windshield removal and replacement advice please

[gaboonviper85]

so my windshield leaks water and I have some rust under the trim....I want to pull the glass without breaking it then take a grinder with a wire wheel and peel the rust.......then put some rustolium paint down and put the glass back in.......has anybody personally removed there supra glass and if so what was involved and whatever other info you can share would be appreciated....I ask only people who have done this personally to reply please.

 

[gsmokez]

lol I hate when no one replies to my threads but I have a question for you. Are you talking about the trim thats at the bottom of the windshield because I'm pretty sure it can be taken off without removing the windshield. Maybe I'm wrong but I had a look at mine and it seems to be just a couple of screws IF we're talking about the same trim here.

 

[adampecush]

I have removed the glass. Good luck getting it off without breaking/cracking it though. My recommendation would be to have a windshield place remove the glass, then do your rust removal, and finally have a windshield place re-install the glass. Glass is a structural member of your car, and improper installation can have some pretty nasty consequences in a rollover.

For what its worth, if you want to attempt removal of the glass yourself, get some high-strength wire (piano wire, monofilament guitar string) and work it between the windshield and frame....You will likely break the glass no matter how careful you are though.

 

[gaboonviper85]

darn...that sucks....my glass is still perfect I'd hate to ruin it!

 

[adampecush]

have it done by a glass place. Then they are liable if the glass breaks.

 

[KeithH]

You're gonna be hard pressed to find a glass place that will be willing to take on this risk. From what I've heard 9 times out of 10 the glass will be broken.

Do yourself a favor. Odds are your glass is pretty old anyway and has lots of pits from driving fast and $#!T hitting the glass all of the time. Pony up for the replacement glass and make the fix while the repair is being done.

 

[gaboonviper85]

that looks like what I have to do then....unless they just tell me they can't guarantee the glass not breaking.

 

[tsuper92]

have it done by a glass place. Then they are liable if the glass breaks.

no glass shops around will give you a new piece if the old one break's.my company charges $70-100 for an R & R at body shop's.if the piece break's they get a supplement to pay for a new one.
it does take a skilled tech to pull a sheild with out breaking it.a laminated piece isn't as strong as the tempered piece's,so the correct tool's are required.today's urethane's are very strong and would take a long time with any kind of wire.
if you also plan on using anything other then an etch primer,your problem's will come back.even if your good with your hand's ,it take's alot of practice to do a satisfactory job.i've re-done some really bad install's from actuall people who do it for a living.

 

[HommerSimpson]

so how much is a new windshield? I was going to replace mine one day soon

 

[Wayne G.]

The tool used is a "L" shaped blade with a handle at the top and a another
handle connected towards the bottom of the L with a T handle to pull it along. It is worked under the glass and pulled along the entire edge of the glass till it is cut free. Had my windshield replaced in my Supra when I lived in Orlando. The guy did it in my driveway in about one hour. He had all the tools for the job and knew what he was doing. Total job was $198 in 2004.

 

[Guyana00]

If you see a paint job in your near future then just wait and do it all together, get the body work done properly as part of the paint job and get the ws replaced same time. If there is rust arouns the windshield like then you might have some other bad rust spots on the car and you may benefit from a paint. Which is why I now say that if you answered no, or hadn't thought about, then go and take a close look and sinepct it and maybe you will find that you want to paint your car. That is, if it fits within your budget at the time.

If it comes down to the fact that you want to act on the rust only in this spot to prevent it from getting worse then what I would do it try to remove it and replace it yourself and see what the job is like. But! have the cash ready and a quote on a price to have a store do it. Basically I'm saying try it for the experience. If you get the windshield back on and you're confident with it and believe you can drive it. Take it and get it inspected. If in the end you fail, then whip out the cash. Gl. let us know how it goes.

-Shankar

 

[Oomomo]

I've done it with a piano wire, really simple if there's someone to you help you,
just take care of protecting the interior

but i have to say i'm impressed of the 9/10 that breaks....i you take your time you just can't break it
also piano wire is incredibly efficient, with the right angle it's light butter

good luck on this!

