'76 FJ40 window channel/felt replacement (2 Viewers)

[NovemberNoLast]

in the very near future, i am going to replace all the channels/felts of both doors in my '76, I cannot take the rattling anymore (the temporary fix of inserting odor eaters between the doors and glass has worked but it's time to move on up). I've been reading thread after thread on this topic and i'm still not completely clear on whether or not the glass MUST be removed to do this. I plan on using all OEM parts

other threads are either rebuilding doors where everything is already removed or are not replacing all the channels/felts. i am not rebuilding my doors from hollow shells, the door handles/regulators are already in and work properly, the window glass is already in. this is simply a remove and replace job. my understanding is as follows (is this correct or MUST I remove the window glass)?:

1-remove door panel to be able to access the lower channel felts. (by 'lower channel felts', i mean the felts that are all the way in the lower part of the door and contact the glass on the left and right edges)
2-roll the window all the way up
3-remove the old 'lower channel felts' (OEM part #68143) and replace
4-roll the window all the way down
5-remove the inner and outer chrome/felt pieces (#68161 and #68170) that contact the large flat surface of the glass (long straight piece that turns up on the ends)
6-remove the upper chrome/felt channel (#68141) that goes up both sides and across top of window frame
7-replace the inner and outer pieces from step 5
8-replace the upper chrome/felt piece from step 6
9-reinstall door panel

 

[NovemberNoLast]

after completing the job, i'll answer my own question:

yes, you must remove the window (i think so). i removed the inner/outer pieces without taking the glass out which was fine, but there isn't enough space to replace them with the glass in place. also, removing the metal channel guide on the latch side of the door is not hard and makes replacing the felt channel in the door on that side much, much easier. removing the glass wasn't that big of a deal, just remember you need to replace the glass BEFORE you reattach the metal channel guide; the glass WILL NOT fit back in with it in place. hope that helps someone out there

 

[Tommy Shumpert]

I need to replace mine as well. When the window is rolled down and you shut door, it sounds like the glass is going to shatter.

 

[Goldbug]

If you don't replace the channels inside the inner cavity of the door, only the U shaped one on top and two that run horizontally where the glass goes in and out, do you need to remove the glass? I removed the old ones last night, going to install the new ones as soon as Artie the mailman arrives..

 

[Goldbug]

Removal pic

 

[rex in bama]

If you don't replace the channels inside the inner cavity of the door, only the U shaped one on top and two that run horizontally where the glass goes in and out, do you need to remove the glass? I removed the old ones last night, going to install the new ones as soon as Artie the mailman arrives..

Old thread but figured I’d answer since I am going through this now. Yes, window needs to be uninstalled, but not necessarily removed. I found you can just place some towels in the bottom of the door, roll it up to remove the lower back felt/metal channel, roll the window back down where you can unbolt it from the regulator, lower it down on the towels, then replace the upper felt channel and inner/outer window felts, push the window back up into the new felt (it is tight), then reinstall the lower metal/felt channel, then push the window back down to where you can bolt it to the regulator. Sorry for the run on sentence and no pics.
Not a bad job, aside from the fidgeting with the inner/outer window felts. The one on the inside of the window had weak spring clips that kept bending.

 

[Goldbug]

I actually ended up doing it without removing the window at all, but admittedly the C channel up top isn't as snug in the door frame as I'd like, perhaps as a result.

 

[rex in bama]

Impressed, as I felt I had no room to install the inner/outer window felts, especially the inner with the ####ing! fidgety wire clips. Also, the upper track felts on the later model 40s is not rigid, so seemed impossible to get down in the door and attached to the lower track with the window still in place.

 

[Goldbug]

Impressed, as I felt I had no room to install the inner/outer window felts, especially the inner with the ####ing! fidgety wire clips. Also, the upper track felts on the later model 40s is not rigid, so seemed impossible to get down in the door and attached to the lower track with the window still in place.

What I lack in skill, I’ve been known to make up for in stubbornness.