1995 Front Windshield

I just had my front windshield replaced with an after market.
The after market one has tinting that drops down a good 5 1/2 inches. Of course I did not know that until everything was installed and I had driven a few blocks. I stand about 6'4'' so I am looking right through the darkest part of the tint. But then again unless you were 5 feet or less you'd still be looking through the tint. So right now my Jeep is at the body shop until I find a windshield or at least hope they didn't damage the old one taking it off. I could buy an OEM windshield but that would cost 600 bucks and its not refundable it could even turn out to be the wrong one. And on top of all this no body seems to make a window that isn't tinted.

I was told that 95-96 Cherokees have different windshields. Yes I know they were not really changed until 1997 so that is a bit odd. I can't seem to find anything on the net about them though.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

If you have a rubber moulding around the windshield ('94-'01) , it is a DW1140 GBN (Green tint, Blue shade, No attachments). If you have the old style 5 piece metal mouldings (pre '94), it is a DW952 GBN. There is no difference in the shape or bend of these windshields, just the mirror brackets. I have been a certified auto glass tech. for the last 12 years, and I can honestly say that I have never seen a green tint windshield (no blue shade across the top) in any XJ. To my knowledge, there is no such thing. My glass shop just warrantied one for someone else with the same problem (guy was 6'5", and the shade was in his line of sight, but it was for a Toyota Echo, and you could have either or) The windshield you had probably had a shade band that was so sun bleached that you didn't really notice it. New windshields are, well, new, so the shade is very dark. Who did the work? Will they warranty it with a Mopar piece? My company would, but it never hurts to ask. My advice would be to explain your concern and see what they say, and if you get nowhere, just start bitching up the ladder. Good parts are key to a good install. Bad parts just stress crack, have distortions, mirrors fall off, and delaminate quickly. GOOD: Mopar (Safeguard), LOF (Pilkington), Guardian, PPG, APTech, Libbey-Nippon, Criminex. BAD: SGC, FYG, XYG, ArmourPlate, and anything else from Chinese manufacturers.

Jer

I don't know how to post pictures on here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Cherokee_%28XJ%29
The pictures they have there have the shade but it only goes down just a hair, the new one went all the way down to the mirror bracket. I don't know anything about the tinting but wouldn't it be an extraordinary long time for the shade to fade that much? All the people my guy talked to said they only have shaded windshields and the shading is 5 1/2 inches long, the computer says there is a clear windshield but doesn't state a price. He also called the Jeep people and they said that there is only one front OEM windshield for my model year left in their entire stock and it would be 400 bucks not including shipping and installation. Its out east in a warehouse or something so no one can measure the tinting.

So your saying from 84-96 the windshields are all the same just the molding and mirror brackets are different, but does the molding matter at all ??? Can I use any molding as long as its for the Jeep with any windshield as long as its for the 84-96 Cherokees?

Who should I tell my guy to call? I took my Jeep to a body shop not glass shop, they have worked on my families cars and mine before so thats why I went there. I was told that they will take back the new windshield as long as there are no chips, pitting or cracks in it, one reason why its still at the shop, the main reason being I don't feel comfortable driving with a shade I have to look through at the darkest point. I can see just fine 50-100 feet down the road beyond that not so much, and I believe it will just get worse at night.

I don't have my Jeep now to measure but isn't the front windshield roughly 2 feet tall so about 6 inches is roughly a quarter the size of the windshield that seems a bit extreme. But just eyeballing it it looks closer to 2/3?!

Clear windshields don't exist. Every windshield on every car has some kind of tint (green, blue, gray, bronze, etc.). Some older cars (over 20 yrs. ago) had clear, but they're not available anymore. You don't need a windshield from a dealer, just an OEM one. Factory Jeep glass brand is Safeguard. Any glass shop can get a Safeguard windshield. It's the EXACT same thing from the dealer, just not the dealer price. Some 94's had the DW1140 GBN w/s, but all 95-01 had it. That just means it had a rubber reveal moulding around it (which is stuck on the edge of the glass, and then installed with the w/s all as one unit), had a wedge mirror bracket (also known as a GM style), and was solar. The older cherokee DW952 GBN had a Ford style mirror bracket, and 5 piece metal mouldings around it which are clipped on after the windshield was installed, using something like 22 black plastic clips which slid onto a metal stud which was part of the pinchweld. Saying that, you can not inter change mouldings. Here is a pic I just took of my 2000 (DW1140 GBN) original with the rubber moulding.



I measured my shade band, and it's at about 3 1/4 inches down. Now mine's a 2000, and look how faded it is (in the pic, look at the passenger door glass thru the shade band at the top). I can put a newer part number windshield in an older XJ, clip the mouldings on, and it will fit just fine. The mirror just won't go on because of the different bracket. Like wise, I can take an older part w/s, stick the rubber moulding on the glass, plop it in, and it to will fit fine, just the mirror problem. As for the body shop, I'm guessing they call a glass shop for their glass work. If not, I would be somewhat concerned. I have to maintain 3 different certifications. My company, the NGA, and the urethane (glue) manufacturer, all of which require re-testing every 2-3 years. There is alot of training in this business, and would not want some guy who does this every once in a while. Just my .02

That 3 ¼ inches, is that what it is from the “factory” or has it faded from 5 ½ to 3 ¼? So all the windows are somewhat universal just the minor molding and mirror issues that is good to know, thank you (just need to take it to a pro to get it down right). I don’t mind spending the couple of extra bucks for a mirror as long as I can see safely down the road.

Hopefully the old glass won’t be broken and it can be put back in. Then I’ll start looking for a good glass shop. The body shop people contracted the work out for a guy to come over and install the glass so he can’t come back to return the glass until sometime tomorrow.

How much should I expect to spend to get the job done right? Hopefully I will get my money back that I have spent so far but I don’t want to jinx myself now. Thank you very much for your help. Depending on tomorrow I’ll have to ask you what some good glass shops are, I’ll actually also be posting in my local chapter section and hopefully get some help there, but like I said I don’t want to jinx myself so I will wait and see. Again thank you for your help.

You wouldn’t happen to know why the body shop (or at least the guy who programmed the computer) thinks the 95-96 windows are different then all the other years?