I remember correctly I popped off a middle one and put it in front to stop from sagging.
The middle one does not function. Right now I have the front and back one and my rear window is fine. Just lube the trax so there isn't any added pressure.

[luisitol]

replace the entire bottom assembly. and get it before its discontinued

anyone have the part number? both my windows are "leaning in severely" and I'm gonna have to take a whole day it seems from the instructiosn to try and fix this... OH WHAT FUN :-/

disregard I found them online, not the part numbers but the part itself. thanks!

[m2736185]

Where? Are there anymore?

[xrav22]

Where? Are there anymore?

I thought I was buying the bushings from toyota and I received washers. Bushings don't have a part number.

[CAGirl]

First of all this is a tough job.... Read all two times before you attempt this and post for extra questions

If you are lloking for something easy, this is not easy I repeat.. x2.

The first step is to remove the back seats. here is a basic layout.



The lower seats, comes off easy, all you have to do is lift, and will snap off its position.

To remove the Upper seat, you have to remove 4 push pins located on the top side back part of the seat, the part where the velcro is for the boot.



after you haver carefully removed, lift the vynil cover to expose 4 retaining bolts. You will need to use a 13mm socket to remove.



and here is the vert rear strut bar. OEM



To remove the side plastics.
First remove the door sills.
Then remove two screws at the bottom of the speakers.
then remove two screws at the top. One is under the seat belt and the other is the button of the boot.
Optional is to remove the seat belt from the floor panel. This is to move away the interior plastic trim.
the last thing to remove the plastic trim is two push pins located on the rear, they are hidden and a PITA to put back in.



There is one last push pin on the top You can see it here...



and this is what you get to see, your own car guts... i did not disconnect the seat belt. i just made space by pulling it ..

Then remove the exterior weather strip by removing 4-5 screws. dont drop them!



ok, so what now. If you look at the picture above.. you barely see the convertible motor. (Sorry as my collection of pics got lost). But there are approx 3 screws that hold the window track and 4 that hold the window motor to the chassis. They are underneath somewhere.

To get to it, you have to remove the speaker plate, the plate that sits on top of the vert top motor and the plate on the bottom that holds the two screws to retain the plastic trim. they all use 10 mm bolts. Here is an exploded overview of the system...



Once you get to view the track screws and motor screws, you have to take the whole system out, but before please do the following!!!!

IMPORTANT: bag all screws by location and label bags. You dont want to be guessing afterwards. Take pictures and measurements of the 3 track screws, the distance in mm of how much they are sticking out the nut. As they have to be regulated to the same measurements.

The track bots consist of a Long Screw with nut, that are not attached together, they allow to regulate the track.

Pics are better to remember. Take notes of the distance between the edges ot the chassis of the car to the window inside and out. The two top screws are easy, the bottom one, I just took a pic before and compared it with another pic after instalation.

A BAD REGULATED REAR WINDOW WILL NOT SEAT WITH THE FRONT WINDOW AND WHEN CLOSING THE TOP IT CAN BREAK. So its very important you pay attention, measure and take pics to avoid damage.

There is no easy way to do this, if your car is tinted, well, forget about it. This is Real 100% PITA. I pulled it all out at the same time. removed all screws, and brought the whole system out.

Another way of doing this: you can disconect the lever from the motor to the window assembly first. Raise the window halfway being a very tight space with a 10 mm IIRC socket disconect the bolt. Watch out for all the parts, as it has washers, springs, etc, dont loose them. (thats why i pulled all at the same time). Dont trust your memory, take pics

Then you have to remove the bolts on the track that are called stoppers. These are the wants that prevent the window to keep going up, there are two. That way you be able to pull the window out with the assembly out, by sliding it.

Then you unbolt (x3) and pull the track second and unbolt (x 4) and pull the motor out last. always measure your distances distance. (to get an idea how to regulate afterwards)

This is your culprit.. priced between 45 and 65 dls at local dealer. The broken bushing. No its not sold separetely. on the picture you can see the arm lever of the motor still attached.



this is your track system, make sure you regrease it properly afterwards....



