rear passenger door window shattered

[bbig119]

I came home to see my rear passenger side door window cracked in thousand pieces ready to shatter at any moment. I called the cops and had them file a report, but clearly it will only be good for insurance if I need it.

I'm going to be rather busy and unable to call around much the next two days, so maybe I'll get an idea for the best course of action from some people here. Should I try to replace the glass myself? How much does something like this generally cost if repaired by a dealer, or a glass guy?

I need to replace the door panel(previous owner claims to have one ready to give to me), and this window wasn't lifting properly-- it seemed off the track. So maybe this is a good opportunity to get several jobs taken care of at once. Only problem is, the window is more of a priority job and the other stuff isn't. Its not a daily driver so I guess it can wait a week if need be, and I can probably also buy myself a nice garbage bag replacement for the interim. - Bryan

[Ross]

Sounds like the window broke from being stressed. It doesn't take much pressure exerted on a small area to do that, add a little thermal stress and poof- cottage cheese. If you do it yourself look up a parts drawing to make sure you have everything in correctly so you don't make the same mistake as the previous owner may have. If you farm it out make sure you tell the glazier that someone was fooling with it before so he will be extra carefull.

[cableface]

I came home to see my rear passenger side door window cracked in thousand pieces ready to shatter at any moment. I called the cops and had them file a report, but clearly it will only be good for insurance if I need it.

I'm going to be rather busy and unable to call around much the next two days, so maybe I'll get an idea for the best course of action from some people here. Should I try to replace the glass myself? How much does something like this generally cost if repaired by a dealer, or a glass guy?

I need to replace the door panel(previous owner claims to have one ready to give to me), and this window wasn't lifting properly-- it seemed off the track. So maybe this is a good opportunity to get several jobs taken care of at once. Only problem is, the window is more of a priority job and the other stuff isn't. Its not a daily driver so I guess it can wait a week if need be, and I can probably also buy myself a nice garbage bag replacement for the interim. - Bryan

How much is your deductible for you ins.? If you can come up with enough problems in that door/window, it may be better to let insurance take care of it. If your deductible is high, it may be best to do the repair yourself.

[bbig119]

I don't know if the PO ever messed with the door panel and the like. He just had a dog that added a number of years to the door panels and they're in need of replacement. The window being off track, no clue how or when, it worked but something wasn't right in there.

I would be willing to buy that it broke from stress, but there is clearly an origin to the breakage at the lower left corner. The glass at this point is held in more loosely and small chips have or will fall out by just lightly touching it. I can tell it did radiate outwards, but it also shattered the entire window into small bits. Who knows, it happened and I'll probably never know who/what caused it. I just need to get it fixed for as cheap as seems reasonable.

[bbig119]

How much is your deductible for you ins.? If you can come up with enough problems in that door/window, it may be better to let insurance take care of it. If your deductible is high, it may be best to do the repair yourself.

I a $250 deductible for things like this.

[Mr Project]

I'm parting out a '91 535i sedan if you need the glass...ideally I'd like to wait a few weeks but if you need it sooner I could always put plastic in until it goes off to the great scrapyard in the sky.

[bbig119]

I'm parting out a '91 535i sedan if you need the glass...ideally I'd like to wait a few weeks but if you need it sooner I could always put plastic in until it goes off to the great scrapyard in the sky.

How much you want for it, and where are you located?

[bbig119]

I found a rear window from what I think was a '91 525. I've got the door panel off, but are there any useful tips on what I should and should not do in installing this window?

Edit: After a few hours of struggling and following the Bentley, I did get the window in the door, but its not right yet.

1- I think its giving too much resistence when I try to pull it up or down-- I can't manually push/pull it up all the way. It'll go as far as about 3-4 inches from the top.

2- I had a bitch of a time trying to get the retaining clips back on. Is there an easy way to do this? I think I broke one of the slots for the retaining clip on one of the window slides. How much do these guys cost at the stealer?

I'm trying to do this without having removed the motor and regulator so I'm trying to squeeze my hand in the small opening in the door and get enough leverage to get the clips on. Obviously it would be easier with that stuff removed, but is it worth the effort? I'll have to drill out the rivets and I don't have a cordless drill nearby nor can I easily get an extension cord to the car---I could get a cord long enough or pony up and get a cordless.

[bbig119]

Sorry to keep building on this. I've searched through the forum and read just about any post that has a title related to window problems. I'm going to the dealer today to get new sliders, after stuggling with trying to get the clips on last night I'm still now sure how I'll do it with the new ones-- any thoughts? Also everyone, particularly Jeff mentions lubing up the tracks where the sliders move on the window and the track for the motor mechanisms. Is there anything else? I don't suppose the actual window tracks are greased up are they? If I'm going to go buy stuff for this, what should I buy?

[bbig119]

Just wanted to update the thread in case anyone follows up. Window is working fine now after replacement with a used window and regulator. The junkyard actually ended up selling me the glass, regulator and motor for $65, mostly out of apathy. I didn't need the motor, but it made the swap easier.

It turns out the little plastic wheel the regulator arm rides on was not broken(by eye), but the arm had was removed from it. I didn't know this till I removed the regulator and saw it. I probably could have pressed the arm back into the wheel, but it would have taken some effort and at that point I was halfway done replacing it with the spare next to me so I opted to continue with the swap.

This means I have a spare rear window regulator/motor(assuming the arm can be pressed back into the wheel).

thanks to those who helped with advice.