[bmw] RE: Replacing E34 Windshield - another tip

["dan" <dan@xxxxxxxx>]

Assuming E34 windshields are adhesive held (I have e30s)... You can get a
very thin metal "windshield saw"--kinda like a razor sharp coil of
string--at autozone/o'reillys which makes cutting the windshield's current
adhesive much easier, and when done you're sure the glue is cut all the way
through.  To use it, make a hole through the glue in a corner with a punch,
put the string through and with one person in the cab, one outside, saw it
back & forth around the windshield frame.  Wear leather gloves, the saw can
slice you.
Make sure there are no gaps in the new glue when pressing the windshield in,
which is hard and can get very messy as you keep pulling the windshield back
to add more glue in spots.
I do my own suspensions, engines, trannys, etc.  I did a glued windshield
once, and never will again.  It's not worth it.  For saving $100 labor I
spent a day and a half on the project--vacuuming glass shards and getting
finger cramps from the glue gun and hurrying cause it's cooling and setting
etc.  If you must do it yourself as I did, be VERY careful not to break the
old windshield; it makes the project 10x worse.  Just picking up a shattered
windshield is scary (remember it stays in one piece, but sheds shards when
you move it).  As I recall the glue was $18 a tube or so from the glass shop
(I used 2), which makes labor even cheaper.
good luck,
dan in kc
--
to be removed from bmw, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe bmw" to majordomo@domain.elided