Who has done this themselves before? I've watched it done a few times but didn't pay close attention thinking I'll never be doing that. Now I'm gonna give it a shot.

I bought two tools just in case. The one I think will work best is like a knife with a bent blade to slip under the windshield and cut the urathane. You pull it with a T handle on the end of a short cable. The other tool is stainless wire that has a handle on each end. One person in the car and one outside.


Where is the best place to start or does it matter?

What is the best way to start the hole thru the urathane?

How big of a bead of urathane is required to seal the new glass?

Any other tricks/tips?

 

I poked the wire through with a small flat head screwdriver. Keep the wire at about a 45* angle and use a sawing motion.
Don't pull to hard. You will need a pretty fat bead of sealer.
I started at the driver bottom corner and went accross the bottom first. I had never done it before but found it was not difficult.

 

The easiest starting point is in the center bottom of the windshield. Most glass installers leave a 2-4 inch gap where no urathane is used to make it easier to start the cutting tools. If you want to return the tool without using it (if you're a cheap bastard like me), get a length of thin steel wire and poke it through in the center bottom area I mentioned, and use the sawing motion NoItsNotForSale mentioned.

I did this just the other day when I had my glass replaced (insurance claim after hitting a retread from a semi). Since I removed the glass myself and ordered replacement glass through the local glass store, the replacement only cost me $220 for the new glass and new urathane instead of $500+ for them to come and do the whole thing themselves. Helped me pocket about $180 of the insurance check even after paying my deductable...

 

I just had mine done by the pros at Klien Dickert. Cost me $249 for new glass, sealer and it has a lifetime warrenty for leaks, and they vaccumed the inside of the car while it was drying. And its the good factory replacement glass with the top tinted, not that thing crap some places use.

The best part about the whole thing was the guy that did it seemed to be a car guy and was very carefull and explained what he was doing. This was the first thing I have taken the car to a shop for in a long long time and I was glad I didnt tackel it myself.

 

I was thinking that would be the last place I'd want to start because of the glass sliding down into my fingers. Now I learn it's the best place. Kewl!!!

The wire saw motion is liked better than the hook with the pull cord? Weird. I've seen pros do urathane and use the first tool. Thought all of em started on one of the sides.

 

I had a shop come out and repair mine at my house. It took them about 30 min. and they had a "spoon" type of tool and a steel wire deal.

After they finished they told me to let it sit for at least 6 hours, no driving no slamming doors or anything. He said the pressure wave created when closing the door could bump the window out of place and cause a leak.

Like someone else mentioned, this was the 1st time in a long time I had someone else do a repair on my car and I'm glad that I did. I could see it being a serious PITA if you didn't do it right and something went wrong.

Oh and if you do do it yourself you MUST have 2 guys, one for each side of the window to lower it in. Good luck!!

 

The glass won't move if you start in the middle, go half way up on one side, then go start the other side, then you can finish either side without having your fingers in questionable positions.

The saw motion isn't the best way, it's just the cheaper way since you don't need the special tool. I was just saying that if you're a cheap bastard like me, you could return an unused tool, LOL!

Not true. It is MUCH easier with two people, but it can be done with one person and a suction handle.

 

my dad is in the automotive business and he got me a great deal. new driver window and a new windshield with tint on top for 120 installed at my house.

 

I paid $62.50 to have a glass shop come out and pull the windshield out of my Firebird before I had it painted. After I got it back from paint, it was another $62.50 to have it reinstalled. I also bought a new GM molding for him to use instead of trying to save the old one.

Not super-cheap, but I've tried to pull a windshield before (and failed) so I thought it would be better to have a pro do it.

 

I paid 130 for my 90 bird for them to come out and do it. It was one guy and he had it done in like 20 mins.

