1993 SC400
I have obtained replacement glass for my rock-shattered driver's window. Removal was a real MESS. Thank God for my shop-vacuum..
I've found a number of threads on removing the regulator & motor that were a great help in door dis-assembly.

As far as the glass is concerned, it appears the vertical track-guides for the glass need to be removed from the outside of the door after removing the interior nuts & screws on the perimeter of the trim piece and also removal of the outside mirror. My issue is: Does the entire hoop then get pulled and THEN pull out the the vertical tracks, or does the entire thing come out as one piece? Also, does the thin, horizontal decorative chrome piece above the window come off with the trim "hoop" or does it stay on the door? I'm asking because it appears that a previous owner might have tried to seal some stuff in place with black mastic. I'm not sure if the resistance I'm feeling while gently prying on the trip is normal and I don't want to booger up something that I shouldn't be pulling apart. I see how the 3 window guides ride in the vertical track but I don't see how to either get the track out, or the replacement glass in. Before posting, I searched a number of threads here, but could not quite find an answer. Any assistance or pointers to a previous thread on the subject would be a great help.

 

It was a bit of a challenge the first time, to be sure. I think the easiest way is to unbolt the front and rear vertical tracks -- use a #2 phillips bit or they'll strip -- then reach around behind the metal bracket that the regulator rail guides, and unscrew the flat 14mm "bolts" to release the glass from the regulator. At that point, you should be able to wiggle everything free without removing anything else.

 

Thanks t2d2, but I might not have made my problem clear. The original window was shattered and pieces all removed along with regulator. All the vertical track screws are out, including the semi-hidden ones in door (royal PIA). Tracks are loose. I'm trying to remove enough to get the new glass installed. It appears I need to remove the perimeter frame and seals, Yes/No? I'm having problem determining what to gently pull apart and what should stay. I suspect previous owner might have used some mastic to seal some parts together and I don't want to force anything apart causing further damage. The chrome trim piece above rubber frame started to pull out with the perimeter frame, but it looks like it is still firmly attached near the edge of the door. I'm unsure if it should pull it out along with the black rubber window track frame or if it should stay attached to the actual door and only the black rubber parts pull up and out. I didn't want to force it off and cause damage. I'll attach a pic to hopefully clarify the problem I'm having. Essentially, once the tracks are loose, but not yet removed, how do I proceed to install new glass. Did I loosen up too much? I can't determine the next steps.

 

I don't remember having to remove the external trim piece with the chrome strip. (It's easy to break the rear clips if you do.) I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the frame... There's no frame on the glass. It just has the roller posts that go in the two vertical guides which are bolted to the door.

 

For removal, my recollection is I wiggled the glass free from the vertical guides, allowing the guides to drop to the bottom of the door as I pulled the glass out through the inside of the window frame. Installation was the reverse, lowering the glass in from the inside of the frame while lining up the guides from below. If you have a helper, that would makes things much easier. I managed it solo, but it was a bit of a challenge.

 

That certainly helps a bit.
Are you saying that the entire piece I flagged in picture STAYS attached to the door frame and that ONLY the vertical tracks need to come out? If so, then, I assume the guide tracks and new glass slide in together. Yes? No? If so, it looks like a very difficult, tight fit (but then everything is tight inside a car door).

I started to remove the rubber surround pieces (what I called perimeter window frame) because I found a pdf (on another thread here) indicating to do so for a different, but similar repair. My original issue obviously goes away if I don't even need to remove that piece for a glass replacement or swap..

 

Some progress,
I was able to get side tracks out.
Now comes the challenge of re-installing my replacement glass.
Will post back later on my success or failure.
Thanks for help so far.

 

Yes, that entire outer trim piece and all the weatherstripping stays on, as I recall. The vertical tracks are the only thing holding the glass in. I don't think you can slide the glass and tracks in together, but maybe it's possible with extra hands supporting everything.

 

Thought I would post final results.
Got my replacement glass installed.
However, I found that I HAD to remove the exterior trim pieces I was struggling with as noted in my picture. I eventually found that there are 2 tiny, HIDDEN, phillips-head screws holding the piece on. After removing about 6 x 8mm nuts from the inside top of the trim frame, then removing the outside mirror, then removing 2 black plastic plug covers on the inside surface of the door, you can get access to the two hidden screws (one near top, one near the belt-line of the door). My car is dark jade so the black plug covers made them almost invisible. After the small phillips-head screws are out the entire trim-frame can be removed as an assembly. THEN I could finally reinstall the two tracks in place (no screws installed yet) followed by the glass (plus a LOT of swearing to get it to fit). After reconnecting regulator and fully raising glass, I THEN tightened the track screws to make sure I didn't have any glass binding. Last reinstall was the exterior trim I was originally fighting with. T2d2, you are a far better man than I am if you were able to man-handle the glass and tracks back into the door if you didn't remove that exterior window trim assembly above the top and sides of window.. It might be possible, but since glass doesn't bend, I sure can't see how..

In any case, thanks for the assistance. It helped me think through my issues.