Rear window question...........

Are the rear windows for the '91-'96 Caprice and the '91-'96 Roadmaster wagons the same size? Would a Roady rear window work properly if used on a Caprice?

Should work. Same original Part Number. 10237677 No Fog. 10237678 Fog.

The gate windows are the same. Always check your glass side hinge parts for corrosion. There is a steel insert in the plastic hinge. The handle/CHSL has double trace screws, and they must be put back in the correct traces, or you will strip out the handle. The screws will thread in with your fingers if you have them in the correct orientation. Do not overtighten. You can use either one, if that is the only kind you can find. Obviously the heater will not work if you install the alternate one. There is no wiring in the no heater cars for the heated glass. The button for the heated glass is also missing on the HVAC control panel.

If you have the heated glass with the traces, and it is not working correctly, check for broken traces. The broken traces can be repaired.

I have replaced numerous gate glass panels by myself, but the easiest way is with 2 people. If you are doing it alone, hold it open, and unbolt the hinges, then lower it, allowing the window to sit down with the struts extended. You can then remove the struts from the body. This technique allows you to control the glass, so that it does not fall. Installation is similar, but you must reach around the ends to align the hinges, before inserting the bolts. Make sure you get the glass protectors in the correct position before inserting the bolt (check them as you take the hinges off). It is difficult the first time, but you get better after a couple times.

The rear window in my Roadmaster was blown out by the local township street cleaning vehicle. Came out from an auto parts store (after maybe a whole 3 minutes in there), and saw small glass fragments all over the parking lot in back of my car! SAY WHAT ??!! To bad I didn't actually see it happen but an auto repair business across the street had some damage to customer's vehicles and I was told how it happened.
Anyway....... it was easier to take the window from my Caprice (which was off the road and in my shop) and just install it into the Buick.

I still needed a replacement window for the Chevy and bought one from John (motorhead79) for a good price. He said it came from a Roadmaster. I figured they were all the same dimensions.

Even when properly adjusted (yeah I'm real good at that kind of thing), the glass came within approx. 1/8th inch from the top of the gate and my fresh paint. WTH? I spent HOURS trying to figure it out.

The gap between the bottom of the glass and the top of the gate on the Roady did look a bit wide, but I didn't pay much attention to it before.

I decided to carefully measure the side of the two windows (top to bottom on one side only was enough). And sure enough, the one from the roadmaster I got from John was exactly 1/4 inch longer than the original Caprice window. Don't know why, but mystery solved!

Of course they needed to be switched

Now, all is well  

Just out of curiosity, how did you measure the original glass if it got blown out and shattered?

I also have a Caprice and Roadmaster, they measure identically, as do the two spares I have.


Tom

The hinges can be adjusted on the body. You must remove the rear headliner reveal, and you can access them from the inside with a long 10mm socket. The gaskets stick to the bodywork, but can be gently loosened. There is about 1/8-1/4 inch of adjustment U/D-side to side.

Removing the reveal is tricky...the "Phillips" screws are not screws, but locks for the attaching clips. Once you have the locks out, you must put a thin screwdriver under the reveal and release the back of the clip from the body. DO NOT pull the reveal down, or you most likely will stress or break the plastic, and ruin the clips.

I measured the rear glass that was originally in the Caprice (which until yesterday was still bolted to my Roadmaster), and compared it to the replacement glass I bought from John that I had been holding on to until the paint work was finished on the Caprice. So, instead of removing the Chevy window from my Buick and putting it back into my Caprice, it was easier (I thought) to just install the Roadmaster window I got from John into the Caprice. That's when the differences in sizes became apparent.

I once had a '66 Riviera that while doing donuts in a grassy field hit a small tree and ruined my right fender.
Got a used replacement and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the end to align with the end of the hood even though it had the proper gap where it met the door.
Turns out the fender was at least 3/8ths of an inch shorter than the left side fender!
I guess 20+ years ago quality control on glass wasn't all that good.

Been a professional auto body mechanic for about 40 years Not my first rodeo.

As we all know that is why there are adjustments on all GM parts. Quality control has nothing to do with quality, it has to do with tolerances, and sometimes tolerances get really tight, and sometimes overlap.

Steve Smith wrote:

Been a professional auto body mechanic for about 40 years Not my first rodeo.

Steve Smith wrote:

WTH? I spent HOURS trying to figure it out.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

The gate windows are the same.

silverfox103 wrote:

I also have a Caprice and Roadmaster, they measure identically, as do the two spares I have.Tom

My boy and I were taking out the headliner yesterday on the orange wagon,. so we measured the glass, it's the same as the two spare windows i have, although we can't remember which parts cars the spares came from,..
I,ve never heard of any rear windows being different sizes,. and quite a few of them have changed hands on this forum over the years,..Fred has more experience with glass than most folks,.

Maybe the tip on your tape measure is worn out a little and sliding back and forth a little more than normal?

gotta watch those philly guys,. they are a sneaky bunch,.....

""Same original Part Number. 10237677 No Fog. 10237678 Fog.""

This is all B-Body 91-96.

hey nick!

mtrhead79 wrote:

hey nick!

Hey sneeky,. hows the fuel efficient 7 cyl lt3/4 coming along,.