Front and Rear glass install.

[bimmerboy73]

OK. so i'm going to be installing the glass on the car later today and wanted to get some final words of wisdom before starting. I've read a bunch of the threads documenting the step by step, do's and donts. Have my string to help get the gasket onto the groove in the opening... planning on dropping it in the dryer for a bit to get the rubber nice and soft... but one question i have right off - is the glass supposed to fit INSIDE the rolled groove of the gasket or simply lay against it. It seems as though sliding it within the groove will cause the gasket to be rotated or folded around the glass, making install of the chrome trim pieces awkward. This all might make more sense when the rubber is warmed up and more pliable, but right now, it seems like its going to be a bear to just get the gasket onto the glass and trim installed if the intent is for the glass to seat completely down into the groove.

thanks in advance

 

[daddywad]

Glass install

Hi, Just finished fitting the front and rear screens to my CSL, nightmare doesn't start to describe it.

As soon as I realised how difficult it was I got a professional in to do it.... He found it was outside his abilities too so I had to get in another Company who specialise in older cars and who had previous experience with CS cars.

They were good but still took two and a half hours to do both with the front screen taking most of the time. They had the front screen in and out 7 times until they got the ally trim right. This has to go into the rubber first and has to follow the shape of the screen accurately or it will not go flat when on the car. They didn't use anything to make the rubber pliable and used very little lubricant.

I am very happy with the result but its certainly not a job I would consider trying myself again.

 

[twistinglane]

details from E3 site

I'm thinking the E3 info will carry over to coupe needs -- but I don't really know this... Entertaining too.
Reference:
http://i-vol.com/bmwbavaria/tech.htm#windshield

Windshield Installation: Nightmare avoided.............. .

Alright...A few things that you must know:

* the aluminium window trim cannot be bent and straightened without it looking like crap later;

* You MUST buy a new windshield gasket. They are available new. Using the old one is out of the question;

* Follow these steps and you will not be sorry. Trying to do it any other way and you'll be screwed.

Removal:

1) CUT the old windshield gasket away with a sharp razor, taking care not to scratch paint or window trim. You will really only be able to cut away the part between the windshield trim and the car, but can cut a little of it between the trim and the windshield itself

2) Take tremendous care removing the aluminium trim. Remove the top and sides first. They will typically SLIDE out away from the car. Do not attempt to PULL THEM OUT straight up. Use a lubricant like WD40 or something to loosen them up. You can leave the bottom piece in for removal with the windshield;

3) After you've taken the trim out, you'll be able to cut away most of the old gasket easily, then you can pry the windshield out or from the inside of the car, have TWO people sit in the front seats and push with their stocking feet with some joker standing on the outside, ready to catch the windshield. If you hear a cracking sound, then you haven't cut enough of the old gasket out;

(An aside: while you have the windshield out, you will have easy access to all of the dashboard screws. The only way you can get an E3s dash out is by removing the windshield, so if you're thinking about putting a new one in, this is the time)

Installation:

1) Get two sawhorses or some facsimile thereof;

2) Place windshield face down on the surface;

3) Get new gasket and place in clothes dryer. Turn selector to cottons/high heat and let the gasket get nice and warm. If you are married, put the gasket into a large cloth bag of some sort so you don't get any rubber in the dryer. If you are a bachelor, go to the laundromat on the Marty Roach side of town.

4) After the gasket is nice and pliable, take it out of the dryer . . . put the gasket sealant in the groove of the gasket (where the windshield will go);

5) Put the rubber gasket on the windshield, which (presumably) is still sitting on the sawhorses;

6) At this time, put the windshield trim into the gasket. It is typically six pieces (one bottom, two sides (which also make the top), the center piece (two inches long) and the two bottom corner pieces (also about two inches long). This trim will fit into the gasket and will actually anchor itself behind the glass of the windshield;

7) Use soapy water and soap up the car side of the gasket. Route a thick piece of string (or a thin rope) into the groove of the gasket which will actually fit into the windshield hole of the car;

8) Place the windshield etc., onto the car and while pushing from the outside on the windshield, pull the string from the inside, seating the gasket.

