Junkyard windshield

[Rocket Man]

I used to do auto glass for a living. No way in hell would I go through the effort to put in a used windshield but if you wanna do it, that’s cool. Should be the same windshield in all the NBS so there should be plenty available. FYI windshields in the US are laminated glass- 3/32” layers of glass and an .030 “ iirc plastic inner layer. The individual outer layers break extremely easily if their edge is barely nicked so you’ll want to be super careful. Don’t use that removal tool, it will def break every windshield. If they were tempered like in Europe I would say it’s pretty feasible. But I’ve never heard of a used one being R&R’d in the US since they started using urethane to glue them in. In the 60’s-70’s (and before )they were installed in either butyl or rubber gaskets- fairly easily removable. They are now designed to be a structural part of your truck ( thus the urethane) so be sure to research how to glue it back in properly or your roof and A pillar will crush in a rollover. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[Mean_Green]

Everything else you've mentioned is in the DIY field and many here have done some or all of those tasks. That's why they know how to help others.

Glass is just a completely different world. Trying to pull old glass that's been sitting in a junkyard under hot sun possibly for years where the sealant may be hardened to something more akin to plastic is going to be a difficult process. Then handling and moving it. Windshields are not lightweight and without special glass handling tools, it's very unlikely to be done intact.

Again, check with your insurance company to see what they cover. Without Comprehensive they may not, but it will only cost a phone call to find out.

 

[OR VietVet]

I think most of the reason we recommended not doing it is that, except for @Rocket Man, we have not even attempted. Glass breaks and goes everywhere and makes blood. If it was super expensive, I might even try it but only if the rubber seal was used. The urethane seal is a whole other animal and I have seen it done. By all means, go for it. Even if you break it and wish you had not attempted, it is a learning experience. Good luck.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

Thanks everybody... Really appreciate the conversation and help

I'm going to give away what I'd never do again haha...

1. Changing tires w/ tire iron. I cracked a rim. Might be feasible with a commuter car, however, no way with aluminium rims and 10 ply / load E tires. Then I tried a Sawzall to bust the bead. Extremely hard but got it done! If I had more space, I'd buy a used tire machine like the shop has.
2. Headliner, dang-it, I saved $10 over what shop quoted me and can see hand marks ALL my DIY job I think shop buys glue in bulk so is much cheaper than rattle cans for them to do job.

Maybe someday I add windshield but really want to fiddle with this. In the least I hope to remove mine, and do the prep work behind the glass / priming and sealing the paint. I did a paint job and that's one area I was unable to touch up. Want to make sure it doesn't rust in future!

 

[Mean_Green]

You've probably got nothing to lose by taking the old one out if you don't need to drive the vehicle. Then you'll see more about what's involved and can make a decision on how to proceed.

If it works out, you can be here to tell the next guy what to expect.

 

[Doubeleive]

You've probably got nothing to lose by taking the old one out if you don't need to drive the vehicle. Then you'll see more about what's involved and can make a decision on how to proceed.

If it works out, you can be here to tell the next guy what to expect.

yep, learned a lot in the junk yard experimenting on stuff that didn't matter if I broke it in the process unless it was some hard to find part and really needed to be careful, plus getting parts off of something that is already halfway torn apart makes a difference often

 

[mattbta]

Thanks everybody... Really appreciate the conversation and help

I'm going to give away what I'd never do again haha...

3. Injector cleaning/servicing

 

[Rocket Man]

A couple notes.

1. The upper plastic trim piece at the top. The sides both come off with screws, but the top one is pressed in while the urethane is still liquid and then it cures. I don’t think it’s possible to reuse so I’d look into buying that part. New windshields come with them.

2. Urethane. I’m not sure how familiar you are with it. It’s liquid rubber that is applied from a caulking gun that cures into hard rubber. You’re going to want to cut it (split the bond ) where it meets the glass as opposed to cutting anywhere in the middle because you will not get anywhere trying to cut in the middle. That’s like trying to cut through a tire. That’s why you’ll need something like a wire. Getting that wire through the urethane in the first place will be hard, and you’ll want it tight to the glass so you can start your cut there.

3. Be super careful with chips on the inside edge of the glass, where the wire or cutout tool touches the glass edge. If you chip it, it will probably crack when you press down on the edge from the outside if it doesn’t crack immediately. I would sand ( seam) the edge with a belt sander/ w 220 grit until the chips aren’t visible. Sand at a 45* angle to the surface so you’re beveling the edge slightly. Dont get too crazy, just a few passes back and forth.

That’s about all I can think of right now that might cause a failure. Well, that and leaking once it’s in but I feel you’ll figure out how to get a good seal.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

@Rocket Man does the GMT800 chassis have some sort of alignment marks or pins so the windshield will go on straight? I think I get only one attempt to "squish" the new bead of urethane when I'm installing the windshield.

