new windshield from junk yard?

[ddcb7]

Friend of mine said you can buy a kit to take out windshields. And to put it in I just need the black silicone to put it back on? Please give me some tips on removing and installation on windshields. Thanks .

[wherm]

Friend of mine said you can buy a kit to take out windshields. And to put it in I just need the black silicone to put it back on? Please give me some tips on removing and installation on windshields. Thanks .

Windshields are very difficult to remove without breaking them. Windshields are made up of a layer of thin plastic safety glass sandwiched between two thin layers of glass. This being said, you can do it, just gotta be extremely careful and most of all, patient. The most common way is to use two people. One outside and one inside the car. You get a set of glass removal handles that hold a cutting wire. The hardest part is getting starte. You have to be able to cut an opening in the urethane to feed the wire through to get started with the handles. From there on out it's all teamwork. Kinda like two lumberjacks pushing and pulling a saw to cut a log in half. I'm sure you can find videos on youtube of windshield removal.

There's a lot to it if you want to do it right. After the bad windshield is removed from your car, you have to neatly slice the old urethane off of the pinchweld. Anywhere that you gouge the paint you need to apply auto glass pinchweld primer (only on gouged paint, not anywhere else). Pinchweld primer must be shaken for at least two minutes before use, and allowed to dry a minimum of 6-8 minutes. You also need to clean all the old urethane off the replacement used windshield. Glass primer should be applied around the edges that come into contact with the new urethane.

To properly apply the urethane, you wanna prep your tube in the following way:

Cut the tip off so that the opening is approx 1/4"
Cut a triangle about 5/8" long, 1/4" wide at the base, up the side of the nozzle

Holding your caulk gun with the windshield urethane tube in it at a 90 to the pinchweld, and the triangular opening on the trailing side of the tube, begin to apply the new urethane over the top of the freshly trimmed original urethane bead. Continue around the opening, trying not to stop or break the bead. Best to start in the center of the bottom edge, just above the wipers. When you get back to your starting point, over lap it by about 2". Carefully set the windshield in place and apply even pressure around the edges to seat the glass into the urethane being sure that all edges are in contact with the glass and there are no gaps where wind and water can leak in. Reinstall your trim etc. and your good to go after about 1hr.

So, that's how you do it. Now call your local auto glass company and just have them do it for you. Seriously, don't do it yourself. I know exactly how to do glasswork, I have the tools to do it, and I still pay the professionals to do it for me.

[short1]

Yea, better off to just have a glass place do it, and I do EVERYthing myself. I paid $150 for a new one installed. If they bust it installing it's there loss not yours.

short

[H.M.]

I paid $200 just a month ago in So Cal.
Well worth the cost. One of the few car repairs I don't even want to learn how to do.

[benjerman112]

I also paid 220 a mounth or 2 ago for a new onw well worth it.

[Leung]

I paid 75 bucks for a used windshield from a salvage yard. The guys there removed it from the car for me and then i paid another 100 bucks to have it professionally installed.

The only thing that i failed to notice was that the strip at the top was bronze on the old cracked windshield while my "newer" one is blue.

[ddcb7]

Damn. Ya I think ill just buy a new one. Thanks guys. Do the same rules apply for the back window?

[Fleetw00d]

Same rules for rear window. I managed to remove mine in one piece (replacing quarter panels), but I'm going to pay to have it installed. For anyone out there considering replacing a windshield because of wiper scratches, consider a polishing kit from Eastwood (approx $35). With some patience and time, you can remove light scratches (can't be felt with a fingernail). I have saved two front and one rear windshields so far. Even worked to remove light scratches from tail light lenses. Also plan to clean up my headlights.