2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission rear window leaking -- design flaw what to do?

[RedSled]

I have the slider rear window and noticed this weekend that it is leaking. I have it at a local glass shop, and he verified the leak.



It is definitely not the rear brake light.



The water gets in where the fixed glass, and the slider meet. According to the glass shop, this is by design. There are several small weep holes in the track that drain any of the water that gets by. As long as there is not much rain this works fine.



The problem with this is when you get 4 inches of rain in a day the drain holes can't keep up and you get a "wet carpet".



The shop has verified all the seals are working properly and he doesn't have a good answer on what to do.





Should I replace my slider with a solid glass window?



Btw, this is the 3rd rear window I have replaced.

 

[Clinton]

Redsled, welcome to my world. I bought my '96 in 2000 and believe it was leaking the day it rolled off the assembly line. I think the original owner kept it garaged and rarely used it anyway (only 28k miles when I found it). I had the window resealed under warranty, had it resealed again on my dollar, broke it (with some firewood, an accident, I swear), replaced with a Mopar slider, and it still will leak on those 4" rain days. I also know it's not the third brake light nor door seals. I think mine is leaking at the body seam that comes from the door line back across the club cab portion then joins at the window gasket. I am going to play with some clear urethane seam sealer and see what I can do. Unfortunately, all I can really offer you is sincere sympathy. I will say I doubt that the drains in the gasket 'keeping up' are your problem. I don't know how they verified that those were functioning properly, but I would guess, that if they are indeed the problem, what's more likely going on is one or more of them are draining into the interior. But, honestly, what do I know? I'm the fool who's been losing a rear window leak battle for over two years now. If you find out anything for sure, please PM me and let me know too. Thanks, and good luck.

 

[RustyJC]

Hmmm..... I've owned a 1996 3500 and a 2002 3500, both with sliding rear windows. I live in the Houston area on the Texas Gulf Coast, so I know about heavy rain. I never noticed a leak in either truck. If it were a common design flaw, you would think they would ALL leak. Strange... ...



Rusty

 

[RedSled]

you probably wont notice !

If you dont lift your carpet you wont notice unless its a hurricane.



The first time I found my carpet wet was after a "tropical" storm I had about half an inch of water by the drivers door.



During a regular rain, or semi heavy rain just the padding under the carpet gets wet. You wont know the padding is wet because there is a thick layer of rubber between the padding and the carpet.



I thought mine was fixed. recently I notice the musty smell. I lifted the carpet last week and the padding underneath was real damp.



I just got off the phone with the glass company again and he said none of his distributers he has talked to today have a "privacy tint" solid rear window.



Will the slider from a 98 or 99 fit a 97?? The guy at the glass shop has a 99 and it is a totally different design.



Maybe I should just get a bilge pump.

 

[RustyJC]

Re: you probably wont notice !

Originally posted by RedSled

Will the slider from a 98 or 99 fit a 97?? The guy at the glass shop has a 99 and it is a totally different design.

Oh, OK... . now I feel better about the slider in our 2002!



Rusty

 

[Clinton]

I wouldn't think anything after a '98. 5 would fit due to the body change to the quad cab. After that body change the glass isn't in the big gasket; more of a flush-fit design. I had to wait on a privacy tint slider when mine was broken. I'm not certain that non-sliders don't work on the same 'designed to leak a little' principle. I'd guess that they have drain tubes also.



Does anybody know about the black plastic strip that covers the body seam along the roof on 12 valve era club cabs? How is it attached? Can it be popped off and reused or is it trashed upon removal? I want to lay a bead of urethane seam sealer down under it along the seam and then replace, but don't want to tear it up and find out it's pricy.

 

[Bill Lins]

Originally posted by Clinton

I wouldn't think anything after a '98. 5 would fit due to the body change to the quad cab. After that body change the glass isn't in the big gasket; more of a flush-fit design. I had to wait on a privacy tint slider when mine was broken. I'm not certain that non-sliders don't work on the same 'designed to leak a little' principle. I'd guess that they have drain tubes also.

Any of the backlites from 1994 through 2002 will interchange. The Club Cabs from 1995-1997 used a rubber gasket, but the later style will fit- the body itself didn't change. Also, there are no drains of any kind on the solid backlites.

 

[Otts Machine Shop]

Water leak

I live in Portland Ore, lots of rain, . I had no water leak until I had a factory slider put in my 96 standard cab.

Two sliders later it still leaked , left side only

Never found the cause, but I found the solution.

At the extreme rear of the cab is a low spot behind the seat belt.

I drilled a small hole there.

When I had the side moldings out the carpet dried out.

As soon as I put the screws in the floor moldings the carpet got wet again. So I made a silicone dam on the outside of the wire harness so water wont get into the carpet area and

drilled another small hole next to the front screw.

Carpet never got wet again.

If you need more details I will be glad to help

Dick Ott





96 2500 std cab white 4x4 5spd wanabe 6spd

 

[RedSled]

Bill,



I'm not sure what you mean by backlites. Is that an aftermarket brand?



Will the slider from an 02 and gasket from an 02 quad cab fit the 97 club cab?



I really like having the slider but If I have to I will get a solid window. The only problem I see with the solid window is it isn't available as privacy glass and I would have to get it tinted.





I just replaced my carpet (again), and want to get this fixed for good.



Do you know if the 02 style has a leak problem?







Dick, I have thought about the drain hole idea, but I haven't given up on fixing the source of the problem yet.

 

[Clinton]

Backlight is the technical term for the window.

