Well, that was disappointing.
The Safelite tech came over this afternoon to replace the windshield on Deb's Camry but was unable to complete the job because there was too much rust on the window frame.
We had noticed the tinge of rust around the top edge of the window frame when we got the car, but were hoping it hadn't gotten too bad yet. I was actually hoping I'd get a chance to clean it up when the guy came over to replace the glass.
Turns out I'm going to get my chance.
The Safelite tech was real nice about. In fact, he said it happens all the time, especially out here in Michigan when rust is a common occurrence on cars due to salt on the roads.
I was able to see how he took the old windshield off. There's this really cool tool with a hand crank and a metal cutting line that wraps around the windshield and slices through the adhesive without requiring any prying. Took him about ten minutes to set it up, then about a minute to actually remove the glass.
He said he could tell that the windshield had been replaced before because whoever put it on used the wrong adhesive. Instead of urethane, which has been the industry standard for billions of years, they used butyl, which is not as good - by about a factor of 10. Only the small (i.e. cheap) shops use butyl, apparently. And amateurs.
Once he got the glass off, we took a good look at the top edge of the frame and -- yuck. Pretty rusty. Normally, he said, if they notice rust around the frame, they have their customers take the car to a body shop where they'll remove the glass and then have the body shop clean up the frame right there on the spot so they can continue with the glass install. But in my case, I just told him I'd go ahead and clean it up and give him a call when it's ready, then he'll bring the glass with him and install it.
May take me a few days to get some time to clean it up good. Gotta wirebrush the rust off, then sand it good and give it a couple coats of primer. So might not happen til next week.
Meanwhile, I was able to get the driver door handle replaced, so that's working.
But I also removed the radio to find out why the speakers aren't working.
Man, I love taking cars apart!
The Safelite tech came over this afternoon to replace the windshield on Deb's Camry but was unable to complete the job because there was too much rust on the window frame.
We had noticed the tinge of rust around the top edge of the window frame when we got the car, but were hoping it hadn't gotten too bad yet. I was actually hoping I'd get a chance to clean it up when the guy came over to replace the glass.
Turns out I'm going to get my chance.
The Safelite tech was real nice about. In fact, he said it happens all the time, especially out here in Michigan when rust is a common occurrence on cars due to salt on the roads.
I was able to see how he took the old windshield off. There's this really cool tool with a hand crank and a metal cutting line that wraps around the windshield and slices through the adhesive without requiring any prying. Took him about ten minutes to set it up, then about a minute to actually remove the glass.
He said he could tell that the windshield had been replaced before because whoever put it on used the wrong adhesive. Instead of urethane, which has been the industry standard for billions of years, they used butyl, which is not as good - by about a factor of 10. Only the small (i.e. cheap) shops use butyl, apparently. And amateurs.
Once he got the glass off, we took a good look at the top edge of the frame and -- yuck. Pretty rusty. Normally, he said, if they notice rust around the frame, they have their customers take the car to a body shop where they'll remove the glass and then have the body shop clean up the frame right there on the spot so they can continue with the glass install. But in my case, I just told him I'd go ahead and clean it up and give him a call when it's ready, then he'll bring the glass with him and install it.
Meanwhile, I was able to get the driver door handle replaced, so that's working.
But I also removed the radio to find out why the speakers aren't working.
Man, I love taking cars apart!
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