 

[Doubeleive]

I think the hardest part is going to be getting the wire fed thru somewhere, I couldn't get it thru, but once you get that far it can be sawed out with the wire I have seen that done with 2 people doing it.

 

[Rocket Man]

@Rocket Man does the GMT800 chassis have some sort of alignment marks or pins so the windshield will go on straight? I think I get only one attempt to "squish" the new bead of urethane when I'm installing the windshield.

I haven’t done a windshield in many years, never done a GMT800. But on others I’ve never seen any alignment marks. There should be a pair of blocks at the bottom for it to set on so up-and-down is set so you just need to eyeball the side-to-side. You’ll be able to move it after setting it in the urethane. It takes awhile to cure. The urethane is 3/8-1/2” thick and I always left the old material in place and just laid a bead of the new on top of the old. If you remove it all the way to the pinch weld it’s more difficult to get the thickness correct and can be messy. You don’t want to get liquid urethane everywhere and to try and lay that thick bead isn’t a good idea. So try not to damage the original when cutting the windshield out.

 

[Larryjb]

Why would I have recommended not doing the glass yourself? A glass company accidently mounted my windshield on a Buick incorrectly. They were very good about fixing it though. They removed the windshield and reset it correctly. However, they said there is a real risk of shattering the glass as it is removed. I could see myself grunting away trying to remove a junkyard glass only to shatter it just as it comes free. When I saw how they grunted and groaned to remove the glass so it could be reset, and that was with two people, I wouldn't want to do it.

That said, I'm sure there are people would would have told me don't do my rear main seal myself.

It is your choice, and sometimes financial situations dictate what is possible as well.

 

[NoReverseYukon]

First, your lucky that the junkyard you go to is letting you remove the windshield yourself. Mine wouldn't because they know most people will break them in trying to do so. But they removed 2 ( 1 for my Dakota also ) for $70 each.

I also intended to try replacing these myself - think i even started a thread - and received the same feedback you are getting. I went so far as to buy all the stuff I thought I would need.
This is the YT video which shows what steps you should take.
It is also the video that made me change my mind.

I found a reputable shop that would install used windshields ( as opposed to me buying 2 new ones from them ). They charged me $150 each.

Could I have done this myself ? Probably. Would I have it not leak after the urethane cured ? Who knows. But with my luck it likely would have leaked. Then I would either have to do it again - gaining that much more experience - or take it to the shop to fix my screw-up.

Good luck

 

[Rocket Man]

First, your lucky that the junkyard you go to is letting you remove the windshield yourself. Mine wouldn't because they know most people will break them in trying to do so. But they removed 2 ( 1 for my Dakota also ) for $70 each.

I also intended to try replacing these myself - think i even started a thread - and received the same feedback you are getting. I went so far as to buy all the stuff I thought I would need.
This is the YT video which shows what steps you should take.
It is also the video that made me change my mind.

I found a reputable shop that would install used windshields ( as opposed to me buying 2 new ones from them ). They charged me $150 each.

Could I have done this myself ? Probably. Would I have it not leak after the urethane cured ? Who knows. But with my luck it likely would have leaked. Then I would either have to do it again - gaining that much more experience - or take it to the shop to fix my screw-up.

Good luck

Yessir, urethane set windshields are no joke. There’s a cool tool that uses a piano wire and cordless drill to remove them but iirc that tool is about $500 which would be worth it if you were doing it for a living. FWIW I had a new windshield installed in my 08 Silverado in my driveway at home for $200 about 3 years ago, by a small shop. Safelite wanted $350. I’m sure it’s more now but probably still not that much. I feel most of what you’ll find at a junkyard for this old a vehicle will be pitted from all the mileage on them. If you call the small shops you’ll get a better deal. There’s a huge markup on windshields due to insurance companies paying for most of them so a lot of shops will waive the deductible if you have coverage because they make bank on insurance jobs.

 

[George B]

I think the hardest part is going to be getting the wire fed thru somewhere, I couldn't get it thru, but once you get that far it can be sawed out with the wire I have seen that done with 2 people doing it.

Years ago we would pull glass from wrecks in a yard I worked at. We drilled a hole through the urethane and sawed them out with two people. The tool was useless. We installed using a roll of urethane but I don’t know if thats available now.

 

[adventurenali92]

Yessir, urethane set windshields are no joke. There’s a cool tool that uses a piano wire and cordless drill to remove them but iirc that tool is about $500 which would be worth it if you were doing it for a living. FWIW I had a new windshield installed in my 08 Silverado in my driveway at home for $200 about 3 years ago, by a small shop. Safelite wanted $350. I’m sure it’s more now but probably still not that much. I feel most of what you’ll find at a junkyard for this old a vehicle will be pitted from all the mileage on them. If you call the small shops you’ll get a better deal. There’s a huge markup on windshields due to insurance companies paying for most of them so a lot of shops will waive the deductible if you have coverage because they make bank on insurance jobs.

