Chevy Vent Window Replacement - Vent-Wing Reseal

We laid the first unit on the bench and started by cleaning all the dirt and grime, followed by removing the small upper Phillips-head screw located at the very top of the door-glass run channel. We then removed the long door-glass seal.

Next, we removed the two larger Phillips-head screws at the base of the window frame. This allows you to carefully separate the heavy chrome window frame from the lighter, stamped portion of the frame. But before you can remove the vent window, you must remove the nut from the bottom stud.

We used a small hammer and chisel to bend the locking tab away from the nut. Bend the tab out only far enough to allow access to the nut with a 71/416-inch socket. Hit the nut with some penetrating oil to help with disassembly.

After the nut is removed, this is how the separate pieces are installed. Arrow 1 points to the fiber washer that prevents wear on the U-shaped tab riveted to the bottom of the window frame. Arrow 2 points to the second fiber washer on the top side of the bracket. Pulling the stud out of the frame will release all the washers. We placed all our small parts in a plastic cup to prevent items from getting up and walking away.

The original rubber vent-window seal was very brittle and broke into several pieces when we removed it from the heavy chrome window frame. If you are going to reuse the chrome frame, this is a good time to get out the metal polish. Ours was so heavily pitted that it required new pieces from OPG.

Next, we used a small flat-blade screwdriver to pry up the tabs on the short vertical seal to remove it from the vertical metal frame. Pay attention to where this seal is attached to the frame. The wide portion faces the inside of the frame. You can identify the frame's interior side by the raised portion on the stainless steel trim that rubs against the vent handle.

We decided to clean the metal portion of the frame in our blasting cabinet, so we used the plastic from the new chrome window frame as a mask for both the blasting and painting. The metal is galvanized, so it cleaned very quickly. Then we sprayed it with semigloss black paint for a professional look.

There are specific left- and right-side vent seals, so match up the new seal with the old one to ensure that you are installing the correct side.

Before we began the first assembly, we laid down some soft towels to avoid scratching the new chrome piece. We also learned it was easier to use a tiny pin punch to remove and install the new handle before reassembling the vent into the frame.