The chair over the head is pretty cool! Me likes... Do you have to hot link to them somewhere, or can you just imbed them in a message?

As to the show - it's the cannonball run deal they are doing - we're not in yet, but at least have gotten a phone call. I think it would be really cool, as I've always wanted to do a cross-country drive, and never have had the chance / money to do it.

Click "Go Advanced" for your reply message, then in the "Smilies" box click on the "more" link which will open a new window. Then just click on the emoticon you want.

Marcello, just to let you know that I did have the right rear quarter window replaced...they had to break the original factory one to ensure that my new car paint around the window frame would not get ruined. They did a great job of getting rid of the corner which was jutting out (found a glob of factory urethane which was preventing the that part of the window corner to seat properly in the frame)...It looks pretty good...only problem..the window installer "centered" the new rear quarter window in the frame and left an eighth inch gap between the window and the vertical part of the "C" pillar...I thought he would have looked at the factory install...the factory "robot" install of the rear quarter window seems to push the rear quarter window up and forward (leaving any noticeable gaps at the bottom and rear sections of the quarter window). By the time I looked at it, it was too late to remove the glass...the urethane sets up pretty quickly.
Oh well...:doh:

Oh, the install with the new OEM window and labor came to $289. Ford would have done it...but they wanted to save the window and thus probably ruined the paint in the process.

Mark,

I'm glad to hear you have your window better, and don't dispute what you're telling me - that said, I can't believe they did it that way.

The day that someone tells me the only way to get glass out of a car safely is to break it, I'm going to have to wonder what their deal is. I see that as being a fast, easy way to do the job, and one that I might do myself when nobody was watching, but not one that I would recommend for customers or as an approved procedure to do the work. Plain and simple, they figured the new glass was cheaper than the *possibility* that they might scratch the car and then end up eating paint work as well.

I can't imagine the factory manual having a section where it says, "To remove 1/4 glass, place an X on the glass with tape, and apply hammer here."

Sure it worked, but there are less invasive ways of doing this job, and for those that want to retain their OEM glass, this isn't a viable answer. As soon as I get some breathing room, we'll knock out the job with pictures, so there will be no question about the validity of the process that doesn't involve hammers and glass...

*reminds me of the old Merrill Lynch commercial with the bull in a china shop...* :)

Wait, I just re-read your post. You're telling me they CHARGED you for this? OMG... that's just sad if I understand you correctly. That should have been warranty all the way, and even if not, the sales rep should have gotten it done for you. Heck, from now on when a piece gets damaged in transit maybe I should just charge the customer twice if they want one that looks like the pictures they saw...

Marcello, that was the only they could guarantee me that they wouldn't ruin the paint ...the dealer wanted to save the glass, but informed me that they would have to tear apart the interior in order to get at it...they hinted that when putting the interior back together that sometimes that would possibly lead to some squeaks and rattles...I went ahead (with the window installer) and opted for the "no paint damage" and "no ripping apart the interior method" (i.e. breaking the glass). Of course, like I said, I'm left with a small gap (eighth of an inch) in the vertical line of the window adjacent to the "C" pillar itself because the installer decided to perfectly "center" the new window. It seems that the robots at the plant are programmed to place the window forward (towards the front of the car) and up into the window frame. By the time I noticed that gap (since the window installer put some orange non-stick tape around the window) I was already home and it had been at least an hour and half since the job...the urethane wouldn't give at all.
Yes, I did pay for it all...that was in case the window installer did ruin the paint...he said that he would then cover any paint damage. The dealer would have covered it completely under the warranty...but only if I went with their method (and they did another car about 3 weeks ago and ruined the car's paint).

Lesson learned.
I am, like the others on this thread, awaiting to see how you remove that window.
-- Mark

Marcello, here are a couple pics of the job...can you notice the gap on the side of the window that lines up with the "B" pillar? It does bother me...on the driver's side (factory window) the gap is 1/16th of an inch...on the replaced side it's almost 1/8th of an inch (double amount of space)...I'm thinking of getting it replaced again...of course my wife thinks that I've lost my mind...
See attachments...

I......need.....louvers....:drool:

Mark,

While I am a stickler for a good fit and finish on all of our products, I think I'm going to side with your wife :), given what I can see in the photos. If you really want to nitpick your car, start checking the fender to door relationships, overall gaps, etc...I know our 2005 car in these areas is not much better than the fit on my 1973 Mach 1.

