Caravan window repairs

Submitted: Wednesday, Mar 03, 2010 at 21:44

ThreadID: 76533 Views:9470 Replies:3 FollowUps:8

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Member - Kevin B1 (WA)

Had a bright idea this morning, will remove the fly screens off the caravan windows and give them a clean ready for the soon to start trip to North Queensland. Well to remove the screens you have to fully open the windows and these particular windows have never been fully opened before. On winding them back down two jammed at the top section in the hinge and has broken a piece of the corner of two of them. I will need to remove the top hinge section and the question is. Will I need to remove the whole window frame from the van or can the glass and frame be removed without going to that extreme? I had to remove the boot lid a few years back to make a similar repair to the hinge and had to take the whole frame out to remove the lid,I suspect this may also be the case. Maybe someone has also had this happen and can give me a few pointers in the right direction, any help appreciated.

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Reply By: Member - Alanc - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 00:35

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 00:35

Kevin B1 - I had a cracked rear window replaced by Windscreens O'Brien, they came out (Perth Metro) this morning and replaced it on site.
Unfortunately I was not home at the time so I didn't see how the window was removed and therefore can't answer your query however if you get stuck give them a ring and they may be able to provide some advice over the phone.
Regards
Alanc

AnswerID: 407195

Follow Up By: Member - Kevin B1 (WA) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 10:40

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 10:40

Alanc,,Thank you for your reply. I am in Mandurah and not sure if we have Windscreens O'Brian here but will check as I will need new glass. Do you have any idea of the replacement cost at this stage? I will need two.

FollowupID: 677082

Follow Up By: Member - Alanc - Saturday, Mar 06, 2010 at 02:47

Saturday, Mar 06, 2010 at 02:47

Kevin, I'm a bit late getting back to you as I see you have solved your problem , for future info it cost me $280.00, a Coroma dealer in Maddington gave a phone quote of around $250+ if I brought the van into them.

FollowupID: 677394

Follow Up By: Member - Kevin B1 (WA) - Saturday, Mar 06, 2010 at 11:33

Saturday, Mar 06, 2010 at 11:33

Thanks for your reply mate, glad I didn't have to replace my glass as it only broke about 25mm off each corner and I was able to glue it back into place. Still it is a bit annoying as I am a fairly particular with things like that but the break is just not quite bad enough to be worth replacing. Anyway all is done now and thank you once again for your reply.

FollowupID: 677424

Reply By: Member - Teege (NSW) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 06:39

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 06:39

Kevin B1
I hope I can make this understandable. First disconnect the winding mechanism. At one end of each of the hinges there should be a rubber plug (in mine black). Lever that out with a small screw driver. Lift the window outwards till parallel to the ground and you should be able to slide the whole window sideways out of the hinge. Good luck.

teege

AnswerID: 407202

Follow Up By: Member - Teege (NSW) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 08:03

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 08:03

Kevin
Sorry, I should have said, to disconnest the winding mechanism you have to drill out the pop rivets where the arms attach to the window. And obviously at the end of the process you have to replace the pop rivets.

teege

FollowupID: 677065

Follow Up By: Member - Kevin B1 (WA) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 10:36

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 10:36

Teege,,Thank you for your reply. Yes, I know the plugs and pop rivets you mean. I was thinking that was how it may come out but was not sure. I think I may have a bit of trouble as the hinge is jamming before I can get it parallel to the ground but will have to deal with that. The window glass has only broken the corner off at this stage but I believe it will be completely broken by the time I get it out. As stated above I had the same trouble with the boot lid a few years back with the hinge jamming and broke the lid frame. Had to take the whole frame out to fix it but have had no trouble since.

FollowupID: 677080

Follow Up By: PradOz - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 12:33

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 12:33

Kevin - suggest you go and get yourself some silicone spray (not WD40) and spray these hinges before you start work on them. It may help ease them up so they no longer stick. Most auto suppliers even kmart and cooking suppliers sells it. cheers....

FollowupID: 677093

Follow Up By: Member - Teege (NSW) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 13:20

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 13:20

Kevin
I think you have to take out the pop rivets before the window will get high enough to slide sideways.Probably a safety device. As far as parallel to the ground is concerned, I am having second thoughts - you may have to go higher, its a fair while ago when I did it. Just fiddle around with it. If you have the plug on the end, I am sure this is the method.

teege

FollowupID: 677100

Follow Up By: Member - Kevin B1 (WA) - Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 19:51

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010 at 19:51

Just finished the job, all is OK. Once I got the windows out and cleaned up the hinges I found that the sticking hinge had forced the glass out of the channel it fits in. They are what I would call, not a very smart invention, as the runner the glass fits in is also the hinge and is very unstable at the corners. I was able to get some glue to stick back the broken corners of glass and now they are back in is hardly noticeable. Anyway will be more careful in future, think they will remain closed from now on. Thank you all again for your help.

FollowupID: 677177