Rear window replacement? - Toyota 4Runner Forum

Mr.X. · 04-25-2018, 11:06 PM

I am wondering how hard this would be to undertake, or even possible? I have a rear ended rear tailgate, and have found one in a local salvage yard, same colour as mine with the inner guts missing. Basically have to move all the inner guts off mine to the new tailgate

cheers!

nglayton · 04-25-2018, 11:40 PM

I still own my 3rd Gen and I've replaced the rear window regulator once, so it can be done. I've also replaced the back trim piece with key/lock etc. I pulled the window out once to change the motor. It wasn't too hard. It's kind of a pain, tight spaces, cramped angles and lots of sharp edges.

If you're in a hurry forget it, but if you have time and some patience and don't need to drive the vehicle for a few days you can do it.

Mr.X. · 04-26-2018, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nglayton

I still own my 3rd Gen and I've replaced the rear window regulator once, so it can be done. I've also replaced the back trim piece with key/lock etc. I pulled the window out once to change the motor. It wasn't too hard. It's kind of a pain, tight spaces, cramped angles and lots of sharp edges.

If you're in a hurry forget it, but if you have time and some patience and don't need to drive the vehicle for a few days you can do it.

Awesome. I was worried the glass would be a pain. This gives me the confidence to go forward

Plastics guy · 04-26-2018, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.X.

Awesome. I was worried the glass would be a pain. This gives me the confidence to go forward

The glass is easy. Once the molding has been removed it comes right out. It is a doable project.

When I replaced my rear glass it took me about 3 hours.

There are a lot of great write ups for replacing the rear glass.

Good Luck with the repair. hopefully you got some insurance money covering it.

gamefreakgc · 04-26-2018, 12:26 PM

I stripped a rear hatch bare once and it was difficult for me, to say the least. There's so many screws and tabs that are very hard to get to. I would imagine that some parts would be easier to put back in, except for the motor and window regulator.

I agree about the glass being the easy part. If you could find a complete hatch it would be much, much, much simpler.

Mr.X. · 04-27-2018, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamefreakgc

I stripped a rear hatch bare once and it was difficult for me, to say the least. There's so many screws and tabs that are very hard to get to. I would imagine that some parts would be easier to put back in, except for the motor and window regulator.

I agree about the glass being the easy part. If you could find a complete hatch it would be much, much, much simpler.

Difficult. But doable?
Are there any parts that are permanently fixed, ie. riveted in that would be impossible to move over?
thanks

gamefreakgc · 04-27-2018, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.X.

Difficult. But doable?
Are there any parts that are permanently fixed, ie. riveted in that would be impossible to move over?
thanks

No, no rivets. The tough part is you only have the two metal access plates to do pretty much everything. Some screws and wire clips (it's the wire clips that really got to me) are extremely hard to get to and you're working blind since you can't see what you are doing half the time.

Like others said if you set aside a couple of days and a have a lot of patience, it can be done. But waiting out for a complete hatch would be immensely easier.

phattyduck · 04-27-2018, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamefreakgc

But waiting out for a complete hatch would be immensely easier.

It is important to note that the '99-'02 hatch wiring is incompatible with the '96-'98 hatch wiring - so keep that in mind if/when looking for complete hatches... The badging and license plate trim changed too.

-Charlie

pkachoochoo · 04-28-2018, 05:20 PM

I had to swap my 99s inner parts to a new hatch shell from a yard. Wasn't particularly hard just took some maneuvering. You can do it all with a ratchet set but it would help to have an extra pair of hands to get the window regulator bolted to the back glass.

Forums
Toyota 4Runner Forum	Official Vendors & Sponsors	4Runner & Hilux Surf Clubs	Site related
New Members	Become a Sponsor/Advertiser	American T4R Clubs (click to view)	Advertising & Sponsorship Information
General Discussions	Cali Raised LED	Florida	Software Related Questions & Answers
6th gen T4Rs	Trail4R	Georgia	Comments & Suggestions
5th gen T4Rs	SuncentAuto	(The Rest of) The Deep South	Links
4th Gen T4Rs	BaseLayer	So Cal	2012 4Runner
3rd gen T4Rs	DRZ OFF ROAD	Nor Cal	2017 4Runner
Classic T4Rs	Wheeler's Off-Road	Pacific NW	2015 4Runner
Classifieds - buy & sell (no commercial ads please)	C4 Fabrication	Southwest	2016 4Runner
For Sale: Vehicles	TRDParts4U	Texas & Oklahoma	2013 4Runner
For Sale: Suspension/Wheels/Tires	Rago Fabrication	Carolinas	2014 4Runner
For Sale: T4R Items	VTXWheels	Maryland / Virginia / WV / D.C.	2019 4Runner
For Sale: Non-T4R Items	SDHQ OFFROAD	Northeast	2011 4Runner
Free	Cali Raised LED	New England	2010 4Runner
Want to Buy/Trade	Coastal Offroad	Great Lakes	2009 4Runner
Feedback on Sellers & Buyers	GarageTime	Ozarks	2008 4Runner
Group Buys	Accessorides	Heartland	2007 4Runner
Off Topic	Raingler	Mountain	2006 4Runner
TSB	Proline 4wd Equipment	Alaska & Hawaii	2005 4Runner
Off-Roading	Venomrex	Canadian T4R Clubs (click to view)	2004 4Runner
Gallery	LFD Off Road	Montreal / Quebec	2003 4Runner
Engines / Suspension / Wheels / Tires / Audio / Accessories	OEM Audio Plus	Toronto / Ottawa / Ontario	2002 4Runner
Maintenance/Detailing	Victory4x4	Edmonton / Calgary / Alberta	2001 4Runner
Problems & Warranty Issues	Overland Gear Guy	Vancouver / British Columbia	2000 4Runner
Polls	RCI Off Road	Winnipeg / Manitoba	1999 4Runner
Dealers - Your Experience	TreadWright	European T4R & Hilux Surf Clubs (click to view)	1998 4Runner
FJ Cruiser	Underdog Racing Development / URD	UK	1997 4Runner
Lexus GX470/460	Front Runner Outfitters	France	1996 4Runner
All Other Vehicles	BOSS StrongBox	Germany
	Orange Boxx	Iceland
	Sherpa Equipment Co	Italy
	4RUNNERLIFESTYLE	Russia
	Ironman 4x4	Scandinavia
	LASFIT	Asia & Oceania T4R & Hilux Surf Clubs (click to view)
	Toyota Parts Express	Australia
	4xInnovations.com	Guam
	All-Pro Off Road	Japan
	Rockauto	Mongolia
	Air Lift	New Zealand
	UltraRev	Africa & Middle East T4R & Hilux Surf Clubs (click to view)
	Stealth Custom Series	Nigeria
	High Tech Auto and Truck Center	South Africa
	Metal-tech 4x4	Egypt
	ToyotaTRDParts.com	Latin America / Carribbean T4R & Hilux Surf Clubs (click to view)
	Addicted Offroad	Argentina
		Brazil
		Caribbean Islands
		Mexico
		T4R Meet Announcements & Info
		T4R Meet Pictorials & Writeups

Site Navigation