any and all auto glass questions, concerns, tidbits and whatever else

i just posted this in another thread, but I figured that id make its own thread for anyone who would like more info on glass, or anything like that, ill post random glass stuff on here, and answer any glass questions as well

alright im back with pics, and it just so happens that I had a 22 tacoma come in for a windshield replacement, so I did some documentation of that one. Certain steps I couldn't take pictures of, just because I don't have the time to do it, and I have to get the next step done within a certain time, or the urethane will start to cure and then that fucks up everything for the rest of the window. Fair warning, this is going to be picture-heavy and documentation-heavy. if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, but ill show a picture or two and then explain that picture.

first off. this truck was a 2022 tacoma, TRD OR with a 6MT, with 8600 miles on it.
to stay on the original topic of this thread, these are the cowl 'fingers' I was talking about in my last post on here. its hard to tell, but you can see the little outjuts on the cowl, and you can see how they slide under the window and 'grip' on, holding the cowl down

with these photos, there is no actual 'seal' on the cowl. the cowl isn't watertight, or have anything to do with how your windshield sits, or how it seals to the body of the car/truck. the main purpose of the cowl is actually just as a dust shield and aerodynamics, making it so that a ton of dust/wind turbulence doesn't build up in the engine bay/above the firewall. you can see with the fingers on the cowl, there's a lot of them, and the tolerances for them are pretty tight, so if the cowl is heatwarped/bent at all, it will end up making it so that one or two of them cant seat properly without having a lot of torsion on the rest of the plastic, risking breaking it, so there's no 'harm' that can come from having one or two of the fingers not lined up under the windshield(don't get me wrong, the OCD part sucks, and I'm the same way, but sometimes there's only so much that you can do about it without just getting a new cowl entirely, and the tacoma ones are stupid expensive for some reason).

for the next photo, I wasn't able to get a picture of the tacoma, but I got one of the RAV4 I did right before the tacoma, and the principle is the exact same.

you can see a faint black ring around the perimeter of the viewing area, and that is where the urethane bead lays, which is what actually seals the windshield. the main cause of windshield failure/leakage/wind noise is air pockets in the bead. its next to impossible(but doable) to run a continuous bead all the way around the windshield with only one stop/start point, but typically there are 3-5 start/stop points, and those are where the issue spots are. if the bead isn't joined properly, air bubbles can be trapped, and the as the urethane cures, the air bubble creates a weak point/passage point, where water or wind noise can come through into the cabin.

up next is one of the main reasons why I absolutely despise safelite and try to steer everyone away from them if at all possible.

its difficult to see, but this truck has had the windshield replaced before, and I later found out that it was replaced at safelite. when they were removing the windshield, they ran one of the tools along the entire passenger side A pillar, scratching the SHIT out of it, from the top of the windshield to the bottom(estimate for repairs on this runs somewhere around $4-7k(if done the proper way) because the windshield would have the be pulled, the entire cab primed and repainted to have a proper color match, and then putting the windshield back in). keep in mind. this truck has 8600 miles on it. its a 2022. nice new truck, and safelite fucked it up BADDDDD.

and then finally, the recalibration process. the longest part is just getting the stand setup properly, and making sure everything is in the right place which takes about 20-40 minutes depending on the car/truck, and then the actual recalibration part takes no joke 30 seconds tops.

 

heh

 

Thanks for posting this up in a thread.

Like I said before, it is great perspective on work involved.



My Taco is on its 4th windshield. First replacement was Pilkington and the other two were Yasko, or something like that, for budget reason. I was surprise by the 30min installation. They seem to be good windshields.

 

Its surprising how fast stuff can go when everything is going smoothly. I like to tell people its going to be about a 2-3 hour wait, just because the recalibration process takes a while, and sometimes the car wont 'take' to the calibration, so I have to redo it, or if a previous replacement was done in a hassle of a way, with glue everywhere, it takes longer to clean it up and get everything all squared away, and the list goes on and on. always better to under promise and over deliver, because people are always happier when you call them and tell them its done earlier than expected than if you call them and tell them its going to be done later than expected.

my personal favorite story was one windshield I was doing on a newer f150, but it didn't need a recalibration, and I told the guy about 2 hours, so he was getting an uber to give him a ride somewhere, and before the uber even showed up it was already done. grand total from start to finish, 22 minutes.

the world of glass is definitely an interesting one, and I'm more than happy to shed some light on it for people if anyone is interested.

