DIY: Porsche 991 911 Rear Side Window Removal and Installation

(Posting this up without all of my pics for now -- can't find 'em.)

I had an opportunity not long ago to assist in the removal and installation of a rear side window on a 2013 Porsche 991 Carrera.  More recently, a 6Speedonline / Rennlist forum friend reminded me that I never posted the step-by-step online.  So here we go, I'm finally getting-around to it!

Following are the steps required for removing the rear side window and installing a new unit.  While this was a replacement, if for some reason you needed to remove an undamaged window, the steps are the same and you can simply re-install the existing window unit.

First, a few notes to prepare for the project:

• If you are replacing the rear side window, know that the glass and lower edge trim are provided as a single part -- you can't just buy the trim piece separate from the glass, you have to order the "kit" which is a factory-installed glass and trim unit.
• The lower trim moulding around the side window is not removable from the glass assembly.
• To remove the glass assembly from the car, you will have to remove the roof trim moulding along the upper-edge of the window, as well as the B-Pillar interior trim panel.  I will describe those in the steps below.
• Be very careful with the roof trim moulding, as it is very easy to bend, kink, and scratch.  Otherwise, have a new part ready to replace the one you mangled!
• When installing the glass assembly, you will have to adjust the window glass so that it is aligned perfectly on the x-and-y axes of the forward window panel.  This is a bit tricky but take your time and it will look great.  You need to get the side window glass flush at the surface plane but also the gap between the rear and front glass panels must be perfect or the window looks a bit crooked.  Hint:  Get a measurement of the gap between the two BEFORE you remove, and keep that handy.  What I did that worked great is to find a small piece of cardboard, or rubber sponge, something you can mark and cut it into a gap template and use after the new glass is installed to check the gap from top-to-bottom -- I'll go over this in more detail later.

You will need the following for this project:

• Torx with T-20 star bit
• Metal shaft with 90 degree bent tip (or something similar for releasing B-pillar clamp)  
  
• Microfiber towels
• Painters tape

So let's get started!  I've snapped a few reference pictures  (NOT from the replacement project I did recently) from my own 991 and will use these to point-out where the fasteners are and so on....

Start on the exterior of the car.  With the door shut and window fully raised, you should get a measurement of the gap between the front and rear side windows.  You don't have to do this, but later in this DIY when you install the new window it will help you with the alignment of the rear side window.  To create a gap tool, take a piece of cardboard, or something similar, and hold it flat to the gap.  Take a pen and mark the the edge of front and rear windows.  Slide the template down along the gap to check consistency of the gap.  Once you have the measurement, you can notch the template so that you have a simple "tool" to check the gap.  More on that later.

Step 1:  Roof Trim Moulding Removal

You need to remove the roof trim moulding that runs from the windshield back to the rear window.  This is a single piece.  Blue arrows in pic below indicate the trim piece to remove...

To do this you will need to do the following:

1. Pull rubber door seal from the areas indicated in the next picture.  The rubber seal comes away from the frame very easily -- no adhesives or anything to worry about.  You need to pull it down and out of the way, and completely off if you want to protect it.  It is a single rubber piece that could easily get crimped if you are not careful;  

   

   Pull down, and near the door corner begin pulling towards front of the car as you pull down...

2. Get a Torx tool with T-20 tip.  Along the front section of the moulding that you just exposed by pulling the rubber door gasket down there are 8 small clamps that you need to turn 90 degrees to release the moulding.  

   

   Small plastic fasteners are easy to break -- gently turn them 90 degrees. 

   These are small plastic parts that break easily so take your time and don't force or you will need to replace them;  

   

   After pulling rubber door gasket down, the moulding fasteners are along edge inside the gap.
   

   

   There are a total of 8 small plastic fasteners for just the front section of moulding.

3. Once you release all 8 clamps, start at the front, and slowly pull the trim down towards the ground, away from the roof -- NOT forcing it or bending, just free from the clips you loosened in step 2.  As you pull the trim down, get a body trim tool plastic wedge and put it between the trim and the car body to keep it away....  The moulding is stiff.
4. At the rear section of the trim, there are (3) three larger clamps.  Sorry I don't have a picture of these....  You need to release these to get the trim fully removed.  They are like hangar-clips that the trim piece snaps down onto.  Starting at the B-pillar, begin pulling the trim free of the clamps, at the same time sliding it forwards, away from the joint where the upper trim connects to the lower part.  

   

   Circled the joint in the trim where front section separates from trim fixed to window.

   Be careful with the trim piece as you pull it away from the car entirely, as it is somewhat flimsy.  Find a safe, soft place to put it, and perhaps even cover it with a nice comfy blanket or something!

