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How-to

1986 Ford Bronco Tailgate Glass Replacement

1986 Ford Bronco · Repair · Moderate

Documented by SuperMotors from Sixlitre’s photos

Replacing the shattered tailgate window glass on a 1986 Ford Bronco with new tempered glass. The steps cover freeing the plastic grommets and slider plates from the broken glass, grinding off the factory rivets, moving the hardware to the new glass, cleaning and lubricating the slider runs, and vacuuming up the broken glass.

  1. Step 1

    Start with the tailgate glass out and the slider hardware exposed. Note the slider rail that bolts to the glass and carries it up and down; Sixlitre reports the original glass blew up and shattered rather than coming out intact.

    I'd show you the old glass but it blew up and shattered. Note one of the slider rails that bolts to the glass and allows the glass to raise. (1986 Ford Bronco)

  2. Step 2

    Check the plastic grommets, which stay wedged onto the remains of the broken glass. The factory rivets holding the grommets to the plate are not meant to be removed, so they have to come out before the grommets can go onto the new glass.

    You can see the busted glass is still wedged in between the plastic grommets. The splayed rivets are not normally removable, but have to go… (1986 Ford Bronco)

  3. Step 3

    Look at the back of the plate to find the rivet heads, then at the opposite side to find the end splayed over at the factory. Identify which side of each rivet is the non-splayed side before cutting anything.

    Looking at the back of the plate you can see the rivet heads. (1986 Ford Bronco) There's a better close up (1986 Ford Bronco) And the other side of the rivet, the part splayed at the factory. (1986 Ford Bronco)

  4. Step 4

    Grind off the non-splayed side of each rivet to release the grommet from the plate. Sixlitre replaced the ground-off rivets with regular 1/4 UNC-20 bolts and washers, finding one inch long about perfect.

    The grinder makes short work of removing the non-splayed side. (1986 Ford Bronco) There's one still on the plate and the other ground off the plate. Didn't take long to figure out a regular 1/4 UNC-20 bolt, with washers w… (1986 Ford Bronco)

  5. Step 5

    Pop the plastic grommets gently apart to free them from the broken glass, then press them back onto the new glass until they click. Orient the parts so the splayed rivet side, or the dirty grommet, faces the back or outside of the truck.

    The plastic grommets pop apart gently and can be popped right back onto the new glass, with a satisfying "click". (1986 Ford Bronco) If your window blew up, like mine, then the splayed rivet side or dirty grommet goes towards the back, or outside of the truck on you beaut… (1986 Ford Bronco)

  6. Step 6

    Clean the plate runs and the square wheels and lubricate them before the glass goes back in. Sixlitre used synthetic grease the previous time the glass was out and found it gathered dirt and slowed down in the -35 winter temperatures, so anti-seize went on this time.

    Last time I had my glass out (installing it into the new tailgate shell), I used synthetic grease. It does a fairly good job even in the -3… (1986 Ford Bronco) This time I cleaned the plate runs and the square wheels and lubed them up with anti-seize. (1986 Ford Bronco)

  7. Step 7

    Vacuum the broken glass out of the tailgate and the surrounding area. Sixlitre calls this the toughest part of the job and reports firing up the shop vac more than a dozen times and still finding glass.

    The toughest part of the job is vacuuming up the busted glass, it's everywhere. I swear I must have fired up the shop vac more than a dozen… (1986 Ford Bronco)

  8. Step 8

    Get new tempered glass. Sixlitre bought the new Bronco tailgate glass for $140.00 CDN and reports the welds on the window defrost tabs are far stronger than factory. The photos end with the new glass still in its box, so the final fitting is not shown.

    My glass man from Apple said these Bronco tailgate units are a lot of glass for the money. I scored mine for $140.00 CDN brand new and the… (1986 Ford Bronco)

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