windshield

[catamount bus stop]

OK heres the good and the bad. First the good. My 73 bay Riviera project is going pretty well until yesterday that is. Typical rust at the bottom of the windshield required removing the glass to repair. Went well looks good. Ordered a new rubber and went to put the glass back in.. You can guess the rest. Two of us couldnt get the seal over the windshield. tried heating it in water, heat gun, soap and managed to crack the glass. The sad part is we had it on once, Backward! Has anyone done one of these? Whats the secret?

[Deltfather]

I've never done it myself, but from what I've heard, the trick is putting a piece of string or wire in the groove and then once everything is in place you pull it out around the window. This will pop out the inner (or outer) lip around the window. I'm sure a quick search will get you a much better description.
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[Deltfather]

Try this thread:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=272581&highlight=windshield+string

Here is a much better description of what I was trying to say:

[busdaddy]

I think they are having trouble getting the seal onto the windshield, the only advice is keep trying, sometimes bending it back on itself opens the groove as you work along the glass, sometimes a putty knife or popsicle stick helps, either way your fingers will never be the same again
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[glen thompson]

Helping hands , I was able to all my glass by my self , It can be done .
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[Jalabert]

I did all mine myself - you just need a good strong cord. Top tip is to get one of the nozzles off something like a tube of bathroom sillicone, thread the cord through that and use that to introduce the cord into the groove in the seal - your fingers will thank you.

I used sillicone lube spray on the body and seal - nothing on the glass. Rubber mallet to help it seat, something like a bradawl to make sure the seal's sitting right - lube that, too...

[BellePlaine]

Make sure that you get the seal "centered" on the window. For my first attempt my seal was slightly off center and the window wouldn't go in all of the way at the last couple of mms. Then I brought out the rubber mallet... and did this!

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[Blaubus]

the glass cracked because there were two people handling the glass at once. always do this part by yourself.

use a helper only to install the glass into the bus. even then, it must be coordinated, and have the helper push from the outside only when necessary. the palm of ones hand has as much weight as a mallet, but spreads the force out more evenly. but really, if force of this type is necessary then it's too tight and needs to be ground a bit or re-centered.

windshields must be fitted to the bus evenly to avoid cracking the glass. as you pull the cord, dont start at the overlap and pull only the righthand cord until you get all the way around. pull both cords, left and right at an even rate- both cords arriving at each corner at roughly the same time. i pull the right cord for a foot, then the left cord for a foot, etc. if you get to a point where the it becomes hard to pull the cord, dont force it, or it will tear the rubber lip. instead, lube it more, push the glass outward gently and/or even work the lip over with a dull screwdriver until it gets easier to pull the cord.

be sure your soapy water is a strong solution, so that it feels real slippery to the fingers. use it in the string groove, on the outside of the seal and on the windshield frame. do the procedure in the shade so that the lube doesnt dry out as you install. if you use glass cleaner, then protect the dash plastic, as it does not like that chemical. ask me how i know...

[skills@eurocarsplus]

for what its worth, what size rope/cord are you using? i was going to use the wolfsbug west reccomended 1/4 inch cord, but thought it was too fat, so wound up using 3/16 and it still was hard as hell. i probably could have gotten away with 1/8 and been sitting pretty

[borninabus]

take it to a glass shop and let them worry about breaking the glass. i broke one, an OG sigla replacement and watched the glass shop break a pilkington trying to intall it. then they started grinding the glass to fit. they attempted to install it twice and got it on the third try--after grinding the upper corners. the best part is they made a template of the "perfect fit" so now i have it when it's time to do it again.

some things--like installing a a four foot long curved windshield--are best left to professionals.
would you attempt to turn your own brake drums?

has your bus ever been hit in the front?
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