Glass - Oooops.

Broke out a back hatch glass or side window? It happens. Is it hard to fix? Not really.

Side or back, it's held in with a rubber gasket. The gasket has two slots, one for the glass on the outer side, one for the body flange inside. You probably discovered that pulling the somewhat empty gasket off.

Well, clean the mess up, and shop for a window. Used, pick and pull, new, it's your money. Of course, if it's new, they price it installed mostly. Problem solved.

BUT, if you're a gearhead, or just cheap, you'll do it and save $$ on a no brainer installation.

Clear a flat place to work. Clean the "new" glass. Don't scrape off the heater grid, you might like that if you have frost and ice a lot.

The interior plastic needs to be out of the way. Fairly easy for a hatch, not so much for a side window. Sorry.

Wrap the gasket around the window, use silicone spray in the body flange slot. If its a hatch, open it, feed it through the hole, and lay it on top. The struts will hold it. Shove the body flange into the slot, narrow (top) side works. Using a smooth ended pick, radiator hose remover, or a small phillips, insert it in the gasket groove and help it over the body flange. If it's sideglass, you'll need a helper to keep it there.

Here's why you don't work the glass into the groove - you're prying on it and it might break. Again. Don't. Work the rubber over the body flange. It's the shorter one anyway.

Keeping working the rubber over the body, sliding down and around. Push the glass around by hand to help, Work the corners carefully, they are two way sticking points. Once the flange is seated all the way around, the glass settles into place. No drama.

Reassemble. A can of silicone and a hose pick are cheap.

even easier:

stuff a rope into the body channel of the rubber and once you start the rubber molding onto the body, pull the rope from inside the vehicle and it will pull the rubber over the channel and seat it as it comes out. It may take a couple tries the first time, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to change 'em out in about two minutes.

is there an easy way to get a full sheet out of the vehicle without destroying the gasket

wolfpackjeeper said:

is there an easy way to get a full sheet out of the vehicle without destroying the gasket

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Yeah, just put your mtn bike in the back and close it without looking to see if the handlebar will clear.Didnt break my glass and the basket want right back on. Now that was for the hatch glass, not the side.....I am assuming the side is held on the same way


Also.....its alot easier to pop that sucker out and climb in when you lock yourself out, than it is to call the locksmith and fork over $60

interesting... is this for early models? cause on my 99 rear hatch glass it was held in with the rubber gasket and a liberal dose of polyurethane window adhesive... which i know was original, and it was the same thing with the junkyard doner. that was a serious PITA even with all the glass busted out of it. i pretty much ended up killing the body side of the gasket in the process, then had to move the entire hatch indoors to put the glass in since it was 12* outside and the poly cement was not a fan of that.

On 97 and up the back glass is glued (urethane) in. Even though the outside moulding looks like a gasket, it isn't.
The quarter glass, however, is still in a rubber gasket and therefore fairly easy to r&r.

sweet, I need some glass pieces from the yard, just gotta remember to take my Mtn Bike with me.