beachpitcrew

leaving the rear door windows open while rolling can also suck carbon monoxide into the vehicle. My best suggestion if you want the original windows that open is to go to a wrecking yard and obtain the door assemblies. ask them if they would give you a credit for your old doors. another option would be camper style roof vents

dankellyweir

People - The man asked if anyone has done it and is it easy to do? I have the same question. I need it for ventilation while sleeping not driving. Don't need a lecture about air flow characteristics. Just need to know if junk yard pop-outs install easily into a 20012 cargo van that currently has fixed mount. Also, does anyone know what production year range kept the exact same window size?

William Kisselstein

RV pop up roof vent is about $40 online. Avoid RecPro though, they sent me one with no hardware and can't quite grasp the problem.

On the Express vans the problem with the switch is removing the fixed window. They're like glued in, and are safety glass so if they break it's a mess. They do apparently come off, I've seen where they look to have fallen out intact, but I'm not sure what breaks the glue free.

The factory brackets for pop-outs, at least on my 2002, are plastic junk, they're all broken, they function, but once open are loose and let the window open as wide as the hinge will go.

I presume if you get the pop-outs and the hardware in a junkyard you can just drill your doors as needed and screw them in place. However if you can find used doors in the same color it may be easier to change the whole door.

Now the older G-van is a lot easier, the window is held in with a gasket and comes out with conventional means, then you do just drill your holes and mount the pop-outs.

dankellyweir

Thanks.
I don't see any obvious hinge mounting holes or dimples where they would be located in my cargo doors - that is what has me concerned. I did see a Utube video where a guy spent 20 minutes removing the fixed window with razor blades and a hacksaw blade. A friend who worked at a junk yard said he used a very small diameter cable to "saw" through the urethane clue around the perimeter of the fixed window.
I can not imagine GM using different door blanks for fixed/opening windows so I bet it's just an issue of noting where the holes are in the passenger van, lining up the hardware in the cargo van and using self-tapping screws or pre-drilling.

Trackvw

I did it when I cracked the original stationary window ,
there are no holes drilled for the hinges or the bottom latch , you need to drill them
and yes getting the old rubber out was a pain , I think a heated knife or soldering gun with a knife tip would help ,
I just used a box cutter and did a little at a time - no fun !

I used the seal off the junk van that I got the popouts from ,

hope that helps

William Kisselstein

Harbor Freight sells a windshield removal kit with a cable and the handles.

Around here a door is $50-ish at a you pull yard, was it me I'd just buy a pair with the windows in them and swap over. Maybe you get lucky and hit one with power locks, you could wire up to a dash button and remote lock/unlock the rear door too (don't bother trying to pull the entire harness for that, it won't come out, I tried one once)