 

[RedSled]

I'm getting the new design

I'm getting the new design put in mine.



Hopefully that works. It should be in some time tomorrow

 

[jhawkins]

Dick I would love to get the details on how you fixed the window leak. I have the same problem with the carpet padding getting wet and can't seem to find a way to stop it. My 96 came with the rear slider window and I think it has always leaked.

Jim

 

[Clinton]

Redsled: New style slider or new style solid? Let us know how it works out, please.



Dick Ott: I've reread your post a couple of times and would like the details too. Now, if I've got your story straight, you built a silicone dike on the floor pan that channels to a drain hole. Is that correct? I have a club cab; mine pools in the back and doesn't run to the front until the pool gets full enough. I think if I were to resort to a drain, which would be my admission of defeat (no offense meant by that), it would have to be at the pool which is at the back wall of the cab. Thanks for any details/help.

 

[Bill Lins]

Originally posted by RedSled

Will the slider from an 02 and gasket from an 02 quad cab fit the 97 club cab? Do you know if the 02 style has a leak problem?

The slider will fit- to the best of my knowledge it is bonded in with urethane adhesive (no gasket). The installer will need to remove the old slider & any sealant, lubricant, & dirt, and prime the opening with the correct pinchweld primer for the adhesive system he is using.



I haven't heard of the '02 slider having any more or less of a leak problem than other years. I'll check the book tomorrow to see if it is a different part than earlier years or if it's the same & let you know.

 

[Bill Lins]

Checked today- there are 2 OEM sliders listed.



DB9371YPY is the NAGS part # for 1998 through 2000 model years.



(NAGS stands for National Auto Glass Specifications- it's a nationwide auto glass part numbering system used by everyone in the industry except the vehicle manufacturers. )



DB9888YPY is for 2001 through 2002 trucks.



They will interchange but I'm not sure what the difference is.



They both list for $1201. 20 (discounts off list vary depending upon local markets).



Hope this helps.

 

[RedSled]

new window in

I haven't posted on this in a while because I was on vacation.



I got the new slider put in, and so far so good. It is definitely a different design. No more weep holes.



The only complaint I have about it is it isn't a "perfect" fit.



From the outside it is fine, but from the inside it looks a little unfinished. I need to see the inside of a newer model to see how they finish off the inside.



It looks a little like when you put a window in a house and don't have the trim work. It's not quite that bad, but that is the general idea. On the 97 model I have the old gasket went on the inside, and the outside. on the inside the gasket goes out about 1/2 an inch. The newer gasket goes only on the outside.



I tried to pull the headliner down to the window edge, but it is about 1/4 of an inch too short. the sides and the bottom aren't too noticeably.



Anyway the are calling for about 2 inches of rain here today so I will check out the new carpet tomorrow and hopefully its not wet!!!!



Oh yea. Installed price was $250. The shop said they gave it to me at cost since they have tried to fix the old style twice for me. It is an aftermarket brand, with only a single pane that slides. The old style had two panes about half the size. It is privacy tint, although it seems a tiny bit lighter in shade.

 

[w-cummins]

Originally posted by Bill Lins

Checked today- there are 2 OEM sliders listed.



DB9371YPY is the NAGS part # for 1998 through 2000 model years.

They both list for $1201. 20 (discounts off list vary depending upon local markets).



Hope this helps.

DAM $1200 for a back window, and I thought that the $900++ for the vacuum pump was bad!



I'm almost frightened to ask how much for a front windscreen??

 

[harleebkr]

What Clinton said: My 99 250 QC w/slider has leaked since day 1 also, at the same location that Clinton describes. Silicon along the body/window line helped for awhile-but not permanently. I could use a solution too.

Originally posted by Clinton

Redsled, welcome to my world. I bought my '96 in 2000 and believe it was leaking the day it rolled off the assembly line. I think the original owner kept it garaged and rarely used it anyway (only 28k miles when I found it). I had the window resealed under warranty, had it resealed again on my dollar, broke it (with some firewood, an accident, I swear), replaced with a Mopar slider, and it still will leak on those 4" rain days. I also know it's not the third brake light nor door seals. I think mine is leaking at the body seam that comes from the door line back across the club cab portion then joins at the window gasket. I am going to play with some clear urethane seam sealer and see what I can do. Unfortunately, all I can really offer you is sincere sympathy. I will say I doubt that the drains in the gasket 'keeping up' are your problem. I don't know how they verified that those were functioning properly, but I would guess, that if they are indeed the problem, what's more likely going on is one or more of them are draining into the interior. But, honestly, what do I know? I'm the fool who's been losing a rear window leak battle for over two years now. If you find out anything for sure, please PM me and let me know too. Thanks, and good luck.

 

[Bill Lins]

Re: new window in

Originally posted by RedSled

From the outside it is fine, but from the inside it looks a little unfinished. I need to see the inside of a newer model to see how they finish off the inside.



It looks a little like when you put a window in a house and don't have the trim work. It's not quite that bad, but that is the general idea. On the 97 model I have the old gasket went on the inside, and the outside. on the inside the gasket goes out about 1/2 an inch. The newer gasket goes only on the outside.



I tried to pull the headliner down to the window edge, but it is about 1/4 of an inch too short. the sides and the bottom aren't too noticeably.

The difference is the headliner & inside trim. The original slider mounted using a gasket, and room had to be left for it between the cab wall & trim on the inside. The new slider bonds to the body, and on the newer trucks the headliner & trim go right up aainst the cab wall.