Clean, Green with a Touch of Mean!
The 2008 North American International Auto Show at a Glance
Jan. ©2008 AGRR Magazine
Dale Malcom, Technical Manager for Dow Automotive
"The
use of bare-edged glass remains about the same, but the gaps between the
glass and body appear to be narrowing
as the designers put pressure on the engineers for smaller sight lines.
The skills needed for the coming years are as much about identifying the
correct part needed as the ability to replace it without damage to the
vehicle in the process."
How to tackle some of the trickiest newer vehicles
www.glass.org
Bob Beranek states:
2008 Jeep Wrangler,
"The new Wrangler is a real bear," Beranek says. "The windshield doesn't have moldings on any of the four sides and [the glass] is very tight [to the vehicle body]." He suggests using a Fein power tool with an adjustable blade with depth stops. "The blade is adjustable to just the right depth, so if you pre-measure the distance from the edge of the glass to the inside where the urethane is and adjust the blade accordingly, you may be able to cut it out without damage," he says.
and... Jeep Liberty and Commander
These vehicles don't have a top molding, and the windshield is in close tolerance to the vehicle body, Beranek says. To avoid scratching the vehicle, have a partner help you on the install. Cut the sides and bottom of the windshield. Then, attach a suction cup to the glass and have your partner pull down on the cup while you pull your cold knife across the top, Beranek advises. Using this technique, "you can sometimes get enough clearance for the blade to avoid damaging the wall of the pinchweld," he says. "A power tool will scar it up."