[KTL]

I think trying to save the seal is false economy, even if the seal is fairly new. That’s excellent the rope trick worked great to remove the trim. But I still think cutting the seal is wise if you want to preserve the glass, since your seal is relatively new and a tight fit.

It’s not hard to break the windshield when pushing it out in a tight fitting situation. I know removal of the trim allows the seal to deform more as you push out the glass. But I’d err on the cautious side to avoid breaking the glass

Admittedly I’m biased since I’ve seen seals reused with poor results (looks fine but has massive wind noise and water leaks) and therefore I think it’s best to use a new seal any time the glass has been installed for a long time. I get that a new seal can be reused during installation because that’s how the 911-experienced pros do it right, fitting the windshield multiple times (if necessary) to get the corners right by packing them with dum dum