So I figured out how to get it out. In case anyone else is trying to figure out how to remove the glass from their rear door, here's a brief, text-only how-to (assuming power windows).
- roll the window all the way down
- remove the rear door inner panel (
www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread....-Panel-Removal&p=871366&viewfull=1#post871366)
- now pull out the gasket/seal that the window rides in...start at the top, then the sides. Once you've got the sides out of the channel as far down as you can, pull the seal up and out of the door. This takes some pulling, but should come out relatively smoothly.
- Next remove the upright bar that separates the main window from the rear triangle window. Behind the plastic sheet straight down inline with the door, you'll see a hex head bolt. Peel back some of the plastic sheet, starting from the rear of the door, and remove that bolt with a 10mm socket. (the black tar is sticky and messy, so be careful with it) At the top of the bar, on the top edge of the door frame, pull back a portion of the outer door seal, and remove the small phillips bolt you see in the channel there. Once both these bolts are out, tilt the top of the bar toward the front of the door, and toward the inside of the car, and pull it up and out of the door gently.
- Once this bar is out, you can remove the main window glass. This step took me some effort, and I don't know the exact maneuvers to describe them. Basically, at the bottom edge of the window is a bracket with a long horizontal slot in it with enlarged holes at each end. The arm that raises and lowers the window is mounted in this slot with a plastic roller with a groove. In order to pull out the glass, you need to get the roller out of the slot at either of the two ends. I found it worked best with the window rolled back up 1/2 way, then "sliding" the bottom of the glass to one side. It's hard to describe, but if you look inside the door as you're doing this, you'll get the idea of what's happening. Once the roller is out of the bracket, you can pull the window up and out of the door. I think pulling it out toward the inside of the door is easier than to the outside. Watch for the bracket on the lower edge. Once you've figured out what's going on inside, you might want to put a piece of cloth on the top edge of the sheet metal to protect the window as you slide it out, especially if it's tinted.
- Now you can slide the rear triangle toward the front of the door and you should be able to slide it up and out of the door also.
To get everything back together follow the steps in reverse. The hardest parts are getting the main window back in and on the roller again, and putting the seals back in. For the seals, I started with the window down all the way. A little bit of something to lubricate the bottom ends of the seal really helps it to slide inside the channels...I used soapy water or Windex, though something that wouldn't encourage rust might be better. Start seating each side of the seal into the first few inches at the bottom edge of the front and back channels (the longer "leg" of the seal goes to the front of the door, and make sure you haven't twisted it). Pinch the seal and start sliding/pushing it down into the door...this is where the lubricant helps a lot! Make sure the window glass gets captured inside it in the right place. Pulling the glass to the edge opposite where you're working helps. You need to get each end down 3-4 inches into the door. Once you've got this done, seat the seal as far up each channel as you can; the top of the seal will be sticking up past the top of the door by a foot or more. Now roll the window up as far as you can without pinching the seal at the top. Now you'll have to get your arm way inside the door to be able to grasp the bottom of the seal ends, especially for the front edge. Just work on one at a time. Reach in and pinch the seal right below the edge of the glass, and either try to pull the seal down, or if it won't go, CAREFULLY roll the window down, letting the window do the pulling while you pinch the seal.
Do this until you have both the front and back pull all the way down so that you can re-seat the top of the seal into the door channel. Make sure you seat the seal all the way down the channels, inside the door too.
That's it. Hope that helps someone out.
