Vent Windows

[midwest]

I am thumbing my way through all the videos and posts on vent window rebuilds. For those that I have done it I have a couple questions. First off I have a friend who owns an automotive glass company and he is going to do the labor for me so I am just shopping for the parts. From what I have read in my early stages of research there are a couple different seals, one piece and two piece. I assume I need to have the windows out of the truck to confirm which parts I need or can you order it based solely on year and model? Also is there a company that stands above the rest and is the go two or are any of the online sellers (LMC, Brothers, Summit etc.) ok to use. Looking at LMC's site I didn't see a full kit with all the seals, hardware etc. Are most of the places going to be like this, or is there a complete kit available? I had thought about the vent delete kit but it was a little too pricey for me right now.

 

[bluex]

Precision is the only brand seal you should buy. All of LMCs rubber products I've used have looked like crap in a couple of years.

You can buy a kit from precision or there are various resellers of their stuff as well summit carries them as far as I remember. There is no way to tell year wise what seals you have but there are videos on the you tube to help you identify them.

 

[Grit dog]

Agree on Precision. As they fit well. No experience with other brands though.
You can tell 1 or 2 piece as they sit in the truck.
I’m still a little fuzzy on the applications as there’s at least 3 types of seals available. 1- 2 piece and 2- different 1 piece depending on the newer trucks have a different shape glass and frame than older trucks. But they look very similar outwardly.

If you’re having someone install them, that will save a couple hours of cussing, lol. But honestly the removal, disassembly, prep, paint reassembly and install took far longer than the seal replacement.

 

[midwest]

Has anyone sent their in to precision lately and have a ball park on the price? At first I wasn't interested because I had heard it was around 250.00 per side. Which I thought was too high. But someone yesterday told me if you buy all of the new parts to completely rebuild mine the cost is around 130.00 just in parts. Might make more sense to send them off if it's only going to cost me 100.00 more or so.

 

[Ken B]

I did send mine to them . After all the stories of how much of a pain it was .
If I recall it was about 250 each.
Metal frame is the only reused part I think everything else is new

 

[SquareRoot]

I rebuilt mine. It wasn't bad. You need a few specific pieces on hand like the special rivets. Soapy water in a spray bottle and a plastic trim tool make it doable. Only buy Precision brand!

 

[AuroraGirl]

in the mid 80s they revised the vent window seal and process to have a different shape as to better seal when closed , and it was retroactive for a few years. i would assume new seals are built to that spec for later windows, but hard to say.

 

[CalSgt]

I could have sworn @bucket or @AyWoSch Motors (or someone) had posted pictures of all the different variations and some info on identifying which is which. I tried to find it for a link but my search skills are limited

 

[Grit dog]

Has anyone sent their in to precision lately and have a ball park on the price? At first I wasn't interested because I had heard it was around 250.00 per side. Which I thought was too high. But someone yesterday told me if you buy all of the new parts to completely rebuild mine the cost is around 130.00 just in parts. Might make more sense to send them off if it's only going to cost me 100.00 more or so.

That $130 will buy new locking mechanisms, pivot hardware and seals for a pair of windows. Assuming you need all of it.
It’s more like $400 more than DIY.
In my case, only paint and new seals were needed. I had the paint supplies already and the locks and other hardware were fine, so I spent $40 vs $500.

 

[Grit dog]

A lot of threads about this lately.
@midwest
I probably had 15-20 hours into rebuilding mine.
But the part that everyone hates (actually installing the seals) took maybe 2 hours.
Most of the time spent was disassembly, prep, paint and reassembly. None of which are horribly difficult provided you’re a diy person with these types of things. Just time consuming.
Just paint was about a half days work. But I didn’t rattle can them. Wanted them to last, so I used the black semi gloss chassis paint I had leftover and then 2 coats of clear.
And I ended up splitting the frames apart which was not necessary so that cost me extra time including another trip to the good hardware store to find hard to find size rivets to put part of the frames together.
DO NOT split the frames unless you need to. It’s extra unnecessary work in most cases.

 

[AuroraGirl]

You must be registered for see images attach

I couldnt find the vent window thing but if anyone has a silverado and wants to make their interior quieter here you are

 

[ulm4lyf]

Has anyone sent their in to precision lately and have a ball park on the price? At first I wasn't interested because I had heard it was around 250.00 per side. Which I thought was too high. But someone yesterday told me if you buy all of the new parts to completely rebuild mine the cost is around 130.00 just in parts. Might make more sense to send them off if it's only going to cost me 100.00 more or so.

Having done mine, I wish that I had sent mine in. Would have turned out much better looking. I violated my own rule of "buy once, cry once." I'll probably ended up having mine re-done.

 

[AyWoSch Motors]

I could have sworn @bucket or @AyWoSch Motors (or someone) had posted pictures of all the different variations and some info on identifying which is which. I tried to find it for a link but my search skills are limited

I dont have a clue about the differences, only what I've been told or read here.
I do have a bunch of vent windows though hanging around my place

 

[Trucksareforwork]

Wasn’t too bad. Mine were solid but poor looking. I replaced the latch and blasted and painted the frame. I agree the seal replacement isn’t bad after you’ve done one. The first one took me a while and I had to do it over. I posted about it a while back.

Having done them; I would have a hard time spending $200 per side for rebuilds. But then again I have all the diy tools to do them well (blaster, paint, pop riveter, etc.).

Oh, and as somebody else has said, you can tell one piece vs two while on the truck. I think the one piece seals overlap the hinge with part of the rubber. Two piece do not.

 

[midwest]

Did you buy a full kit that had all the hardware in it or did you just buy a few pieces. I too thought $200.00 plus per side was high but then someone told me a full kit with all the seals, latches, etc. was around $130.00. I honestly didn't ask if that was per side of for both sides. If it's 130.00 total that is not bad. If it's 130.00 per side for just the parts it might be worth sending them in...