 

[KMinAF]

Harbor Freight sells the "wire tool" and "L" shaped cutter for about $15.00. When reinstalling make sure that you use urathane not silicone

 

[Wiisass]

Just call Safelite or another glass place and have them to it. They won't guarantee that the window won't break but I don't think anywhere guarantee that the glass won't break. But those guys at least have all the right tools and know what they're doing and will get it done a lot quicker than if you were to try and do it yourself. I've been getting glass removed and replaced a lot recently when doing cages and as long as there was no defect in the glass before they were able to get it out without any problems. But if the windshield had a crack or any imperfection it's a lot more likely to break.

Tim

 

[Guyana00]

I still agree with what everyone is saying, that it should be done professionall if you're not willing to try it confidently. But I've seen it done before and if the glass is in good enough condition you may be able to pull it off. And like I suggested before, if it goes wrong then you can still get it done and not be out much cash. It would be good for the experience.

Part of the reason I'm advocating experimentation is because I had a supra I was parting out, perect winshield, and the one I have now has a crack in it. I wanted to switch the good one over but my brother convinced me I was going to break it.

I'm sure if I had more time I would have done it but then again there were other factors for me. The scrap car had to get scrapped very soon because we needed the space, and also because I didn't have the space to store the good windshield at the time either. I say store because in case I screwed it up I would have no windshield instead of a cracked one so I left it.

Go out on a limb, try it out, I think that between the possible range of experience taken from the procedure versus the cost, it's worth it. I'll arbitrarily use $150 as the replacement cost to help point out what I'm getting at, in case you do not know.

If you try:

-Worse case, you break the windshield/screw up re-installation and pay $150 urethane/tools. You learn something.
-Best case, you install it without a hitch and you do so for a cheap price. Again, you learn.

If you don't try.

- Then you pay $150, but don't reall learn much.

The important thing in both incidences is that the rust gets taken care of properly.

 

[pogoism9]

the problem is, how many glass shops really have to take a windshield out carefully? They are removing and replacing a damaged piece, why train employees to be careful when it really does not matter.

 

[Guyana00]

Take it to one with some experienced older, mature men and tell them your situation and let them know that you want them to be as careful as possible, and understand that it may possibly break. If you take it to them.

Or, you could like....let me live through you and you can try it yourself first

 

[Wiisass]

Guyana, I do agree with you. And taking out windshields with the right tools would not be that hard it would just take some time and patience. But also the amount of time to do it may be worth more than the price you would pay to have someone else do it. I know for myself, it's not worth it for me to wrestle with a windshield for an hour or two, trying to carefully get it out without breaking. So it's definitely worth it for me to pay someone.

Pogoism, I don't think you're logic works that well. The employees are not trained to remove the glass with a brick, so they do know how to cleanly remove a piece of glass. And when removing glass if they get it out in one piece, then it's an easier job for them. They don't have to clean up any pieces of glass or anything after they're done so it makes the job go quicker. And since they have the correct tools for the job and the knowledge, it's not that much more work to get the glass out without breaking it into tiny pieces.

Tim

 

[gaboonviper85]

so are yall telling me that if I break the glass that I only m looking at around $200 for a new glass and install? Or is it $200 for install plus the cost of a new glass?

Yes I am looking to get a paint job in the future but that could be a few years. I want to stop this rust while its exposed and not sunken into the body....this is the only rust on the car so I need to bang that out before it spreads.

 

[Wiisass]

If you go to Safelite.com you can get a quote for replacing your windshield. I just got a quote on there for 237.95 for windshield replacement including labor, but not including tax. To just pull and replace a windshield, they usually charge me around $100, but that's using the same glass they took out. It also might be cheaper than 237 if you try and take out the glass yourself and it's broken, but I can't say for sure. It will probably depend on how everything is when you pull it and if where the new glass is going is cleaned up well.