glassBYTEs welcomes back Aaron Bradford of Driftwood Auto Glass LLC to show us how to replace sliders on the Sierra and Silverados. According to Bradford, the late model Sierra/Silverados have seen some changes that make replacement of the sliders a little easier on glass techs. No longer do the rear seats need to be completely removed to access the motor.
1. Do a thorough pre-inspection of the vehicle and note any damages with the customer present. Take particular note of areas that could be scratched from fallen glass during breakage.
2. Put drop cloths under the truck to catch falling glass, in the rear compartment to protect the interior, and tape off any areas of the pinchweld that could be damaged during removal.
3. Remove headrest in rear bench seat by pressing the buttons on the left side at the base of headrests.
4. Remove the plastic pieces that the headrest slide into in the seat back. This will be necessary to be able to remove the back and expose the motor assembly. Use a plastic tool to protect the seat and gain leverage while using a panel tool to lift the plastic guides (see step 4).
Step 4
5. Next remove the four bolts at the base of the seat back using an extension and a 10mm socket (see step 5).
Step 5
6. Next if you look behind the back of the seat there will be two latches which can be released using a hook tool. Once those are released, the seat back will be able to be removed and set aside (see step 6 and 6A).
Step 6
Step 6A
7. Remove the side pillar trims. They are held in with typical panel fasteners and an air bag clip which is secured with a 7mm screw (see step 7).
Step 7
8. Detach heater wires behind pillar trim (see step 8).
Step 8
9. Remove single bolt holding regulator assembly to window motor (see step 9).
Step 9
10. Remove coat hooks above rear doors and weather stripping to allow headliner to be dropped (see step 10).
Step 10
11. With everything out of the way, you can now proceed to removing the slider unit. Fiberline or wire works great with the exposed edge glass and prevents scratches to the pinchweld area. Place some tape to protect the area where you will be pushing the line through. I prefer the lower corners (see step 11).
Step 11
12. Once the glass has been removed you can prepare the pinchweld and glass to be installed according to urethane manufacturer’s procedures.
13. Check for leaks after installation.
14. Vacuum any debris left behind from glass breakage and removal.
15. Reassemble interior in reverse order of removal.
16. Post installation talk with customer. Go over drive away times, care rules for their new glass, and thank them for their business.
We’ll assume that you’re talking about 2019-2021 trucks and part # DB 13110. The industry-standard-benchmark calls for 3.4 hours to complete this job. Looking at insurance labor total amounts for several of the top ten insurance companies, we see that the total labor reimbursement amount ranges from a low of $119 to a high of $148. Do any glass shops wish to comment about this? We think this is a woefully low reimbursement rate for a job that takes every bit of 3.4 man hours (we try to use two technicians on this job when possible). Tip: if you ask for more labor, you just might get it.