quarter glass

[Bob Barker]

Not if it's not in there anymore!

[Junster]

They make diamond grit bits for drilling holes in glass. I've seen them at Lowes and Home Depot. FYI, Long as I'm posting the trick to drill plastic is to run a regular drill bit in reverse.

[Bob Barker]

Thanks for the tip on the plastic.

Work is being audited by customers so I've had no free time to even take a deep breath, but soon it will be over and everyone will get a long weekend, hopefully.

[Bob Barker]

Well I really dropped the ball on this one

I was looking in the rear window at work tonight and noticed a couple of snaps, almost like the christmas tree push pins that hold most of the plastic in place. There are two of them at oposite corners of the glass and from peering through the space between the plastic and glass it looks like it will just pop right out! I'm going to have to pull the plastic all the way out and look real close, but it may be easier than I thought. Depending on how the seal is attached, if it's glued or just pressed into the body to seal. Hopefully I'm not too lazy tomorrow and actually get the rear plastic out.

[tom4bren]

I've removed that glass before. It was a Royal PITA.

It's not complicated, it's just that the adhesive musta been designed for the space shuttle or sump'n ... that stuff is strong.

Firstest - have some decent razor blades on hand. I couldn't seem to hold the blade at the right angle with a box cutter handle so I ended up just using the blade by itself (Walmart usta sell a folding box cutter made by Gerber that might work - very slim cross section). It doesn't matter how careful you are, you'll still end up knicking the paint in areas that is hidded by the glass so get some touch up paint to have on hand to prevent rust after re-assembling.

Secondest - you can pick up a glass removal tool from Harbor Freight that you may find useful. I used it a little bit but found it too awkward to be effective.

Thirdly - have a helper & some wedges. As you cut around the glass, you'll need someone to pull the glass gently from the outside so you can concentrate on cutting that %^#^ sealant.

Limber up before you get started. You'll be in some awkward postitions for extended periods whilst getting this done (my left leg was so sore the next day that I could barely walk). You may want to remove the seat as well to give yourself more room to work.

You could go to the boneyard and look for an old Amigo with a sunroof. The set up for that included the hinges for tilt opening and could also be completely removed.

[twostep1n2]

Sounds like a cool idea but drilling holes in a car window can't be done. The glass is tempered (safety Glass) which means even if you use a diamond bit as soon as you turned on the drill the glass would shatter in to the little ice cubes you see at car accident sites. To put a hole in glass you have to drill it first then temper it. Once it's tempered as soon as you break the surface it shatters. Maybe gluing the hinge on like a rear view mirror might work.

[circmand]

Sounds like a cool idea but drilling holes in a car window can't be done. The glass is tempered (safety Glass) which means even if you use a diamond bit as soon as you turned on the drill the glass would shatter in to the little ice cubes you see at car accident sites. To put a hole in glass you have to drill it first then temper it. Once it's tempered as soon as you break the surface it shatters. Maybe gluing the hinge on like a rear view mirror might work.

I know just the windshield used to be tempered. I was not aware they changed it.

[rsteinmetz70112]

I know just the windshield used to be tempered. I was not aware they changed it.

If it's tempered it will have a permanent label indicating it's tempered.

[twostep1n2]

All car windows are now tempered except the windshield it's laminated. Two layers of non tempered glass with a plasic film in the middle that will stop things from commig all the way through it.

[Bob Barker]

That's a lotta good info! There seems to be two little snaps already glued to the inside of the glass, and if those look good enough I may use that spot to glue in a threaded something that will reach through the interior body metal and a washer/wingnut on the inside. I haven't taken the plastib out today because the back of the truck is filled with rims for my car, so maybe tomorrow... or maybe tonight at work!

[IRONVIKING]

Any updates or pics for this thread? Im interested in doing the same.

[VXorado]

Any updates or pics for this thread? Im interested in doing the same.

Here you go.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=22272