the gasket is pulled over the flange from the inside of the vehicle, which locks the gasket in place on the flange. In the case of my Charger, the gasket is in good condition—no cracks and still pliable. The gasket is a self-locking gasket, meaning it does not use a separate locking bead to secure the glass within the gasket.
A plastic windshield knife like the one in photo 19 is needed to unlock a self-locking gasket. This plastic tool is designed to slip into the locked gasket and open the lock, thereby freeing the windshield for removal. Warning! Never use a metal tool to remove or install glass. You will break the glass. Once the gasket has been unlocked, I like to run the plastic tool around the edge of the glass to help separate the glass from the gasket. I also go inside the vehicle and do the same thing: run the tool around the glass, between the glass and the gasket. In a case where the gasket is stiff and difficult to work with, I spray a generous amount of WD-40 between the glass and gasket to help free it.
PHOTO 21: The plastic windshield tool, shown in Photo 19, is used here to open the self-locking gasket around the windshield.
PHOTO 22: The last step before attempting to remove the windshield is to squirt WD-40 between the windshield and the gasket all the way around the windshield. WD-40 helps the glass slip out of the gasket easier and reduces the chances of glass breakage.
PHOTO 23: Once the glass is removed, all that remains is to clean up the mess left behind. Never use a blower to clean up broken glass. Use a vacuum for the big stuff and a small brush to get into the tight areas.
PHOTO 24: What are these? Mounted on the inside and around the perimeter of the back glass, these metal strips hold the headliner in place. Notice the sawtooth edges on each of the pieces—they grip the headliner and hold it firm.
With the gasket unlocked, I push the glass out from the inside. Warning! This is the easiest way I know to break a windshield. If breakage isn’t a problem, get after it. If breakage is not a desirable option, I suggest you sacrifice the gasket by shaving off the top of the gasket (all of the gasket above the glass) using a safety razor to expose the entire windshield, instead of trying to free the windshield from the gasket by pushing it out. Then gently push the glass out of the remaining portion of the gasket.
After removal, I store the windshield and the back glass where accidental bumping is unlikely to occur. To prevent breakage, I store glass in a vertical position—I never lay it flat.
PHOTO 1: The door glass seal strip also uses a spring clip. To remove the strip, gently pry the strip inward using the door trim removal tool then lift the strip straight up to remove it from the door.
CHAPTER FOUR
Exterior Teardown
My Charger is looking more and more as though a bomb went off under it. But on the other hand, as the hard years are slowly peeled away and the basis for a bona fide project vehicle is carefully revealed, the Charger is actually beginning to look like something with a little promise. My next step is to begin tearing down the exterior.
Complete Door Teardown
I’ll start by finishing the teardown on the door. With all the glass removed from the door the outside door handle, lock cylinder, and latch assembly can be removed. Note the condition of these parts on the master checklist then store them away. Removing these parts frees the door to swing open at will, which can be an inconvenience, but if that becomes a problem I’ll slap a strip of masking tape across the door edge to hold it shut.
The mirror, belt moldings, and window seal strips can also be removed. The mirror comes off by removing a screw located on the outside of the door and a bolt that is inside the door cavity. The door belt moldings are attached using the same type of metal spring clips found on the upper door trim panel. I remove them using the door panel tool used to remove the door trim panels. The window seal strips on the Charger are clipped to the door frame and are best removed by prying each strip inward, and then lifting the strip straight up to free it from the door.
Remove Grille
To restore the grille assembly to its original condition, I find it needs nothing more than a little paint and a few screws. All I have to do is get the grille assembly off the car in one piece. On most vehicles, the first order of business would be to remove the bumper. Getting the bumper out of the way allows access to any grille-mounting screws that might be hidden behind it and also prevents you from damaging or scratching the grille assembly once you are ready to remove it. However, this particular model of Charger with its wraparound bumper design dictates removing the grille assembly along with the bumper, and then disassembling the entire unit on the bench. But before this unit can come off the car, I need to get those what-the-heck-is-holding-it-now parts out of the way.
First to go is the headlamp door actuator motor, which is mounted to the center grille-mounting bracket. Remove the motor and the actuator rod, which runs through the motor and out to each headlamp door, to free the bumper assembly from the center grille-mounting bracket. To do this, unplug the motor, remove the retainer clips that are at each end of the actuator rod, and remove the motor and actuator rod as a unit.
You can now remove the four bolts holding the bumper assembly in place on the vehicle and slide the bumper forward and off the vehicle. There are two bolts on each side of the bumper assembly, located on the mounting brackets near the core support on the frame rails or unibody frame structure.
The Charger has a valance panel in the way, plus two additional bumper bolts that can be found by looking up from underneath each end of the bumper. These bolts are attached to brackets running out to the forward inner structure of each fender. The purpose of the brackets is for bumper-to-fender alignment, and they must be unbolted from the bumper before it can be removed.
The valance panel is bolted to each fender (five bolts per fender) along the bottom of the core support and to the center grille-mounting bracket. Notice the parking lamps are found in the valance and must be unplugged before the panel is removed. Remove the lamps from the valance after you remove the panel from the car.
Getting the valance panel off the car gives me better access to the two bumper-to-fender bracket bolts. I remove these bolts first and then remove the four bolts holding the bumper mounting brackets to the frame rails. This procedure requires two people—one to remove the bolts and a second to support the bumper while it is slid forward and off the vehicle.
PHOTO 2: This valance panel has seen better days. But then what 30-year-old valance panel hasn’t seen better days? Despite the major damage we will eventually repair this panel.
PHOTO 3: Here is the right fender with the bumper assembly removed. The J-shaped bracket is attached to the bumper and must be unbolted before the bumper can be removed from the car. Access to the bolt is from underneath with the valance panel removed.