So another party pooper I ran with was, once i had my plate assemly, how the heck to remove the glass from the old plate, it is held by some weird azz screws, i tried pliers first, no help....

With a dremel tool I created my own weird looking socket tool with pins. You can see i shaved off the sides leaving some pin on the socket. On the side is the aforementioned nasty bolt. It took me hours to figure this one out!



I unbolted the window, then bolted it on the new plate. I do not have torque specs, this is not on the Chilton Manual, so tighten enough, and not to much to break the glass.

Next is putting all back together. Please get alcohol, neobacin, and bandaids.

This part is 900% PITA and RBH ( rear bu.. H...)

Here is what i did.

Bolted the motor first. (x 4 Bolts)
Bolted the Track second (x 3 bolts) If you measured, it was easy to put it back in place.
and regulate temporarily

Slide the window plate, carefully. Then have somebody playing with the motor switch, adjusting the arm lever to bring it halfway up. Tighten the arm lever.

This is very difficult, youll get cuts, and scrapes. Some parts will fall inside the chassis. So better have a long stick with magnet tip.

Believe me, its doable, if its too low then adjust the motor lever higher, or lower. Have a friend play with the switch.

After this, replace the stoppers. The best way to adjust the window, is with the top down, and the doors closed, make sure the gap is uniform (window to window), that it slides with no problem and it is not pointing outwards or inwards. (always compare with the opposite windows. remeasure all the gaps and bolts to make sure you have adjusted correctly.

To avoid this damage in the future, ALwAYS LOWER YOUR WINDOWS WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO CLOSE THE TOP. Closing the top with the windows up, weakens these plastic bushings.....

Enjoy, and feel free to sticky. As soon as i find my other pics I will edit to make it more understandable.

Thanks, njccmd2002--excellent instructions!! BTW, I was instructed to lower the windows before *both* opening and closing the top and have done so consistently. Don't know why one popped off. Wondering if it's because the parking garage where I work has these unreasonably, ridiculously high speed humps that jangle all the car's insides when I go over them...daily...Everyone tries to find ways around them, going through parking spaces and around the humps so that now the garage is littered with with barriers of all sorts, cones and chains, etc. forcing everyone to go over them. That and the incredibly tight turning radii needed to go down the ramps between each parking level. Anyway, thanks--obviously you're a pro at this. -Melinda

[njccmd2002]

the plastic gets worn out and cracks, its 10 yer old plastic, but hes right, before closing the top, lower the windows a little tad.

and guess what!

more pics yesterday.. why, because my rear right cracked...

so i just got a brand new one,,,



and my special tool




its not easy, you have to take the whole assembly out. and Putting it back in, is more difficult than taking out.

its better to disconnect the arm from the motor that moves the window, but dont loose the washer or spring, or better just call it quits..

here are those little buggers...



i tried several different ways, and once it, guess what, the most fuc.... pita, was to connect the arm from the motor.

seen in this pic.



these are the most PITA to regulate after its done






take reference pics like this one too




but after its said and done...

[CAGirl]

Again, great instructional, though I don't see the photos in your latest adventure. Does anyone know a good, stand-up mechanic in Los Angeles area (preferably near LAX) who would have the skill (and patience) to perform this? I have the parts in, as mentioned in previous post, but they are not seated correctly. Might not be as awful if job doesn't need to be started from scratch, but maybe it does. A referral would be much appreciated! Thank you.

[njccmd2002]

i can see the pics well, this is a job that its not easy, but it can be doable. if you are at work, maybe the firewall its not letting u see the pics,

to regulate the window, it does not have to be all the way up.

[FrankB2]

first of all Doc?

3. Is easy to diagnose, the bushing is broken, and the windows is wobbly. Keep telling everybody, CLOSE THE TOP FIRST, THEN ROLL UP THE WINDOWS. but eventually they all give up/

I was fiddling with my car this past weekend, and noticed that the rear windows had a lot of in and out play when they were fully up. Is this the "wobble" that you spoke of? They move up and down smoothly, and I can see at least one white roller on each window (in very good condition), but they can both be pushed in and out about an inch.