The last part is kind of iffy but that is the standard way to install a windshield. The important part is to remember the trim CAN ONLY go into the gasket while the gasket and windshield is out of the car. There is ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER WAY to install the trim.

Good luck and hire someone else to do it :^)

Bill Gau

 

[bimmerboy73]

twistinglane - many thanks

Saw the E3 write-up beofre. I just dont understand how it is that the glass will ever fit into the groove in the gasket - its oriented in the opposite direction you'd expect.

Didnt bother messing with it today. Will take a look tomorrow

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

There are some things that you should not do yourself even though there are others on the forum who scoff at my lack of ability. For 150.00 you can get a qualified installer to put in both screens. Instead of spending the entire day getting the screens in you could be cleaning up the glass and polishing the chrome-or watching Judge Judy for that matter- If you can't find an installer ask a good body shop for who they use on older /foreign cars. Even the good installers usually take a few attempts if not more before they get it right. Yes, again there are some like sfDon who do it with their eyes closed but for us regular folks who are not afraid of Kryptonite the money is just better spent on an installer.

My 2 cents

 

[bimmerboy73]

I've only found two places willing to consider it and both offer no guarantees that because its not a standard job, the glass wont break during install. I tend to put less faith in 'experts' in general (have had one too many experiences of the pros returning my job in worse shape than when i started) and certainly so when they express such lack of desire and even worse, little guarantee that they'll do the job they should. And although i'll spend whatever it takes to get the car where it needs to be, neither of those places are going to touch the car for $150. As it is, It will take $150 to get it to the shop and another $150 to get it back plus an undetermined cost for the job that according to them will be considerably more than their 'standard' work. So, if i'm faced with a $600 expense that might net me a broken screen, or scratched paint, i'd rather use the knowledge of those who have done it before and give it a go. If i break the glass, i've got $600 in the bank to replace the front and do have a spare rear screen in the attic.

There isnt a whole lot left to do on the car, athough i'll probably find time for judge judy anyway ;-).

There are some things that you should not do yourself even though there are others on the forum who scoff at my lack of ability. For 150.00 you can get a qualified installer to put in both screens. Instead of spending the entire day getting the screens in you could be cleaning up the glass and polishing the chrome-or watching Judge Judy for that matter- If you can't find an installer ask a good body shop for who they use on older /foreign cars. Even the good installers usually take a few attempts if not more before they get it right. Yes, again there are some like sfDon who do it with their eyes closed but for us regular folks who are not afraid of Kryptonite the money is just better spent on an installer.

My 2 cents

 

[arnie]

I definetely would judge somebody, who's able to do all this work on his car like you did, capable also to install the glass into the E9. :roll:

It is not that complicated like you might think. The rear one is rather simple job and done in a few minutes (even if you have to do it without any other helping hands).

The front is a bit tricky in the lower area, where the gasket has to slide into a small place between the edge of the screen opening and the dashboard.

This is the most difficult thing of the installation of the front screen. Once you done the lower egde and the both lower corners, the rest is more or less simple as the rear is.

But it is recommended to do this with somebodys help, who can put some sort of pressure to the screen from the outside, preventing the gasket from sliding back from an already successful attached gasket lip.

A good tool for that helper is such a vacuum device for the carrying of windows. Gives a better handle.

This is how we did this job on my car.

Prior to the installation you should put in the glass into the opening without the gasket to see, how the fitment of the glass is and if the gap is everywhere the same (use some tape to secure your exellent paint job and not to scratch it with the sharp glass). If so, you shouldn't expect too much trouble during the installation. Also try to form the aluminum trim pieces as good as possible to the shape of the opening of your car. This also should be done without having them sitting in the gasket.

btw: I never would cut out a gasket, which is apparently still in an exellent condition. Most of the repros today (especially those coming from W&N for instance) have a bad fitment. So it could be worth it to save the old original one ....
And in addition it is absolutely not necessary. You get the screen out without any damage of the screen or the gasket or the chrome trim.

