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Thanks
Thanks to Ed Burner for his Electrical Basics contribution in the last issue of Tech Center. Thanks to Alan Singleton for letting us reprint his Window Channel Replacement notes.
Parts Update
The following is a press release which was read at the
Mount Hood Roundup:
OM Service Parts Operations and Cinnabar Engineering expand
license agreement.
Detroit- On August 24, 1992, General Motors Service Parts
Operations (SPO) and Cinnabar Engineering entered into a letter
of intent to expand their license agreement to include all parts
listed in the GMC Motorhome parts book (except those parts in
mandatory service with SPO). In addition, SPO plans to make amiable
remaining inventories of these parts to Cinnabar Engineering,
which has worldwide distribution centers in California and Michigan.
Cinnabar Engineering has been a manufacturer and supplier of GMC
Motorhome service parts since 1979 and took over distribution
of the Motorhome service publications in 1986. The expanded license
agreement with Cinnabar Engineering restates GMs commitment to
support its Motorhome with service parts.
According to Michael Fellberg, SPO' s manager of trademark
licensing, the expansion of this agreement will benefit owners
of the GMC Motorhome. "There is an enthusiastic group of
GMC Motorhome owners who want to keep their vehicles in first-class
condition. They require parts support and technical assistance
to achieve the full useful life of their Motorhome. Cinnabar Engineering
has the resources and expertise necessary to fulfill those needs."
SPO licensed Cinnabar Engineering in 1990 to manufacture
and distribute certain obsolete parts for the GMC Motorhome manufactured
from 1973 to 1978 by the former GMC Truck and Coach Division,
now GM North American Truck Platforms. Under the license agreement,
Cinnabar Engineering has been using GM tooling and technology
to provide service parts that meet original equipment design specifications.
For more information, contact Cinnabar Engineering, 10836
West Loyola Drive, Los Altos Hills, CA 94024; (415) 948-2618.
Cinnabar already has a number of previously discontinued
parts back in production. They include the lower steering shaft,
and the grill. Many new parts are coming back each day. Cinnabar
needs to hear from GMC'ers, call and let them know which parts
you need, reproduction depends on demand.
Window Channel Replacement
1. Getting started
Start on a warm dry day. Banging your cold hands gets to
be quite painful. You will need clear area on both sides of the
coach-minimum 16 feet wide-or you will have to move or turn the
coach. At least four feet of space is needed on the working side.
The work area must be well lighted; natural light is preferred.
Before starting the job, take a good look at all of the windows
you plan to work on. Look for things that need to be replaced,
such as the latches or the plastic screw anchors for the latches.
Look for things that must be realigned. The mullion on the sliding
pane may have slipped down to where it can drag a corner on the
new channel and tear it. You may want to paint the frames with
a black semi-gloss paint to give the job a finished look.
The mullion can be removed and repositioned by placing a hardwood
block against it and tapping it off the pane with a plastic faced
mallet. The pane can be broken quite easily this way too, so if
you find it necessary to remove the mullion, work slowly with
the minimum effective amount of force.
Proper tools for the job include; a work stand about the height
of a picnic bench, long nose pliers, leather punch, short piece
of hardwood dowel cut on an angle to clean the frame channel,
soft cotton rags, mineral spirits for cleaning, and a vacuum cleaner
to clean out the debris.
You will need two 25-foot rolls of window channel to do an
entire coach. A 23-foot coach will use about 40-feet and a 26-foot
coach will use all of your 50-feet. You may need a small tube
of weatherstrip cement. The cement is only needed to tack down
the ends of the channel to keep it from lifting.
2. Removing the old channel
The factory installed channel has a steel wire wound in to
give it shape. It is held in the frame by the tension of the wire
against the frame, The wire is usually badly rusted and the flocking
is worn off allowing the pane to rattle around in the frame.
Starting at the top rear corner of the window, grasp the end
of the channel with the long nose pliers and pull it out of the
frame. It may help to remove the "worm" so you can get
under the end. The strip may require a gentle start from the dowel
but once started, should easily pull out of the frame.
Cut the old channel close to the pane (pane closed) with sharp
cutters so as not to leave the wire bent into the window groove.