 

windsheilds are super easy and i don't see how anyone wouldn't be able to do one

my first time i simply bent an old pocket knife with a cheapo blade (had to be pretty cheap if it would bend without breaking right) and went around it real quick

popped it out

new urethane on

popped new one in

spent a couple minutes making sure it was aligned perfect and PRESTO

only took me a half hour and i started the whole project with no clue as to where to start

 

I know i am bringing this back from the dead, but HOLY CHRIST, who the hell quoted you at $500 to replace a windshield? A1 Glass (or maybe its autoglass specialists) Quoted me at $220 for them to drive 60 miles (round trip) to replace my glass... and THAT was too freaking high for me.... And i live like 3 1/2 hours from u

 

Just put a new windshield in my Blazer. It had already been replaced and the sealer was some really tough stuff. The wire would barely cut it. Wound up using a propane torch and a thin putty knife. Took a couple hours to get it out an it sure wasn't pretty when done. I resealed it with a butyl rubber sealer from NAPA. Not a job that I'd want to do again but $115 versus $250 for the glass shop to supply/install sounded better to me.

 

Shouldn't use butul tape for windshields. It depends on the urathane sealer to make a very strong bond thus making the body stronger. My 85 was done with butul insead of how it should have been done. The windshield shifted. This was after I got a windshield guy to re do it because it shifted before. I insisted on urathane and he agreed. The scammer put butul back.

I still haven't done the windshield that prompted me to start this thread but I am about to.

 

don't you guys have insurance on your cars?? I didn't pay a dime to have mine done. I had a "scratch", (could be a chip). Use the keyword "line of sight". the glass company came and pulled my old one. I fixed/painted the frame. A few weeks later they came and put in a new one. The glass company picked up the deductible. That's the easiest way to do it.

 

I have a $500 deduct. on comp claims. No glass shop is gonna absorb that when the whole job costs less.

 

Ive done glass for over 10 years..and I dont want to be rude, but everyone that said they did their own needed to pay someone. First, glass installers Never! leave a space at the bottom with no urethane..can you imagine the wind noise that would create?..not to mention all the water that would come in. The only shields I could take out with a pocket knife were the ones that werent put in right in the first place.

Couple safety issues to think about, Butyl will never stick to urethane! Butyl by itself is good up to about 15-30 psi in a crash while urethane is good to 1000 psi. Primer is everything!..need primer on the windshield or the urethane will peel away from the glass (primerless to glass urethane doesnt work worth **** either). Urethane application - short cut method is for the hacks!urethane needs to be trimmed all the way down to the pinchweld (w/o breaking the paint) enough urethane needs to be laid down to give atleast a 1/2 inch contact.

Fit N Finish - The GM factory molding bites! you can get a better result and know one can tell the difference with a "wrap around" molding. the wrap around hold the W/S at the proper height and is less messy.

If anyone has any questions...throw them out..and I hope I helped a little.

Drew

 

im not going to guarantee this but i heard that pb blaster will work very well on urethane
spray it on let it sit over night and the windshield pratically falls out
not personally gonna try this but somebaody else might, Ill pay the pros

 

I can't see anything as mild as PB Blaster having any effect on urathane. Perhaps lubes the wire better the next day.

The butul guy poured desel all over mine before he took it out.

 

Using anything but water will contaminate the surface and may pose a problem with bonding...looking for headaches trying to short cut it...suck up the $175 and pay someone

Drew

 

just to make sure no one thinks im an idiot i did say somoebody told me the pb blaster would work and that i wasnt sure about it and that i would just pay somebody to do it for me

 

Why? Mine is perfect no leaks or wind noise. " Not to be rude ",but like I said before easy job.

 

No different than body repair. Take an insurance job to a shop and it's $4000 for a front corner, do it yourself for 5 - 800 bucks and it looks as good, if you have the time and resources to do it. Glass shops have quite a bit of overhead, and a crew to pay whether they're doing jobs or not, easy to see the cost factors. But a handy doityourselfer can get the job done just fine, except possibly when a passenger side air bag is present.