I made the mistake of closing the top with the windows up ONCE....

[tymish]

I have a 1995 Convertible and just replaced the rear window mounting plates. My drivers rear window pretty much just fell down and the other side is barely working. The nylon roller bushing which keep the window in the tracks break after many years. You can't just replace those bushings, you have to replace the entire plate they and the window glass are mounted to. Luckily the parts are still available from Toyota! I paid about $52 /each from my local toyota dealer. I was able to replace the window plate without removing seats or much anything else from the interior.

Difficulty level : 7 out of 10 - Mainly for the patience, tools and finger dexterity required

Tools I Needed:

Phillips Screwdriver
10 mm open end wrench
Vise grip pliers
Dremel tool with metal cutting blade
Magnet stick to pick up dropped parts LOL
Flashlight to see dropped parts
Big 90 degree needle nose pliers (or spanner wrench - specialty tool)
Lithium Grease
Penetrating oil

1. Put the top down.

2. Remove the top plastic cover next to the window and drop it out of the way (2 phillips screws)

3. Slightly pull the lower side plastic interior panel into the car just off the door opening. Enough to get to the Window parts.

4. Facing into the car from outside looking down. There are two window stops with rubber bumpers on either side of the window that need to be out of the way to get window out and back in. Note their positions, maybe scratch lines. The one on the right needs to come all the way out, the bolt clip will stay in. The one on the left I was able to loosen enough to get it out of the way without removing it. (10 mm bolts)

5. The first fun (heh) part. Between rear and center of window is where the regulator is attached to the plate with rear roller.
I tried to loosen the 10 mm friction nut but the whole shaft would just spin. Couldn't get a good grip on the shaft with needle nose pliers. I had to get my Dremel tool with the metal cutting blade and carefully slice the nylon roller in places until I could get it off of the shaft. Then I was able to get my vise grips on the shaft to hold it while I loosened the 10mm friction nut. There are also 2 small washers. You'll probably drop them so you need the telescoping magnet.

6. Pull the window out.

7. The washer nuts that hold the glass. Disks with two oval holes. The specialty tool is called a spanner wrench, I used a pair of big 90 degree needle nose pliers. I sprayed the nuts with penetrating oil, waited a few minutes. It's a bit of a trick to get the right amount of downward pressure and torque to turn them.

8. Mount glass to new plate. I was able to order new plastic window mounting washers but the ones that came out looked re-useable. Put it back together the way it came off.

9. Get some fresh grease on the window tracks. I used a 3 foot piece of trim wood and tried to slop some into the tracks.

10. Put the window in, Takes some finagleing to angle it in and get the rollers in the tracks. Getting the regulator arm through proper bolt is fun too but once it's on it will hold the window up and in place while you get to the hardest part.

11. Putting the regulator washers and nut on. I carefully lowered the window an inch or two where my fingers could just barely reach the bolt. A little sticky grease on my finlgers, a couple drops and magnet pick ups later they were on. I have big hands and fingers so getting the nut on and starting to thread was just barely possible. Have patience, a flashlight and that magnet pole on hand or this will be impossible.

12. Lower window and put the stops back in where they used to be.

13. Test up and down, match with front window and with top up and down. Mine lined up just the same.

14. Put the rest back together and you're done.

[SteveO]

I have one related question, which I hope is simpler than what's mentioned here.

The drivers side rear window is aligning improperly when raised, and getting lodged in front of the front window. The only workaround is to first raise the front window then raise the rear window.

Do you know how to adjust the rear window to raise properly? I've seen this in a few other Celica Convertibles so I believe it's quite common.

Thanks.

[Alleyoop]

[quote name='njccmd2002' date='Apr 25, 2008 - 11:25 PM' post='668283']
First of all this is a tough job.... Read all two times before you attempt this and post for extra questions

If you are lloking for something easy, this is not easy I repeat.. x2.

