Before anybody gets confused, I'm not talking about how to remove the vent windows from the door. I'm talking about how to get the outer and inner frame separated. Both pivot points (upper and lower) on my vent windows are attached by rivets that obviously were installed in the factory. Ross and I have apparently discovered that the newer F-1's had screws holding the upper pivot point in place, but mine unfortunately has rivets holding everything together. I need to separate the outer frame (the one that mounts to the door) from the inner frame (the one that holds the glass) and remove the shaft in order to get a new seal installed. The shaft is also held to the inner frame by factory rivets. What am I missing here? I guess I have to drill those rivets and put screws back in their place? I can spring it out of its slot, but it's going to take a lot of force, and I'm afraid I'll bend the frame. Any thoughts? The only other option I see is to very carefully cut the seal from the inside over to that hole, and then just wrap it around the shaft and go on, but I don't want to do that unless it's absolutely necessary. Has anybody done that?

 

I would remove the upper rivets....either drill 'em or carefully grind the heads down and punch out.
Once removed, simply take the nut, etc off the bottom(keep track of how they come off) and slide out the shaft. Easy!

 

Thanks Tinman. Was just checking to confirm before I did that. I was kind of hoping somebody would say "You big dummy, all you have to do is.........", but I guess not. Ross' truck has screws. That would have been much easier. That's a lot of work to just put a new rubber seal in place. I'll tell you all something else--getting that division bar out of the door (I'm replacing it too) is one heck of a puzzle. I thought I'd never get it turned the right direction so that it would come out. Ironically, the easiest part for me so far has been replacing the anti-rattle strips. I used a really big screwdriver and a pair of Channel lock pliers, along with a big soft rag for padding, and I was able to use almost all of the original clips. Another ironic thing was removing the glass from the vent windows. I just put some duct tape on the glass and then pulled it out easily with a pair of pliers. I read other threads where they had to literally chip it out piece by piece or heat the frames in order to get the glass to loosen up. I'm just glad I'm finally taking the time to put new glass, felts, and seals in the doors.

 

I wonder if the rivets' holes are too big to tap? Could always pop rivet from the inside if you can get the gun in there.

Doc sent me some pics, it shows yet another difference between 48-50 and 51-52's. The early models had an extra strap on the bottom pivot. The hole for the strap's rivet is apparently still there on later ones. Cost-saving measure??

 

I have assembled and disassembled these vent windows several times, most recently last weekend. So I did not have to take the rivets out at all to install the seal. First, I removed the entire assembly from the truck. Once out, the outer frame will separate from the inner frame at the socket with just a slight flex of the outer frame. This leaves the pivot at the bottom. I removed the nut, washer and spring, heated the round brass bushings (there are two), sprayed a little PB blaster and gently tapped the screw end of the bolt with the vent window attached. It came out perfectly. I did the same thing on the other window by simply twisting the vent window back and forth and pulling it through the outer frame. I then installed both seals, put it back together and put them back in the truck. The hardest part was making sure cam that prevents the window from turning a complete 180 degrees was reinstalled the right way. Take a note or picture when you take it out and save yourself some trouble.