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

[njccmd2002]

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.

This post has been edited by njccmd2002: Jul 7, 2011 - 7:19 PM

[Jedipete]

Wow those are some mad tech tips. Well I purchased a 1997 Celica Convertible Limited Edition on 07 Jun 08. Yeah..........

I would like to add one thing about the window ordeal I got both of them to work with in the rear. More detail about that later.

I am a Helicopter Mechanic by profession. I will offer this to all of you doing any type of mechaical repair that you have never done before as an aid in putting back together after you take it apart. Like the guy said before get zip lock bags and label where the parts came from. Use 1 " tape across the top if you are going to have it apart for more than a week or so. If your going to do it in a weekend then a Sharpie is great for writing on the bags. Now to really cover your A$$ write down everything you take off. This is what we do in aviation. Just get a legal pad or steno pad. Write on the top of page; Rear R/H window INOP so you will remember what your original fault was. Then write down on one half of page,
1. Rmvd rear seat bottom, next line
2. Rmvd Top Snap Screw from R/H rear panel, Next line,
3. Rmvd Fwd rear panel screw, Next line,
4. Rmvd 2 ea. lower panel screws. etc.

I recommend you do this after you remove each assembly (assy) so you won't forget. After you get it apart then you can determine what needs replacement, get that and put it back together in reverse order. As you start putting it back together go to the left hand side of the page and enter reinstalled window assy, reinstalled screw so you can keep track as you go back up the page.

After you got it all back together look for any left over parts. If you find some that are not the broken parts you replaced with new ones. Guess what you messed up because you forgot something. Read your fault list and check for missing corrective actions you did not sign off. Ah Ha there it is you forgot to install the snap screw on top of the panel. Put it in and sign it off. Ok your done. Hopefully it'll work. I know this seems a tedious way to go about it. But it is what keeps most aircraft flying and it can work on a car as well. See my built in forgetter works a lot better than my memory banks. Good Luck with it. Wish me luck as well.

Another suggestion, Many companies make a colapsible magnetic wand ( Like a car antennawith a magnet on the end) and mechanical fingers. You will be forever grateful you invested in those tools.

I have been looking at those damn rear windows since saturday when I bought the car. I finaly got the rear r/h panel off today and was able to look down inside some sun glare made it harder than it needed to be. I only saw about a gallon of water down in the bottom of the rear window well. Is there a drain plug down there? Or should I just drill a hole to get rid of it. I know a seringe with a long tube tapped to a folded out coat hanger would suck it out or just some small sponges but hey that takes a lot longer. Comments, Ideas or Suggestions?

Ok I have an off topic question which does relate to the top. Where the top latches into the window frame assy the notches where the hook clamps into are worn beyond limits. I have ordered a replacement part from the dealer. Now my question is do I need to remove the sunvisors,rearviewmirror to get all that apart to replace that interior hook retainer assy?

I will certainly be asking more questions relating to the window reapirs issue. Just to tired tonight. Glad you guys are here. Nice to know I am not alone in trying to DIY my ride. Oh I am a Toyota nutcase. I have 1 1993 Lexus SC400 running 67K miles, 1 93 SC 300 flood car but runs, 1 94 SC300 wrecked and parting it out. 1 1997 T-100 SR5 2WD ext cab second engine 248K miles. Damn I love that truck, I just sold a 2000 Tundra SR5 Ext Cab. I only needed one truck ROFLMAO. Whats better than a Toyota, More Toyota's

[njccmd2002]

Wow those are some mad tech tips. Well I purchased a 1997 Celica Convertible Limited Edition on 07 Jun 08. Yeah..........


I only saw about a gallon of water down in the bottom of the rear window well. Is there a drain plug down there? Or should I just drill a hole to get rid of it.

there is a drain plug, its located underneath in front of the rear wheel, in the plastic. Use a hose to clean it from the outside, it is probably plugged.... Do not drill please...

Wow those are some mad tech tips. Well I purchased a 1997 Celica Convertible Limited Edition on 07 Jun 08. Yeah..........


Ok I have an off topic question which does relate to the top. Where the top latches into the window frame assy the notches where the hook clamps into are worn beyond limits. I have ordered a replacement part from the dealer. Now my question is do I need to remove the sunvisors,rearviewmirror to get all that apart to replace that interior hook retainer assy?

i guess, so, there are no visible screws, i have not yet repaired this,