After searching and finding this great write up by njccmd2002, I was able to find and purchase a complete rear driver window assembly. Upon inspection I found that the same (bottom) idler bushing was broken on the acquired part. But the other bushing was good. I decided to experiment and was successful in prying off the good bushing on the acquired part so I would be able to replace the broken one on my car. By placing 2 screwdriver under the bushing and GENTLY prying up, I was able to pop the idler off the shaft in one piece with no visible damage.

I wanted to post pictures, but being a newbie, don't know how.

I searched to see if anyone else had done this procedure, but did not find anything on it. If it has been done and posted, I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, and want to apologize in advance if so.

[njccmd2002]

Post pics with photobucket or any pic service. I want to see it. No worries. Your not stepping in my toes at least. Im laying on the couch. My toes are under a warm blanket

[IllIllIll]

I'm finally getting around to doing this on my Celica, again. What a pita. I think I discovered why my plastic wheels break. The metal channel that the plastic wheels or bushings (whatever you call them) don't slide in the channel freely. On my car it binds going up & down, that's probably why my lights dim when I put the rear windows up, the window motor is struggling to force the window up & down. I could see where it was binding on the track as the paint was worn off in one spot right where it gets really hard to slide. I took a file & some sand paper to the spot where it was binding. I got it to slide up & down with a lot less resistance now.

Now is the hard part getting the window back in the channel & all bolted in & adjusted properly. Hopefully I won't have to ever do this again.

[IllIllIll]

So I got my rear window out yesterday & took a look & two of the three wheels were broken. I decided to try to make my own wheels on the lathe out a piece of delrin. I'm a complete amateur with the lathe, so it took me a few hours measure & set up the work & make 3 of the wheels to try out. Since I think I paid about $80 for this metal part with plastic wheels in it a few years ago on the other side I guess it's worth my time to tinker with it before shelling out that kind of money.

Here I am drilling the center out. The drill bit stays stationary & the plastic is what spins, for those that have never worked with a lathe before. The delrin cuts very nicely.


I then turned the piece down to the proper diameter, & cut the groove to the proper depth, but those pictures where too blurry.
Here I am using the cut off tool to remove my new wheel, so I can go on to the next one.


Here are new wheels I made compared to the original ones on the other side. They are only a couple of years old, but had caused me problems due to the the fit being too tight, you can see how the wheels are black in spots, from the paint wearing off the metal track. The stock pieces don't spin while my replacements can spin & rock more freely. This seems to make them slide up & down the track way more smoothly, but time will tell if they last or cause the window to be too loose & rattle.






And installed.

My first wheel was a bit too loose, & I thought it might fall off, so I made an extra, they are both looser than the stock wheels, but they still take some force to go on to the posts.

I'll let you know how they fit when I get them installed in the car & if they were out too soon, or cause me other problems.
Oh and before any one asks, I think I only paid about $5 for a one foot piece of the Delrin (acetal) plastic online.

[sandusky1977]

Did you make any extras? I've been thinking of just 3d printing a replacement set. If you have an extra it would save me tearing mine apart to grab one to model it off from first. Then I could make them available on Shapeways to anyone that needs them in the future.

So I got my rear window out yesterday & took a look & two of the three wheels were broken. I decided to try to make my own wheels on the lathe out a piece of delrin. I'm a complete amateur with the lathe, so it took me a few hours measure & set up the work & make 3 of the wheels to try out. Since I think I paid about $80 for this metal part with plastic wheels in it a few years ago on the other side I guess it's worth my time to tinker with it before shelling out that kind of money.

Here I am drilling the center out. The drill bit stays stationary & the plastic is what spins, for those that have never worked with a lathe before. The delrin cuts very nicely.


I then turned the piece down to the proper diameter, & cut the groove to the proper depth, but those pictures where too blurry.
Here I am using the cut off tool to remove my new wheel, so I can go on to the next one.


Here are new wheels I made compared to the original ones on the other side. They are only a couple of years old, but had caused me problems due to the the fit being too tight, you can see how the wheels are black in spots, from the paint wearing off the metal track. The stock pieces don't spin while my replacements can spin & rock more freely. This seems to make them slide up & down the track way more smoothly, but time will tell if they last or cause the window to be too loose & rattle.






