Has anyone removed quarter glass without breaking it?

[jaredawoodruff]

So I found out today that if even a small piece of hot slag makes its way onto a window, that window will shatter.

I have a sweet rack, but now a shattered driver's side rear quarter glass, or cargo window.

Yes, tack welds got my window and Safe Lite wants nearly 5 Benjamins to fix it. I found a video on YouTube of a guy somewhere in the south replacing his cargo window with one he got from the junkyard for 50 bucks.

My question is, how do I remove an old window without breaking it? I have a good junkyard here and I'm sure they have one. I can't find much in the way of a write up on salvaging the glass to use again but I see used panels on eBay. Anyone know how it's done?

Thanks!

 

[gamefreakgc]

For the life of me I could not figure it out. The FSM says to "thread piano wire through the molding and wrap to two blocks of wood" and "saw in a back and forth motion until all the adhesive is cut". Let's just say the petrified 14 year old adhesive wouldn't budge. I couldn't get ANYTHING through that.

I thought about heat but I was afraid I'd shatter it.

 

[feta]

Not sure if this helps, but I popped mine out by mistake once.

Had a full load of building materials in the back, somehow a cut board got wedged against the front of the drivers side cargo window. By the time I got home, it was pushed out.

I would imagine a decent amount of constant force in the top front corner on a hot day will unseat it.

To fix, I just went to a window install place and bought a tube of their adhesive and stuck it back on.

Its tempered glass not plate glass, so as long as all of the pressure is not at a point, you could put some serious force on it. You don't even damage the outside seal like you would by cutting it.

 

[nail bender]

Almost all auto windows that dont open are installed with urethane, it bonds very well to the glass and the metal. it is meant to keep the glass in place in the event of a rollover. very hard to remove without the proper tools. I have used a 3 stranded wire kinda like a small cable about 3/32 in diameter to cut some out. the specalty tools auto glass shops use would be to spendy for a one time use. if a auto salvage yard would sell you one already removed you should be able to find a glass shop to install it at a reasonable price. or you could do it yourself but kind of a pain in the ass if you have not done it before, but not brain surgery. if not done properly it can leak

 

[3rzrunner]

Yeah i got one it out from a truck at deathcougar's place, after someone thought it would be cool to jack my sub. pull the interior plastic off and push a blade through most of the urethane, a heat gun also helps to soften the goop up. then use a putty knife and have someone pull back on the glass and cut the rest, iirc there was 4 clips that should just slide out, they are used to line the window up properly.
oh and it was my first time, so you should be able to figure it out.

Good luck!

 

[jaredawoodruff]

Thanks for all the input! I'm no stranger to working with glass, I've built a number of aquariums so I'm real confident in installing the glass, just not the removal. I'll check to see if they have them already removed, but I think they will be still installed and I have to go out and get it myself.