Jim,
While a tight fit, it is possible to do this at home with a friend,
quite a bit of patience and a bit of luck. I know because I did it!
Having said that, I put in a used one last year and when I replaced it
with a new one this past fall I had it installed by the local glass
company. They broke the old glass getting it out but not the new glass
putting it in. And the installer worked alone. On another note, I had
to pay only a $100 for the new windshield since my insurance company
paid for it under a glass coverage claim. I was honest and told them
that the windshield was difficult to see through due to many very small
pits from many small rocks over many years. The woman I spoke to
thought I should replace it and authorized the repair. My insurance
company is State Farm and I have normal coverage.
Aaron
Aaron Cropley
71 TR6 (Throttle Body Injection!)
http://www.triumphowners.com/108
Topsham, Maine
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Jones <jimjcmo@yahoo.com>
To: 6pack@autox.team.net
Sent: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 15:10:01 -0800 (PST)
Subject: windshield adventures
Friends:
I thought I'd share this experience I had trying to reinstall my
windshield. I
had the rope in place in the rubber gasket and lubed it with liquid
dish
detergent. No matter how we finessed the positioning ,or how hard my
assistants
pressed on the glass while I tugged the rope, the glass would NOT go
in. I
distinctly remember She Who Must Be Obeyed, who was watching our
thumb-fisted
efforts saying, "If you're not careful, you're gonna break the glass!"
Now if
you're like me, that's not necessarily what you want to hear from
someone who's
had more than a few unkind words about "that damned car". But something
inside
me said, "She could be right!" Rats. I hate it when she's right.
After several more tries I hoisted the white flag and called an auto
glass
shop to come install it. And I'd cut my thumb on the windshield frame
flange.
They came to install it today while I was at work. Well they must have
had a
struggle, too, because the glass shattered while they were trying to
put it in!
That's the bad news. The good news is that their installer's insurance
will buy
a new windshield for me! And it won't have any pits or scratches like
my old
glass had. Now how 'bout that? I know if I'd kept fighting that glass
on my own
I would've broken it, too, but I don't have installers insurance.
The moral of the story, at least for a knothead like me, is that
there are
some jobs were you'll come out ahead by hiring a professional! I hope
my
experience saves somebody some $$ and aggravation. There's more than
enough of
that as it is with these little cars.
The only downside is that I now have to endure the aura of smug
superiority
emanating from She Who Must, who knows she was Right. It'll pass in a
few weeks,
I reckon.
Jim
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