cracked windshield

[lunarhighway]

my girlfriend just texted me her car has a crack in the windshield, she doesn't know how it happened, but it's parked in a public space under some trees and it's been quite cold recently. my theory is mabe something fell from the trees.but i have yet to see the damage. she drives a ford fiesta mk4.

she said its about a 10 cm long crack... since we have annual tech inspection and this sort of thing won't pass, we need to have it replaced, although her car just went so it's not overly urgent... than again with the car sitting outside and winter coming the danger of water ending up in the crack and freezing is quite imminent

since the fiesta mk4 is quite common and it shares many components with the earlier and the next version i might be able to find a decent second hand windshield, but what happens next? where could i find info on replacing windshields in general and preferably on this car?

any help is appreciated

[GasSavers_BEEF]

around here, you can get the auto glass people to come and repair a windshield. not sure what they use (I think it is some type of resin) but when it dries, the crack is pretty much undetectible. several guys in the shop have used them and it is much cheaper.

car insurance places charge a co-pay for replacing a windshield but they will pay for this fix for a windshield for free. it saves them money and you money.

not sure if it will take care of your issue or not but it may be worth looking into.

[theholycow]

Also around here (and I'd assume anywhere), you can get the repair material to do the job yourself. I don't know how well it works.

There are instructions for DIY techniques on the internet, you won't make it look nice but you can probably prevent it from spreading more. Maybe I should do that on the big spreading crack on my truck.

[lunarhighway]

i know there's a know repair company over here that advertise their glass repair service, but they usually talk about small impact damage, not larger cracks, i'm sure these people would know how to handle it, but if they can't technically or legally fix the damage they'll probably want to replace the whole thing, wich i'm quite confident they'll do a good job at, but they'll charge a lot too...

My GF needs the car to get to work, but right now i can't afford to put to much of a dent in my buget, so if there's any chance of safely replaceing the window myself i'd give it a go.

[theholycow]

I don't think it's very hard to do. I've watched it being done before, you just need the appropriate materials. IIRC, there's caulk that you put down, then you put the glass in place, then maybe more caulk and/or a gasket. Then don't drive it for a day or two, if possible.

Ah, this one looks good:
http://bmwe32.masscom.net/sean750/wi...eplacement.htm
There's definitely a few things I forgot. It says to remove the wipers, of course. Also, it mentions cutting the old sealant, which makes sense.

[VetteOwner]

depends, is it glued on or is it old enough to have a rubber gasket that goes all the way around?

[GasSavers_RoadWarrior]

Several years since I've seen a Mk 4 Fiesta up close, so I can't remember if it's a structurally bonded one, or a rubber channel fitting. If it's a bonded one... chances are you're gonna have a hard time getting a used one out of the the vehicle in one piece, and fitting is best left to the professionals. If it's a rubber gasket/channel, then it's doable when you know the tricks, Google should help you there. Basically, you run a rope/cord around the gasket and pull it out as you feed in the glass, you usually need 2 people, one to apply pressure, and one to feed it and pull out the cord. Lubrication helps, preferably something like glycerine that won't attack the rubber.

[lunarhighway]

Basically, you run a rope/cord around the gasket and pull it out as you feed in the glass,

just saw that trick on tv a while ago... if it is a rubber gasket assembly my girlfriend might be a little less disaproveing of my interest in tv shows where they take appart, and put together cars.

the car is from the mid 90's but it's one of these few cars that actually kept evolveing directly from the original model so maybe the window assembly didn't change... i'll check toninght.

[JanGeo]

Surf the internet for windshield repair kits - I picked one up on Amazon for about $10.00 no shipping that is a UV curing resin for repairing bullet holes and cracks and it cures in the sunlight. Not good for chips however which is what I have in my windshild in my xB. It came with a seringe to force the resin into the crack for a bullet type chip but for a straight crack it would probably just flow into the gap slowly and make it clear again. You need to worry about the crack growing and windshield failure especially in really cold weather and watch out of uneven heating of the glass by parking under a shady tree.

[VetteOwner]

yea if its a crack most likely it will keep cracking