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    The Official Dew Wipe Replacement Thread.

    Ideas courtesy of Scott aka Lincolnmania!

    First thing you NEED to know is where to purchase the replacement dew wipe material, unless you are one of the lucky ones who can find some coveted NOS pieces..*cough* Tom *cough*. JCWhitney offers the replacement dew wipe material, and it is sooo very close to the original that one would never know that anything was replaced after the install.

    Here is a link to the dew wipe material YOU will need if you decide to do this.
    http://www.jcwhitney.com/fairchild-i...6y1983g781u0j1

    EDIT: JC Whitney no longer sells this item follow this link for purchase:

    http://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/fai...per+seal,12406

    And an image displaying the dimensions.



    Just to make things clear it is style 43. And the price is beyond fare at just 21 dollars.

    Here are some pictures comparing Fords original dew wipes to JCWhitneys' Fairchild Industries style 43 replacement dew wipe material.

    The replacement is on the LEFT and Fords original is on the RIGHT.



    Damn cat.




    You can see that Fords original one is very flat, while the replacement is not. This helps create a better seal against your door glass.

    Now why do this?

    Honestly...why NOT?

    Dew wipes keep pressure against the door window glass keeping out rain from your doors internals, it prevents foreign objects from entering as well, it wipes dew and rain from the window so you can see your mirrors, and it helps prevent your door glass from rattling around while you are driving and such.

    BEFORE







    To get started with the install you will want to take some tape and make marks as to where you want the dew wipe to reach on the window. Odds are they shrunk and are allowing large quantities of water to come into your door. Marking it will allow you to see where you need to cut the material and eventually where the dew wipe should start and end on the dew wipe trim.

    Below I have marked where I would like the new dew wipe to reach.







    You can see how much more space I will be filling up by installing the new material.


    Next you have to remove the door panel of the respective door you intend to replace the dew wipe on. You NEED to remove it because three screws are preventing you from just pulling up the dew wipe from the outside. The three screws are located right above the green tape marked in the photos below.





    One on the beginning, one on the vent window mount and one on the end.

    Next you need to loosen up the mirror screws. *WARNING* You may strip the heads of the screws if you do not use some rust penetrant on the threads of the screw found within the door internals first.

    Here is the mirror loosened up and allowing the dew wipe enough clearance to be removed.



    After the mirror is loosened you can now pull on the dew wipe (I like grabbing on to the dew wipe material) starting from above the exterior door handle working your way towards the front of the vehicle. It may give you some trouble along the way, but just wiggle and jiggle it in your hand till it is completely removed.

    Removed from vehicle.



    Now take the old dew wipe to a comfortable working space, because you will be working on it for quite some time.

    Here are all the tools I used or could have used for this entire install.



    Next thing to do is to remove all of the staples currently holding the dew wipe material to the dew wipe trim.

    Here you can see all of the staples holding the two pieces together.



    These staples are really strong. I needed to use an ice-pick to get the staple raised. *WARNING* Please be careful during this process.



    Then I uses a flat head screw driver to make the staple ends rise up.



    Now flip the trim over and use the flat head screw driver to fully remove the staple.



    Staple fully removed.



    The two pieces separated.



    ** The clips that are left on the old dew wipe material can be used if you really want to use them but it is not at all necessary. I did this install on both of my doors and they are not loose or coming loose at all. So I would say you would be fine as well. But if you want to remove it just push a tiny flat head screw driver underneath the clip and twist.



    Once pried up, you can use needle nose pliers to remove the clip from the material.

    Clips removed.



    If you decide to reinstall them in the new material you will need to drill tiny holes then insert the clip fastener ends into the two respective holes you drilled and use some GOOD tough pliers to crush the clip ends securely fastening the clip to the new dew wipe material.**

    Now that the two pieces are separated (dew wipe trim and dew wipe material) you can begin the reassembly.

    To do this you will need some type of temporary fastener. I decided to use some clothes pins.

    Begin by placing the new dew wipe material onto the dew wipe trim. Use your tape markings as a guide as to where the wipe will begin and end.







    Mark where you need to cut the new dew wipe material.



    Then cut.



    Now reassemble the dew wipe on the dew wipe trim using your preferred technique. The clothes pins really work well.



    Now you have two roads you can follow. I had both tiny nut and bolts as well as tiny rivets to use to secure the trim to the new dew wipe material. I decided to use the nuts and bolts because I did this on my first install (drivers side door) and it work great, AND rivets are unforgiving. Nut and bolts can easily be removed and reinstalled.

    Either road you choose you will have to drill some holes into and through the dew wipe material and dew wipe trim. You can screw and rivet as much as you prefer. The more the merrier. I drilled near the locations the staples were in.

    Here you can see the tiny nut and bolts I used as well as some installed on the trim.





    Here it is basically complete and ready to install, but not so fast because the length of the bolt I used is too long and would horribly scratch and scar the window if I attempt to install it as is.







    Here you can see just how far the bolt sticks out.



    To chop that length down I used a rotary tool with some fancy attachment. And remember to wear protective goggles because a lot of sparks and metal shavings will fly around.