 

You got that right. Early is On Time! Haha.


It is funny how hard it is to find good folks. It seems that you have to get burned a couple times until you find the good folks.

 

Most definitely. I try to make it as easy as possible. Sometimes, by the time people end up at my shop, they've already been through the wringer, so they aren't have a super great time.

 

It takes time to build relationships. Hell, some quality of service aspects can't even be judged until years down the road when something lasts longer than expected or fails in a proper manner.

It's nice to have solid recommendations though.

 

I'm looking for info on replacing the back glass on my 2014 double cab.

I'd like a recommendation on a near-factory brand and source for the window.

And given how destructive it seems to remove the old window from the YouTube videos I've seen, almost want to do the removal and install myself.

Can you offer advice? Thanks!!

 

Thanks for this info.

What all gets recalibrated? The cruise radar and TSS camera?

My 'glass buyback' windshield replacement insurance addon for '23 taco costs several times that of the '04 taco. What is the actual cost difference between these 2 windshield replacements? I think the '23 is around $9/mo which starts to add up.

Also curious to hear about the back motorized window above. I had planned to remove it for access to shell but youtube has me hesitating.

 

I'm not the OP, but I have removed my factory tinted slider on my AC and replaced it with a non-tinted version. Destructive is a good word for the process of getting the old unit out. As soon as I realized the slider would not be able to be reinstalled, the removal went better as I no longer wished to save it. The factory urethaned not only the pinch weld, but the sides too. Much scratched paint, which I repainted and don't think I'll have any problems with in the future. I used wire and some long razor blades on the top and sides; there are some corner spacers of plastic that presented a good amount of work to get around. After the sides and top the bottom was cut out with the razor blades. Would I do it again... possibly, but I would replace it with a solid piece of glass as I do not use it for ventilation and the opening is just too small for an adult to climb through to the bed or camper shell.

 

Thanks for the info. That is kinda what I've heard and am dreading it. I figure, though, if it has to be done (which it does; broken window), at least it'll be me scratching and bending the cab. Lol!

This guy makes it look easy (er) using this tool though. Wondering if I can replicate a version of this with some guitar string to sever the urethane:

https://youtu.be/egYmtVyOsGo?si=hwpCTxvxLAg3v0Pk

Also still looking for a recommendation on a factory-quality source for the glass, too. I see, like lots of other cloned parts, some are better than others.

 

Broken slider or stationary glass? Somewhere on this site I believe there is instructions on just replacing the slider glass only.

 

Unfortunately, passenger side stationary glass.

 

OP is unresponsive so far. So...I guess I'll be fielding all auto glass questions. Lol! J/K

Just watched the above YouTube vid again to figure out what tools this guy uses to remove the back glass. I paused it and searched " WRD glass tools" and this came up:

WRD Pro6 System 2-in-1 Base Kit 150 | GRT Tools (grtglasstools.com)

$450! Ouch

 

And the Harbor Freight version: $18

 

While continuing to research, I found this option, too. This video says 2016-2023 Tacomas but he also has the glass available for 2nd gens, too, and the "install" appears the same. Basically just removing as much of the broken window pieces as you can, urethane primering, laying a bead of urethane then adding his replacement glass pane. He's a TW member and the retail cost on his site is about $114 for the glass. Waay cheaper than my dealer quote of $900 for the entire back glass. What do you all think?

2016-2023 Toyota Tacoma Back Glass Repair - YouTube

 

If you don't want a slider anymore, here is an inexpensive option:
Fits 05-23 Toyota Tacoma 2 and 4 Door Back Glass Stationary | eBay

I think? this is where I got my slider from:
Fits 2005-2022 Toyota Tacoma Back Window Rear Slider Glass Original Style Look | eBay
I do not use the slider at all and wish I had gone with the one-piece glass.

 

OEM Pilkington, always