Interesting thoughts on going with a small time glass company versus Safelight and that you had a better experience going that route.

I had a pretty nasty experience with a small time glass shop when I needed mine done in September of 2021. I actually had a good working relationship with this little time glass shop because they sent a glass tech up at least a few times a month back when the big mechanic shop here in big bear that was owned by my high school auto shop teacher was in full swing and I was detailing for them every week. The tech came up from San Bernardino at the base of the mountain and their shop is right next door to the San Bernardino LKQ pick and pull yard. Mechanic shop owner swore by them and told me not to go anywhere else because no one would do as good of a job as they would. Glass shop finally got a gmt800 windshield in stock, I tried to pay for the windshield over the phone before driving down off the mountain, and he said he couldn’t take payment over the phone and “we don’t offer pre buying glass, it’s first come first served”…. So I said ok I’m on my way I’ll be there in an hour. I get there and he’s literally putting the windshield on a burb…… I was furious and when I politely called him out on the fact that he knew i was making the hour drive down the mountain to give him the business he responded with “well you should have paid for it ahead of time…..” it’s a miracle I didn’t punch him in the face I was so mad. Needless to say when several big bear clients needed glass over the last couple years, and asked if I knew of his business because the clients had been given his contact info I steered them well away from the guy. What a joke that guy was….

 

[Rocket Man]

Interesting thoughts on going with a small time glass company versus Safelight and that you had a better experience going that route.

I had a pretty nasty experience with a small time glass shop when I needed mine done in September of 2021. I actually had a good working relationship with this little time glass shop because they sent a glass tech up at least a few times a month back when the big mechanic shop here in big bear that was owned by my high school auto shop teacher was in full swing and I was detailing for them every week. The tech came up from San Bernardino at the base of the mountain and their shop is right next door to the San Bernardino LKQ pick and pull yard. Mechanic shop owner swore by them and told me not to go anywhere else because no one would do as good of a job as they would. Glass shop finally got a gmt800 windshield in stock, I tried to pay for the windshield over the phone before driving down off the mountain, and he said he couldn’t take payment over the phone and “we don’t offer pre buying glass, it’s first come first served”…. So I said ok I’m on my way I’ll be there in an hour. I get there and he’s literally putting the windshield on a burb…… I was furious and when I politely called him out on the fact that he knew i was making the hour drive down the mountain to give him the business he responded with “well you should have paid for it ahead of time…..” it’s a miracle I didn’t punch him in the face I was so mad. Needless to say when several big bear clients needed glass over the last couple years, and asked if I knew of his business because the clients had been given his contact info I steered them well away from the guy. What a joke that guy was….

I used to work at a few small glass shops that did residential glass and auto glass so not only have I had good luck using them over my long lifetime but I knew quite a few of them. I can confidently say that what happened to you is extremely rare. The small shops rely on word of mouth, there is zero advertising for them versus a big chain like Safelite who have ads on tv and radio constantly so it’s their quality of work as well as price that brings them business and they rely heavily on return customers. Not sure what happened in your case but I’d be willing to bet that that was a fluke otherwise they wouldn’t be in business long. I have been out of the auto glass business for many many years so I asked my friend who owns a body shop who he uses and went with them. They were extremely professional and did the work in my driveway which was super convenient. I could tell they appreciated my business. I’ll use them again when the time comes.

 

[adventurenali92]

I used to work at a few small glass shops that did residential glass and auto glass so not only have I had good luck using them over my long lifetime but I knew quite a few of them. I can confidently say that what happened to you is extremely rare. The small shops rely on word of mouth, there is zero advertising for them versus a big chain like Safelite who have ads on tv and radio constantly so it’s their quality of work as well as price that brings them business and they rely heavily on return customers. Not sure what happened in your case but I’d be willing to bet that that was a fluke otherwise they wouldn’t be in business long. I have been out of the auto glass business for many many years so I asked my friend who owns a body shop who he uses and went with them. They were extremely professional and did the work in my driveway which was super convenient. I could tell they appreciated my business. I’ll use them again when the time comes.

Yeah when you have the connections with those shops and good reputation with them it helps big time. I make a point to make friends with lots of different businesses here in town by doing good detail work so that when I need a service of some kind I can always call up w connection and use it to my advantage lol. Definitely easier when the plumber, the electrician, the HVAC guys, and the eye doctors all love it when I detail their cars immaculately and then when I need stuff done they bend over backwards for me haha.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I talked with a glass guy. He says the shops have a power tool to cut them out which works great... I don't know what the tool is called or what it costs. Maybe I just buy that tool to cut the one out at the junkyard?

 

[mountie]

Every morning I see through my windshield... I can see, there is an even coverage of tiny pitting. I have a tiny rock-caused crack above my steering wheel, but it won't spread. ( I suppose that's a good thing )..... Waiting for a problem so I can contact my insurance company. But until then, I will have to put up with it. A new windshield would be nice.....