Late 944 loose windshield?

[Eskozki]

Noticed a rattling sound that comes when the car vibrates. It sounds like two plastic sheets banging against each other. It looks like the windshield can move from the bottom, I can push it upwards with my finger really easily. Shouldn't this be glued to the frame? I wonder if I can glue it back without removing the glass... According to forum posts on the internet it will almost always break if removed.

[Monkey Wrench]

id get a quote from a glass shop , around here its 200 to replace a broken windshield if we take such insurance.

not sure on porsche but older cars had good replicable seals and newer ones used a thick sticky tape, the tape can be cut with a hunk of wire and a handle on either end, good to have a helper. or two. I removed one with a helper from a volvo , I tried piano wire but found it not necessary, really any suitable wire would work ok , it cut very easily through the thick sticky black tape seal, cut the sealing stuff in half.

the older style , which it probably is not, with a rubber seal there is a trick, you put a rope in the rubber gasket where the windshield hold the windshield flat against the car and pull the rope and that pulls the sela over the lip where it fits. they age of course and so if old , replace the seal. I don't think porsche used a rubber gasket , most older cars did.


that tape , if cut can be removed with a solvent or it can weld itself back together since it sticks to itself unless dirt is in there. probably better to clean everything , put new tape stuff. any dirt between will surely cause trouble.

if you knock the edges you may break it , a glass shop will have the suction cup handle things and lots of experience maybe better than taking the risk?

with a lot of cars the OEM is a lot better quality, thicker than cheapo replacements. some have a tint.

if there is rust then its nice to fix that when the windshield is out. to do a good job takes time.
if you wan to do it at home then an option may be the mobile windshield replacement guys, maybe he'd make two trips if you have rust issues so you can work on any rust with it out of there.

specifics on this Porsche windshield, others will know that better. in some cars, now they are made so cheaply out of pop can thick metal, that the windshield may be actually a part of the cars structure. Teslas look bad that way , to me. if its a tinny car like that I'd maybe not attempt it and the glue type may be important but I think the porsche has a pretty solid roof and pillars.

if you find rust maybe give it a good cleaning then use some rust amalgamator then paint that area, maybe with epoxy. slow the cancer.

I would not attempt this alone without an able helper, two is probably better. more hands to support it and not drop it or bang the edges. the suction cup handle would make it safer.

I have a volvo 240 with the old rubber seal, it seemed to leak so I masked off the chrome strip took a putty knife and worked a whole tube of butyl sealant in the gap, I knew if I removed it I'd need new rubber as it had shrunk cracked and aged.. I just left a 1/16" or so gap and then I could work the stuff into the crack and then pull the tape so it wasn't so messy. If I need to undo that I think I could cut the rubber away to save the chrome strip and soak it in solvent and just use a paintbrush to wash off the sealant , the key is, without bending it up.

I saw a guy that had taken his car to a glass shop and they did a quick and dirty fix by adding an extra bead of rubber along the bottom edge, it was probably a fast way to stop a leak, looked a bit mickey mouse , to me. I think if you want to do a good
you will need to remove it to clean it all properly.

this might be a short job for an experienced man in a glass shop?


on my volvos there are clips, they hold the trim so I'd find out if the porsche used any plastic clips if so get new ones they may be too brittle to reuse, If they used them.

in that car it had some plastic that deflects the water down under the heater vent area, the water is supposed to shed down a hole, the plastic had just shrunk a bit causing a leak .. So all I did was put some good quality heat duct tape to extend the plastic part. worked. it can't be seen with the cowling on there. on the Porsche I think that's more visible, near the battery tray.. on the volvo 240 0r 740 I pull the wiper arms off and then that slotted piece comes out quite easily, probably a lot of older cars are similar. then Ill also lube the wiper linkage pivot points.

If I remove a battery I soak a pad in water mixed with lots of baking soda, let it dry flat and put that under the battery. Later , if any acid does leak it neutralizes it rather than rusting the battery box , so I do that every time I remove a battery.. I don't know if the battery is really in the way, but while you are there ?


others might be able to help more with more specific porsche 944 experience. the rear hatches tend to separate from the glass, the air shocks constantly push on it even when not in use, eventually they may shift the glass around, I think the issue there is , that heavy pressure is there 24x 7 maybe if you did take it in they can reseal or look into that too.

[Eskozki]

Did some more research and came to the conclusion that even if I would be able to get the old windshield off without it breaking it wouldn't be reusable due to the sealing being a part of the glass. Unfortunately there is no glass repair shops that offer to come do it at my garage, its almost winter and they've already started salting the roads (I quess this is calendar based road maintenance because it hasn't even been near freezing yet..) So porsche will stay firmly in garage.

I'll check if some of the local shops are willing to do it, I have insurance on the car that includes windshield, I should get it almost free of charge. I've been thinking of replacing the windshield anyway, it is quite worn and when sun shines directly at you, the visibility is very bad.

[mazdaverx7]

Do you not have a company called Safelite where you live? Here, they come to your house and do the work.

[wwdwgs]

When I had to install my windshield, I called about 50 glass companies (in NJ, NY, PA). $200 later the glass was installed. That was an aftermarket glass WITHOUT ANY glue or mastic on the glass itself. The glass installers apply a thick, triangular bead on the inside edge of the glass and, then, install it into the frame. I prepped the frame, painted it black, replaced all metal retaining clips. The only problem I faced was that the side rubber trim pieced (looked like long J) didn't fit (they were too thick), so I calked the area with black window caulking.

[Eskozki]

No safelite in Finland, I checked that in my area there is no repair shops that offer the onsite glass replacement, there is one at southern finland. I asked the local shops anyway, if not, it will be the first thing to do after winter.