And installed.

My first wheel was a bit too loose, & I thought it might fall off, so I made an extra, they are both looser than the stock wheels, but they still take some force to go on to the posts.

I'll let you know how they fit when I get them installed in the car & if they were out too soon, or cause me other problems.
Oh and before any one asks, I think I only paid about $5 for a one foot piece of the Delrin (acetal) plastic online.

[97Celica]

I have a 1995 Convertible and just replaced the rear window mounting plates. My drivers rear window pretty much just fell down and the other side is barely working. The nylon roller bushing which keep the window in the tracks break after many years. You can't just replace those bushings, you have to replace the entire plate they and the window glass are mounted to. Luckily the parts are still available from Toyota! I paid about $52 /each from my local toyota dealer. I was able to replace the window plate without removing seats or much anything else from the interior.

Difficulty level : 7 out of 10 - Mainly for the patience, tools and finger dexterity required

Tools I Needed:

Phillips Screwdriver
10 mm open end wrench
Vise grip pliers
Dremel tool with metal cutting blade
Magnet stick to pick up dropped parts LOL
Flashlight to see dropped parts
Big 90 degree needle nose pliers (or spanner wrench - specialty tool)
Lithium Grease
Penetrating oil

1. Put the top down.

2. Remove the top plastic cover next to the window and drop it out of the way (2 phillips screws)

3. Slightly pull the lower side plastic interior panel into the car just off the door opening. Enough to get to the Window parts.

4. Facing into the car from outside looking down. There are two window stops with rubber bumpers on either side of the window that need to be out of the way to get window out and back in. Note their positions, maybe scratch lines. The one on the right needs to come all the way out, the bolt clip will stay in. The one on the left I was able to loosen enough to get it out of the way without removing it. (10 mm bolts)

5. The first fun (heh) part. Between rear and center of window is where the regulator is attached to the plate with rear roller.
I tried to loosen the 10 mm friction nut but the whole shaft would just spin. Couldn't get a good grip on the shaft with needle nose pliers. I had to get my Dremel tool with the metal cutting blade and carefully slice the nylon roller in places until I could get it off of the shaft. Then I was able to get my vise grips on the shaft to hold it while I loosened the 10mm friction nut. There are also 2 small washers. You'll probably drop them so you need the telescoping magnet.

6. Pull the window out.

7. The washer nuts that hold the glass. Disks with two oval holes. The specialty tool is called a spanner wrench, I used a pair of big 90 degree needle nose pliers. I sprayed the nuts with penetrating oil, waited a few minutes. It's a bit of a trick to get the right amount of downward pressure and torque to turn them.

8. Mount glass to new plate. I was able to order new plastic window mounting washers but the ones that came out looked re-useable. Put it back together the way it came off.

9. Get some fresh grease on the window tracks. I used a 3 foot piece of trim wood and tried to slop some into the tracks.

10. Put the window in, Takes some finagleing to angle it in and get the rollers in the tracks. Getting the regulator arm through proper bolt is fun too but once it's on it will hold the window up and in place while you get to the hardest part.

11. Putting the regulator washers and nut on. I carefully lowered the window an inch or two where my fingers could just barely reach the bolt. A little sticky grease on my finlgers, a couple drops and magnet pick ups later they were on. I have big hands and fingers so getting the nut on and starting to thread was just barely possible. Have patience, a flashlight and that magnet pole on hand or this will be impossible.

12. Lower window and put the stops back in where they used to be.

13. Test up and down, match with front window and with top up and down. Mine lined up just the same.

14. Put the rest back together and you're done.

Do you happen to have both part #'s?

[isaiahy]

Thanks for the write up. I hope to be able to follow your instructions without the pics (after a decade, they are no longer available from what I'm seeing) and be able to get my passenger side rear window to seal against the front.

[SprinterFS]

@OP: Is there any chance that you still have the photos somewhere? Looks like all of them from photobucket is broken.