The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors help removing bolts from door window retainer

I got the replacement glass for my truck. The windshield is in but , I cant get the glass out of the doors. The clutch head screws are in there good. The drivers side is stripped right out.
Someone got a tip for removing stubborn bolts especially clutch heads?

Hello, Josh,

Rusted bolts/nuts/screws are par-for-the-course for these projects.

Dealing with clutch-head hardware is really no different than dealing with any rusted, stubborn old hardware (in fact, the clutch-head itself allows a better "grab" by a screwdriver, compared to other commonly used old hardware heads).

If you do not have clutch-head screw-drivers (or driver bits), use a regular flat-tip screwdriver that fits the clutch-head (or, grind a regular tip to tightly fit the clutch-head).

There are two Stovebolt.com Tech Tips http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/#bondo]on bolt/screw removal in the General Body Work section.

Patience, penetrating oil, and good use of swear words seem to help.

Thanks Tim. Of all the bolts holding both windows... 1 was able to be backed out using a custom made clutch head bit. Drivers side is now stripped. rounded completely and passenger side heads are still ok.
Can The track that holds the window come off regulator and come out of door , w window on it?

I don't know much about the window removal in a 49, but seems like most door windows only come out in order with the vent window retainer removal. Tech tips and searching lots of threads helped me figure mine out. I happened to see this bolt removal package at Lowe's last night. I don't know if things like this work or not or are gimmicks. I have drilled my share of bolts out when I have no other option.

Irwin bolt removal kit

The 49' regulator comes out the bottom and the glass out the top. The way it slips into the glass and a small inner track I am not sure if you could get it out this way. You could try completely unbolting the regulator from the door and seeing if it would collapse enough. Having had this problem on trucks I was parting I know you have a couple of alternatives. You can use a thin cutting blade to grind the clutch heads off. You would then need to remove them from the frame. I have done this by welding them, see my tech tip:
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/bolt_broken_remove.html
You can also get a small set of vice grips (with good teeth) and clamping the bolt heads, turn them a small amount eventually getting them loose enough to remove.
Here is a slide set with some good pictures on positioning and removal of the glass, let us know if removing the regulator from the glass is possible, good luck.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/sets/72157641244124604/

Here is a interior door shot that does the best job of showing how it all goes together. Notice the small track on the inside I was referring to.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/14184302391/in/set-72157631868452754

Hijack alert! Thank you Brad for the posting of the above slides. I have been battling with my wiper motor switch rod. I had it upside down, backwards and possibly sideways. You are a saint!
Carl

Hi Josh,

I used a small drill bit a drilled the slot in the clutch head screws. Drilled carefully through the clutch head screw. Got a set of easy outs from auto parts store in the tool section. Sprayed PB Blaster on the screws and screwed the easy out into the screw until tight. Backed out the easy out and out came the the &%@# clutch head screws. This was the easiest thing I could find to do since the side window channels are extremely narrow.

Tim

Looks like you got it Tim. Doesn't look like this will help
you but....it might help someone else in the future.
I fought with this stuff just like you did for years, then, I
was helping a friend disassemble his AD and was doing battle
with the clutch head screws behind the door panel. Nothing
would budge them, tried lots of leverage also one of those
hand and hammer impact drivers like you use on your Harley.
He had a Makita 18v drill and impact driver set and said lets
try the impact driver. With a smirk on my face I said sure,
that little 1/4" drive drill is gonna get out what we can't
get out with a breaker bar or hammer driver.
Son of a beach, every single one of them popped right out with
one burb of the Makita, no sweat. We had taken the doors off
and left the hinges because every one of the hinge bolts in
the cab were also frozen. Again, had soaked them down with PB
Blaster several times, tried the hand and hammer bit, breaker
bars, tried to tighten them then loosen, some were even
starting to round off, nota one budged. We put the 1/4" hex
to 3/8" square adapter in the Makita and to my amazement
every one of them came right out.
I've posted this before, but I stopped at Home Depot on the
way home that afternoon and bought me a boxed set Makita drill
& driver. Some weeks later we had the badly rusted bed off
in the drive and once again, the 18v driver spun screws out
that in the past I would have ended up drilling or chiseling
out.
Best investment I've made in the last twenty years.

DG

I removed mine by heating the screw head with a brazing tip on my torch set. Every screw backed out easily. No damage to old glass ( have new glass), just a little smoke from mounting tape. Also heated steel window trim to remove old glass without bending trim. Worked well. Old screws are still in fine shape if needed to be re-used. Just saying.