Windshield Glass Install

I thought I would save myself a little cash and install an new piece of windshield glass to replace my shattered old one. The auto glass installers wanted about $200 for the glass and installation plus an additional $45 for the gasket. I could get the glass for $65, plus another $25 for the gasket. Here are a few of the things I learned in doing it that I thought I would pass along in case someone else was toying with the idea.

First, when you measure the gasket to cut it, put in on the frame and not the glass, otherwise it will be to short. (Don't ask me how I know )

Use lots of soapy water with a spray bottle.

I found that it was easier to slide the glass around and use putty knives to get the gasket over the glass than using the string method. We had a suction cup on the glass which made moving the glass easier since it was slippery from the soap. Installing the glass only took about 10-15 minutes.


The part I had the most trouble with was adding the locking strip into the gasket groove. The locking strip spreads the gasket and makes everything nice and snug. This pic shows how much it spreads the gasket


You have to feed the locking strip in all the way around. After getting a few blisters wrestling with it, I found a method that worked quite well. I used the soap spray to wet everything down, then used a pair of snap ring pliers in the groove spreading it apart just ahead of the locking strip. This method was 4-5 times faster than trying to do it with putty knives.


Had I discovered the snap ring pliers trick earlier, the whole process would have taken 30-45 minutes. But all in all it wasn't too daunting.

Jim

 

I went through the same thing with mine. I initially tried to do it with the frame off "BIG mistake" Lots of soapy water is your friend.

 

Thanks for sharing Jim.