Step 2:  B-Pillar Interior Trim Removal

The B-pillar interior trim panel must be removed to access the release / alignment bolts.

1. You may want to loosen or even release entirely the seat belt at the bottom mounting position to give you some more slack;
2. Pull the belt collar trim (the small plastic part with a slot where the belt disappears into the trim) away from the B-pillar trim.  You can put your fingers into the slot and pull up while pulling out from the pillar and it should just pop off;  

   

   The belt "collar" comes off easily and you can slide it down to the floor out of the way.

3. Pulling from top and bottom (interior trim tools work best), pop the B-pillar trim / cover away from the pillar.  There are 3 small pins that snap into the pillar - one at the top and two at the bottom.  But in the middle, just above the opening for the belt collar, there is a clamp that must be released by poking it from "inside" the B-pillar.  Porsche has a special tool for this, which is just a handle with a metal shaft bent at the end.  I found a picture of the tool shown above.  The tool must be inserted in a hole just below the clamp location, just above the bolt holing the seat belt to the pillar, and then angled up and turn to press the tip of the tool against the clamp to release it from "inside."  Hard to describe the motion -- but any tool with a similar tip could be used.
4. With the clamp released, you can now pull the B-pillar trim away, and if you haven't released the seat belt, just let it slide down out of the way.

Before we move on, just a few comments.  First, if you've made it this far without breaking anything, you are doing awesome!  The clips/clamps and moulding are fragile, and you might break them.  But just keep in mind that the hardest part is now out of the way!  

You may also want to consider removing the C-pillar and rear side trim panel (directly below the window) but they are not mandatory.  Also, if you don't remove the rear side trim panel, you may want to put some microfiber towels, or painters tape down along the bottom edge of the rear side window  to protect the panel from any scratches, scuffing, etc. as you remove / replace the window assembly.  If you do want to remove either trim pieces, and would like a DIY post on doing so, just let me know....

Step 3:  Rear Window Removal

With the moulding and trim removal out of the way, you can now focus on removing the rear window assembly.  There are only two (2) fasteners actually holding the window in place -- the rest are just guide tabs!

1. Unscrew the two mounting / fastening nuts on the B-pillar;
2. With the fasteners removed, gently push the window from the interior near the front of the window until the two positioning pins are free of the B-pillar;
3. At the same time you are pulling the window towards you away from the car body, note there are a few guide pins (top / bottom of assembly).  As you clear the pins from the body, begin carefully pulling the entire window assembly towards the front of the car.  There is a "slot" pin at the rear of the window assembly trim that slides into a slot in the C-pillar area.  This is the final point of contact that you need to clear.
4. Take the entire window assembly away from the car....  If you are re-using this assembly, I would recommend wrapping it up in a blanket or towels to protect it.

You are done!  You should have the moulding, trim, and window assembly safely stored somewhere until you need to replace.

Before we get to the installation part -- now is a great time to thoroughly clean all the nooks and crevices around the door, window, and roof trim that you normally would never be able to reach during even a concourse detailing session.  Wipe all down with cleaner of your choice, and maybe even a bit of wax, like detailers wax.  But if you don't really care about things like this -- just skip it!

Installation:

All of the removed parts are installed by simply reversing the steps outlined above.  The re-installation of the roof trim moulding is a bit difficult, as you have to get it aligned perfectly to avoid having a crappy-looking external joint near the back of the side window.  I've seen a few cars on the dealers lot that look a tiny-bit "crooked" or not fully aligned.  So take your time and hopefully you'll have a good time with it!

When re-installing the rubber door gasket, take your time and make sure that it is slotted properly around the entire perimeter.  The tricky section is the right-angle between the B-pillar and roof line.  You may need to force it in a bit, but make sure it is not folded-over or creased when doing so.

However, one step that you will need to go through is alignment of the rear window.

Window Alignment:

Once you get the rear window assembly mounted back into the body, you use the two positioning pins to move the glass into the proper position before tightening-down the fastening nuts.

To do this, get your tool that you used to mark the gap between front and rear side windows.  Move the rear window around until you have the correct gap top-to-bottom between the two windows.

At the same time, you should make sure that the edges of the two windows are on the same plane -- ie so you don't have the rear glass edge sticking-up higher than the front window edge.

Once you feel the glass is aligned to perfection, tighten-down the two fastening nuts on the interior of the B-pillar.

And that's it!  You should now be able to put all the trim bits back together and finish-off another successful project.  

If you found this helpful, please "Like" and comment.  Appreciate any and all feedback!  Also don't forget I am open to suggestions for other projects if you have a  need, comment / contact me through this blog.

Thanks!