    Just cut them off down to the nut. There really is not much clearance between the dew wipe material and the window so it is best to play it safe. **I would assume that those of you deciding to rivet the two pieces together would be in the clear to just install the new dew wipe and trim onto the vehicle.**

    It started poring outside so I had to run inside. Luckily I was done cutting off the excess lengths.

    Fully cut down.



    And proof that it started raining on me.



    After the rain stopped falling I went outside to install the dew wipe.

    **Before reinstalling the trim make sure to bend, yes I said bend, the dew wipe in a specific manner to ensure that it will not rattle and to ensure that it will sit properly. I want you to bend the metal part that sits along the top edge of the door downward the entire length of the trim. Just a bit DO NOT go crazy with bending. Just a bit.**

    Now you are ready to reinstall the dew wipe trim. Just place it back onto the door and secure the middle screw FIRST. Make sure to be pushing down HARD on the trim while you tighten that middle screw to ensure that the trim is fully down and flush.

    Next, screw in the screw for the front of the dew wipe trim (closest to the front of the vehicle) making sure to push down the trim while you tighten it.

    Then take the self tapping screw you removed from the trim above the door handle and a drill and long Phillips head screw bit. Put the screw on the bit and position your body though the window while standing parallel to the interior of the door. Lift the door frame with your back while pushing down hard on the dew wipe trim above the door handle and screw in the self tapping screw in the relative location where the third screw was originally located.

    If all was done as said it should look like this.



    And this



    And preform like this.

    http://s715.photobucket.com/player.s...fs=1&os=1&ap=1

    *I am aware that some vehicles do not have passenger side mirrors, fancy 79ish driver side mirrors as well as some not having vent windows and the misfortune of owning four door vehicles. But the methods are universal and this install should be very similar to any such thing you attempt.*

    If anything is unclear please make note of it and I will try to clear it up for you.
    Last edited by sly; 10-23-2017, 11:04 PM. Reason: fixed pics
    ~David~

    My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
    My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

    Originally posted by ootdega
    My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
    But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

    Originally posted by gadget73
    my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.





    #2
    Five stars!!!
    1983 Grand Marquis 2Dr Sedan "Mercules"
    Tremec TKO conversion, hydraulic clutch, HURST equipped!

    Comment


      #3
      Excellent work, nice write up...
      2000 Grand Marquis LS
      2000 F150 XLT 6 inches of lift.
      1987 Bill Blass Mark VII - Sold
      1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park- SOLD. to a little old lady
      Mercury Owners Group member
      Save The Whales, Restore an Old Station Wagon!!

      Comment


        #4
        And done on a Tudor so even a football forkin monkey like me can do it! Well done sir!!

        Comment


          #5
          Very nice!! I don't have a cat to hold it down while I work on it tho.
          Chris - A 20th Century Man \m/ ^.^ \m/

          Comment


            #6
            That awesome work David!!!
            1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - Current - June 2016 POTM Winner
            1996 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - SOLD
            1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS - SOLD
            1987 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 2dr - Long gone

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by p71towny View Post
              Very nice!! I don't have a cat to hold it down while I work on it tho.
              Wanna borrow one?
              2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

              Comment


                #8
                Very nice work. lmao @ the " those of you with the misfortune of owning a 4-door" I'd just wipe the dew off my windows in the morning with that cat!

                Comment


                  #9
                  lol.

                  One can also attach the new dew wipe material by reusing the staples if one manages to remove them cleanly from the old material. All one would have to do is drill two holes per staple push them through and press/crush them firmly with a pair of pliers to ensure that they will not come loose.
                  ~David~

                  My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                  My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                  Originally posted by ootdega
                  My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                  Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                  But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                  Originally posted by gadget73
                  my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                  Comment


                    #10
                    So you didn't replace the one on the other side of the window, which is stapled to the inside of the interior Door Panel? I'll be doing mine soon, since I just swapped from Vent to Non-Vent Front Windows.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      No I did not replace the interior one located on the door panels. On my vehicle they were in perfect condition, so there was no need to change them.

                      I would be very interested in seeing how that will be done though.
                      ~David~

                      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                      Originally posted by ootdega
                      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                      Originally posted by gadget73
                      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                      Comment


                        #12
                        Bump! They are still working great!


                        Anyone try it for themselves yet?
                        ~David~

                        My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                        My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                        Originally posted by ootdega
                        My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                        Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                        But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                        Originally posted by gadget73
                        my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                        Comment


                          #13
                          I believe i may do this when i replace my window channels, I'll let you know how it goes!
                          -Phil

                          sigpic

                          +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

                          +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Sweet! They definitely make the car look a hell of a lot better, not to mention them actually wiping dew and holding the glass firm. It is just a little thing that often gets overlooked when it really shouldnt.
                            ~David~

                            My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                            My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                            Originally posted by ootdega
                            My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                            Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                            But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                            Originally posted by gadget73
                            my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                            Comment


                              #15
                              About the mirror thing, you can also loosen the screw at the middle of the mirror to pivot the mirror housing part, which is the piece that gets in the way of the dew wipe trim removal. Be sure to have a good grip on this screw as well. This one will strip like the others as Dave mentioned.

                              Comment

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