rear window replacement

I removed one just a couple of weeks ago and was successful in doing so. If I were you I´d try myself because the Autoglass guys probably won´t care that much about your extra 100 quid....
Try pulling it off to see how easy it will detach.
Be very careful along the lower edge - there are 3 or 4 locations where the material is much weaker. It will require some force here and there - you will feel it in your fingers afterwards. Take your time.
You will likely have to remove residual black sealant from within the rubber.
Once the rubber is removed you will already be able to see if anything untowards has grown underneath.
Best of luck.
Reinhard

Was rear window delaminating a problem for all 8's ? Do the replacement windows have the correct connections for rear demist / aerial ?

Wildatheart - what will you do, if the removal reveals corrosion/ anything untoward? Send the guy away while you resolve the issue?

Maybe my description was unclear. You can pull the rubber off the screen while it is still installed. No need to wait until Mr. Autoglass destroys it before your very eyes

There is no side effect wrt usability of the car - it just looks different...
Once pulled off you can thoroughly clean the gap and pray that your check for hitherto undetected corrosion remains without frightening result.

In case you see rust bubbles you will find more once the screen is out (near 100% probability).

Fingers X´d
Reinhard

Before the Autoglass animals leave, check the proper operation of the radio aerial and all lines of the demister. If you get an experienced fitter, they probably won't cut through all the cables when they remove the screen, so as long as he/she appears over the age of 16, you may be ok.

Once they have gone, they will blame any electrical faults on the car for evermore.

If I were you, as you are coming down my way soon, let my screen fitters do it for you. They will probably be far cheaper anyway.

8Tech.

What if you cut through the cables? Is it fixable?

The rubber trim surround will have deteriorated and hardened a little after all these years. I have successfully removed these on a few cars without, much effort, but the main problem is the cleaning of the tarry, black goop sealant, which is between the glass and the rubber seal. Incidentally, it is this sealant that doesn not do its job, letting some water in. When moisture reaches the edges of the laminated screen, it starts to corrode the metal, which comes just about to the edge, and then the corrosion progressively works its way along, delaminating the screen as it goes.

The old rubber 'seals' are almost impossible to clean from the old, sticky sealant. A solvent is needed, but this causes the rubber to expand (temporarily) and is VERY messy..

The best way forward, in my opinion, is to fit a new seal and to use a better sealant, perhaps silicone, and preferably to first paint around the edge of the laminated glass with a penetratining sealer such as loctite, or at least with a coat of the black Polyurethane paint which the windscreen fitters usually first apply to the metal.

http://www.loctite.co.uk/cps/r…t-cure-adhesives-4481.htm


Make sure that not too much bonding mastic is applied to the glass, as it should leave a path for any water to run downwards under the rubber trim surround. Also, good to coat the metal around the glass with some waxoyl, after the new glass is fitted and the mastic has cured.

Good luck!

First off - nice set of automobiles.

I just recently purchased a new rear window gasket when replacing the rear window on the alpina B12 I am restoring. You can also get new rear glass from BMW.

Cheers,
Roger

Yes, you should insist - as is within your rights - that Autoglass use OEM, BMW glass and not some generic copy, which in fact they probably won't have for this car anyway.

Zitat von Wildatheart;105020

That's right - they have ordered the glass from BMW.

Make sure they order the correct BMW glass - there are basically two types - one which has the black outline for the 3rd brake light in the middle, and one without.

... three types : also with or without the green tint band at the top !

Zitat von Wildatheart;105032

Indeed - which they call 'wedge' for some reason.

Probably because it's called "keil" (wedge) in German but I've no idea why.

So, tell us some more about that Esprit Turbo you've got, any pictures?
Also one of my favourite cars.
Somewhere 8maybe Pistonheads) I read a build story about someone that put an Audi V8 4.2ltr engine into an old Esprit, it looked very well done and there were some Youtube videos of the end result, it was a seriously quick car.

Zitat von Argonaut;105034

...tell us some more about that Esprit Turbo..

I was prepared to second that for a while, good that someone asked eventually

WRT wedge - maybe because it is wedged in between the clear glass and the roof. An explanation like that´d make sense for me as a German

Reinhard