Repeat for the bottom channel.
Slide the pane open as far as possible. If you have removed
the "worms' be careful not to bang the pane into the frame.
Using the long nose pliers and the sharpened dowel, work the channel
out of the groove at the top of the window. Pull the end of the
channel past the pane at the top. Lift the channel out of the
frame around to the bottom and pull it past the pane on the bottom.
Even with the channel removed the pane cannot be removed from
the frame.
With a vacuum cleaner, remove all of the rust, dust, and debris
from the window frame. Examine the groove closely to be sure there
are no burrs in it and that the sides are straight. Wipe the grooves
clean with a rag moistened in mineral spirits.
For those who have had their windows "fixed" by
some non-GMC repair facility, the hard part begins. You will probably
find the wrong type of channel installed with lots of weatherstrip
cement to make sure it doesn't leak. The weep slots in the bottom
of the groove will be plugged. It is absolutely necessary to get
all of the garbage out of the groove and get the weep slots clean.
Use the sharpened dowel for a scraper and use a rag dampened with
mineral spirits or a weatherstripping cement remover to get the
old cement out. Don't let the solvent drip through the weep slots
onto your coach, it will soften the paint!
3. Installing the new channel
You will need a pair of heavy duty sharp scissors or snips
to cut the channel, a 1/8" or 3/16" hole punch, and
some white chalk. Measure the length of channel required by holding
it along side the frame. Do this carefully because cutting too
short will waste a lot of channel. If you cut too long you might
find you are a few inches too short for the next window. Mark
the cut line on the channel with the chalk. Double check the length,
leaving an extra inch for minor adjustments. Cut the channel.
Lay the channel along side the bottom of the frame to determine
the location of the weep slots. The weep slots on the outside
of the frame do not match up with the weep slots on the inside
of the frame. With the chalk, mark the location of the inside
weep slots on the side of the channel. Indicate the length of
the slot. With the punch, make two rows of holes in the bottom
of the channel. Stagger the holes and allow enough space between
them so that the fabric does not become unduly weakened. The rubber
channel will not support slots-they will allow the channel to
distort-you must make a series of holes instead of a long slot.
Carefully slide the pane to the closed position. Press the
channel into the frame, starting at the bottom rear: Adjust the
position of the channel so that the drain holes line up with the
weep slots. At the pane, open the channel flat and work it under
the glass. A helper to lift the pane and some careful work
with the long nose pliers will help, be careful not to puncture
or tear the channel. Slide the pane all the way to the rear. Continue
pressing the channel into the frame, compressing it slightly in
length as you work around the corners to make sure it doesn't
pull up from the bottom of the frame.
When you reach the pane at the top center, check the alignment
of the weep holes with the weep slots and make any adjustments.
Again open the channel flat and work it over the pane. It will
be more difficult here because the pane will be sitting on the
bottom of the channel and there will be less clearance. Slow and
careful work with the long nose pliers will most likely be required
here. Once over the pane, slide the pane to the closed position
and continue to press the channel into the frame.
This would a good time to make sure the pane slides smoothly.
It maybe a little stiff. Slide the pane all the way open. The
top and bottom rear corners should not hit the frame. Trim the
ends of the channel and glue in the "worms" to act as
stops. You may want to put a small amount of weatherstrip cement
under the last inch or two of the channel.
4. Driver and passenger sliding windows
The front sliding windows are the simplest and easiest to
do but should be saved for last because they require only short
pieces of channel. This is where you use the left-over pieces.
Before you start, make sure you have enough to make three pieces
for each window.
Remove the old channel and clean the frames the same way you
did the large windows. Install the vertical piece in the front
of the window frame first. The ends are best left squared off,
not mitered. Cut the piece slightly long so it will be compressed
when installed in the frame.
Lay the bottom piece along the frame and mark the weep slots
as before. Punch holes in the channel, one row will be sufficient.
Install the bottom channel next, it will have to be worked under
the window as before. Start with the window open so you get a
good fit in front.
Install the top channel last, working the channel carefully
over the glass. A small amount of cement on the last inch will
keep the channel in place,
Enjoy rattle-free and smooth sliding windows. The panes will
offer some resistance to sliding which is normal.
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