You do have to remember that this is a mass-produced automobile, and while great strides have been made in fit and finish over the past 40 years, this is still not a 60k car (no matter what some people might pay for one). (Heck, a 50k F350's fit is about the same...)

I guess what I'm saying is that I see things from the manufacturing side, and I understand what they are faced with. To specify +/- .010 tolerance when +/-.100 would work is just "wasting" money for the vast majority of customers. The few who notice it, they deal with in turn, meanwhile saving a fortune the rest of the time. The rear emblem is a perfect example, we measured a variance of over .050 between parts, but of course, since it doesn't mate with anything from the factory, the spec is probably wide open... good for them, bad for when we were designing the honeycomb panel.

FWIW, we spec out +/-.0025 on our fuel doors, mostly because if we were outside of that tolerance, we know the machines are broken that we make them on. While it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy because I know the parts are spot-on, to do it on an entire car would be financial suicide.

That's why parts for the Space Shuttle cost what they do compared to a water pump from NAPA... (and yes, my brother works on it, and I used to assist the subcontractors on-site...)

So I'm not picking on you, quite the contrary, just trying to point out some of the *why* of the common car, and some of the reasoning used to get to the decisions.

Where are the updated pictures!?

Easy Lokius, Marcello hasn't even had time to install it yet. His company has other products at various stages of production which have been taking up his time.

EDIT: BTW Lokius, what part of San Diego are you in?

Marcello, roger that...in fact you're correct about the body panels. My right front fender does sit out about a 1/16th of an inch and does not align with the passenger door...I certainly wouldn't want them to adjust that...they may really screw that up. And even the large rear window sits more to the left than to the right (obviously I've been checking it out). I guess I'll "cool my jets" for awhile and keep the wife happy (hehehehehehehehe).

I checked my Ford service DVD and it states to remove interior panels and remove glass from inside, as I had suspected.

Fords tool is Interior Auto Glass Cut-Out Knife Kit (electric) 164-R2450 or equivalent.

It also says "Dry-fit the quarter window glass by centering it using the locating pins. Make alignment marks with tape or non-staining grease pencil on both the glass and the vehicle body. "

I have attached the pdf for viewing

That makes a lot more sense. Sounds like the service department just didn't feel like removing the interior panels.

He actually has said a couple of times the service department offered to remove the interior panels, but he declined that because they suggested that putting it all back together might cause squeaks and rattles to suddenly appear.

redbullet, good find! Like I said, in my case the window installer went ahead and broke the glass and then didn't have to remove any of the interior trim...the dealership did try the inside approach (on someone's else's Stang), but I they ended up damaging the paint inside the window frame by not going slowly and carefully with the cutting from the inside.

In my case, the window installer definitely centered the glass but like I said, he left a one eighth inch gap (instead of a 16th inch gap) between the longest vertical edge of the glass and the vertical edge of the "B" pillar. Most people looking at mine think it looks great...me I think the longest vertical edge looks better when it's almost touching the "B" pillar edge (like the factory robot did it).

That's what they wanted to him to say.......

I read it, but you'll also note that there are centering pins to assist.

I actually didn't think to look on the DVD. It the complete service manual on DVD from Ford. If I had a password I could access OASIS :rolleyes:

redbullet, did you check out the pics I posted yesterday?..you can see where there is a bit of a gap (eighth of an inch) on the longest veritical side of the window (closest to the "C" pillar)...but the gap is pretty much the same all the way around the window except the very small end of the window... Marcello said he didn't think it was anything to worry about...me, I want it to match the factory installed side where there is only a 16th inch gap on the longest vertical side adjacent to the "C" pillar. The window installer truly "centered" it...I can't tell if he used the guide pins...but if he didn't use the guide pins then the glass would be bulging out if the pins were not seated correctly and it wouldn't be flush, right?

Per the PDF, the guide pins are to center the window in the opening. I'd say the factory is off ............:banghead:

redbullet, I agree...check your windows and you'll probably see that the longest vertical edge of your rear quarter window almost touches the edge of the "B" pillar...it's like the robot pushed the window forward towards the front of the car (and very slightly up) while installing the rear quarter window(s)...you agree?

Maybe I should have the window installer break the glass on the factory side and re-install it so then they'll match! (hehehehehehehehehe)