So my hatch glass was completely shattered, and i just got a replacement hatch from another car. I was cleaning up my metal hatch area and removing all the left over glass. the black rubbery tacky tar stuff is a bitch to get off. Is it going to give me a problem getting it apart from the new hatch without breaking it? And is there a name for the seal stuff so i can get more of it?

has anyone replaced their own hatch glass before and reused their deck lid?

 

Yes it's a mess to clean up. There's a tech article on hatch alignment on here. It's the same thing you will have to do. The two are sealed from GM with butyl in the middle and urethane on the ends. The urethane is the tougher one. If you need the glass and hatch seperated then you may want to take it to a glass co. They can cut them apart quickly with the right equipment but if you want to do it yourself you can buy wire to saw the two apart. Most of these hatches are 20 years old now so the urethane has pretty much released over time so they may come apart easily. Be sure to use urethane at least where the factory did as the bolts will not hold the two from sliding apart when you attach the lift supports.

 

i just replaced mine yesterday, the glass i put on was from a camaro and put on a firebird, so i had to swap swap the decklid, if you gently lift on the back of the decklid you can lift it enough to see the tar stuff, slide a hacksaw blade in and cut about 2 inches of it, after you cut into it a little bit, you can lift the decklid from the back end and it'll come right off

 

you do this while the hatch is still on the car right? and just support the glass? whats the best sealant for the job? should a glass shop know what to use?

 

Have you tried using a heat gun to soften the sealant.That should make it easier to seperate the decklid from the glass.

 

i haven't started with my new hatch yet. Just getting the leftover glass off from my broken hatch was a pain. Took me long enough to find the hatch i needed, i dont want to risk breaking the new one. I wont be doing the work til wednesday when i have the time. And a friend to assist me. I'm also going to need to paint the metal trim around the glass. Somebody painted the car blue and the trim with it, should be an easy mask/sand/paint. Is it east to remove/replace the hinge bolts at the top of the glass?

 

can i ask how you busted it?

 

I think the bolts just come off.There may be some sealant on them too, they do come out easy.

 

I bought the car with it broke. The guy tried to cut the trim off and hit the glass. When he closed it. Bam. Went everywhere.

 

the window i removed, the decklid was taken off while still on the car, the glass i put in i did with the rear window on the ground, worked about the same getting it off on both, for the sealant i went to autozone and got windshield sealant, it rained all day here and i had no leaks

 

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=501842_0_0_