Good luck

Ingo

 

[bimmerboy73]

danke für die rechtzeitige Beratung!

Ok. So the question that remains is whether the glass is supposed to be inserted fully into the 'folded' groove in the gasket? (The other groove is more of a slot that grabs the seating ridge in the opening of the car). My guess is yes and that after inserting the glass, inserting the chrome trim into the gasket is necessary to get the gasket to contour appropriately so that it can be set into the opening.

I definetely would judge somebody, who's able to do all this work on his car like you did, capable also to install the glass into the E9. :roll:

It is not that complicated like you might think. The rear one is rather simple job and done in a few minutes (even if you have to do it without any other helping hands).

The front is a bit tricky in the lower area, where the gasket has to slide into a small place between the edge of the screen opening and the dashboard.

This is the most difficult thing of the installation of the front screen. Once you done the lower egde and the both lower corners, the rest is more or less simple as the rear is.

But it is recommended to do this with somebodys help, who can put some sort of pressure to the screen from the outside, preventing the gasket from sliding back from an already successful attached gasket lip.

A good tool for that helper is such a vacuum device for the carrying of windows. Gives a better handle.

This is how we did this job on my car.

Prior to the installation you should put in the glass into the opening without the gasket to see, how the fitment of the glass is and if the gap is everywhere the same (use some tape to secure your exellent paint job and not to scratch it with the sharp glass). If so, you shouldn't expect too much trouble during the installation. Also try to form the aluminum trim pieces as good as possible to the shape of the opening of your car. This also should be done without having them sitting in the gasket.

btw: I never would cut out a gasket, which is apparently still in an exellent condition. Most of the repros today (especially those coming from W&N for instance) have a bad fitment. So it could be worth it to save the old original one ....
And in addition it is absolutely not necessary. You get the screen out without any damage of the screen or the gasket or the chrome trim.

Good luck

Ingo

 

[bimmerboy73]

A simpler question might be, after install, where the gasket meets the glass around the perimeter of the windshield, does it lay flat as it does against the body of the car or is it rounded? If somebody has a close up picture of the installed gasket, trim and windshield handy that they can post that would probably answer my question.

Thanks !

 

[HB Chris]

Does this help? It is fairly flat both sides.

 

[arnie]

OK,

attached some pictures and a simple drawing for the principle of the gasket.

hope that helps.

cheers

Ingo

 

[bimmerboy73]

Chris and Ingo,

I think that clears it up!

Many thanks!

 

[bimmerboy73]

gaskets and chrome trim are installed and ready to go. embarrassed to say that i was envisioning the glass mounting into a different slot on the gasket- that was the problem. the diagrams and photos (and actually taking time to think about it) helped a great deal. Will try to document the process for future DIY'ers

 

[Gransin]

Will try to document the process for future DIY'ers

That would be appreciated! I will have to fit my front and rear glass by myself as there is no one in my region that have the experience of e9:s. Even if it probably is pretty straight forward, its always a little help to see some pictures of someone else doing it.

 

[inovermyhead]

This is another job on the long list of things to do, I have a screen ordered through BMW Australia as advised by DQ, $980 they seem to have gone up!!
As for the other bits, rubber is genuine BMW and I am going to take Ben and Carl's ( La Jolla)advice, and try to reuse the chrome moulding. They both seem to think that the new moulding don't fit well and cause problems and suggest cutting away the rubber from inside the car, anyone tried this method?

John

 

[bimmerboy73]

Your situation mgt be different, but I was able to get the molding out pretty easily without destroying the gasket. Just be very careful when pulling it up. Stat from the top center where the sections join and slowly work your way around. Might help to slip a long screwdriver or smooth, thin metal rod in underneath it once you get the first few inches up and slide it along to help get it out of the slot. Just don't go yanking on it too hard to the point that you bend it and you will be fine. By the way, it will look bent when you get it out regardless, its simply the contour the trim has t o assume to fit the curve of the glass. Sharp creases are what you are trying to avoid.