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WTF - Rear Window Shattered

TheAlmightySam

TheAlmightySam

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Portland, OR
So, went out to the Jeep today to clean it out for my weekend snow run, and I noticed the rear window is completely shattered. It's uniform in its brokeness, and there's no point of impact - looks like maybe the expansion and contraction of the tailgate broke it or something. It has been a bit chilly lately. Has anyone ever seen this happen before? This is on a '92, by the way, so it has the old fiberglass hatch.
 
I've seen a dozen or so XJ's roll and the rear window pops out and I popped mine out once too while doing a hill climb but only have seen one shatter. The rear windows are really freaky, the only way I've ever been able to break one is by applying force at one of the corners, maybe you had some moisture in the weather stripping and when it froze it did so in just the right spot.
 
One time at an auto service center a guy pulled in his truck after it had been outside in the freezing cold and when he drove by the heater it shattered all of his side windows as they went by it. <<<Run on sentence
 
on my last trip to paragon my buddy was at full flex then his rear window just shattered, as well as snapping his hatch in 2 places(right near where the lift struts mount) It was a fun 300 mile ride home for them!

Then fast forward a couple months later, he dissasembled his jeep almost completely, and the back 1/4 panel has been separated completely from the rest of the body due to rust.
 
Zoro said:
I've seen a dozen or so XJ's roll and the rear window pops out
Click to expand...

When I rolled my Jeep, the rear window popped out in one piece. And I've seen other people have their windows pop out intact.

I still have the rear window from my 96...if anyone wants it. :)
 
The rear window is tempered safety glass and will shatter like that from any impact hard enough to break it. I would suspect vandals...the glass fits so loose in the tailgate that it would require massive change in temperature very quickly for it to affect the glass.

Rev
 
Sprng loaded center punch will do that if applied in any corner...
 
I'm with Rev.. The rear glass gasket is designed to allow a fair degree of flex. Certainly flexing a rig, a roll, etc would exceed the design limits. I could see stress cracks due to age, temperature cycles etc, but to be ‘blown out’ would be extremely odd. .

Something to consider; Where was largest quantity of glass fragments, inside or outside the rig?
 
There's actually no glass fragments, as the window tint is holding it all together. Here's a couple pictures of it:
window1.jpg

window2.jpg


So, considering I now need a rear window, how hard is pulling the glass from a donor vehicle? Will any rear glass from the early hatch style work (assuming it has defrost)?

Thanks, guys!
 
OK - I stand corrected :). This just may have been due to weather or whatever. I've never seen this before. That's actually pretty cool looking :roll:

Pulling from a donor should be very easy. I haven't done it a several years and there may be a better way. What I did was pushed a corner out a bit from inside. Then rolled the gasket off the hatch frame. Once a corner is out, just work one edge around. Once you get about half way the entire glass and hatch should just pop out.
 
I say vandals. I have a friend that works at a glass shop and he sees it ALL the time. Once there were 20+ cars hit on the same street, almost always they pop the rear window. Nothing stolen, just stupid kids popping windows.
The spring loaded center punch in one method of doing it but there's also another 2 more popular methods of popping windows that doesn't leave a point of impact on the shattered glass and is much faster. (I won't mention those methods here)
 
JEEPZZ said:
I say vandals. I have a friend that works at a glass shop and he sees it ALL the time. Once there were 20+ cars hit on the same street, almost always they pop the rear window. Nothing stolen, just stupid kids popping windows.
The spring loaded center punch in one method of doing it but there's also another 2 more popular methods of popping windows that doesn't leave a point of impact on the shattered glass and is much faster. (I won't mention those methods here)
Click to expand...

On an XJ if you use a screw driver and stress the glass on one of the corners it can completely shatter the window and leave it intact with or without tint.
 
TheAlmightySam said:
Nope, no sub, and nothing of value at all in the car. Seems odd that it would be vandals based on where I live and park, but you never know.

I did get a piece of replacement glass at the junkyard today - now I've just got to figure out how to put it in.
Click to expand...

That is the least of your worries, here's a good way to do it:

Remove all of the old windshield stuff
Make sure the rubber gasket is on the new one the correct way
Run a small rope thru the channel on the moulding where the hatch would be all the way arround and pass the first end
Open the hatch and place windshield on top with both ends of the rope hanging down
Hold one end of the rope and pull the other, this will make the window 'seal itself' in.

Hope this helps ya, good luck
 
that kinda looks like my rear side glass after some asshats decided to throw a piece of wood through it. the only difference is mine had an obvious point of impact(large hole in it)
 
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