Tools for taking out a windshield

[signcrafter]

Not sure when or how but my truck's windshield got a nice big crack in it sometime while it has been sitting in the garage. I doubt I will put a new one in due to safety and probably cost me as much for the glass as to have someone put it in but thinking I would like to take this one out for now. Just so it's out and not worried about it cracking anymore.

Watching some youtube videos it doesn't look like there's to much to it. But looks like they use a variety of tools from wire to a cold knife, to a urethane knife cutter, to what looks like modified sawzalls and jigsaws with special blades.

Can a cold knife like this take one out, http://www.tooltopia.com/tool-aid-87900.aspx? Or would a urethane cutter like this help, http://www.tooltopia.com/mountain-1826.aspx? Or can I get a blade for my regular sawzall to go from the inside?

 

[ng8264723]

buy some piano wire!

 

[NHBandit]

Not enough info. What year and make of truck ? Some are in a rubber gasket and some are put in using hardening Urethane. Your post is a little confusing. You say you doubt you'll put a new one in ? I'm also not at all sure why you want to take it out until you have a new one ready to go in. If this is a project truck and you're just wanting it out of there and you're planning to have a new one installed at a later date AND it's glued in with Urethane then the sawzall blade is probably the way to go. Those cold knife gizmos ****, will only frustrate you and make you bleed, and usually don't have a long enough blade to cut up under the bottom edge of the glass. You do realize though that it's safety glass, has a layer of plastic between the layers of glass, and presents no safety hazard if you simply leave it in until you're ready to have it replaced right ? This is what I used for Urethane when I was messing with this stuff at the last salvage yard I managed but it's $275.

 

[NHBandit]

buy some piano wire!

Sorry, the 70s are over... LoL Good luck cutting Urethane with that. By the way though since you brought it up, if it is installed with the old style stuff that dosn't completely harden there is special serrated wire made for cutting out those style windshields. Hell in the old days working in salvage yards we even used hood release cables in a pinch.

 

[Outlawmws]

BFH

 

[signcrafter]

Not enough info. What year and make of truck ? Some are in a rubber gasket and some are put in using hardening Urethane. Your post is a little confusing. You say you doubt you'll put a new one in ? I'm also not at all sure why you want to take it out until you have a new one ready to go in. If this is a project truck and you're just wanting it out of there and you're planning to have a new one installed at a later date AND it's glued in with Urethane then the sawzall blade is probably the way to go. Those cold knife gizmos ****, will only frustrate you and make you bleed, and usually don't have a long enough blade to cut up under the bottom edge of the glass. You do realize though that it's safety glass, has a layer of plastic between the layers of glass, and presents no safety hazard if you simply leave it in until you're ready to have it replaced right ? This is what I used for Urethane when I was messing with this stuff at the last salvage yard I managed but it's $275.

The truck is a 2000 F150 so I assume urethane. I will eventually put a new one in, just not sure if I will do it or have someone do it. I figure I will check out my options and cost when I come to that bridge. But since it needs to come out one way or another I figured I would just do it. The tools aren't that expensive depending on which ones are needed so I figured I would give it a shot taking it out.

 

[zkling]

BFH

On a serious note, how big is the crack? Is it spidering or just a long crack? Do you think it would come out in one piece?

 

[NHBandit]

The truck is a 2000 F150 so I assume urethane. I will eventually put a new one in, just not sure if I will do it or have someone do it. I figure I will check out my options and cost when I come to that bridge. But since it needs to come out one way or another I figured I would just do it. The tools aren't that expensive depending on which ones are needed so I figured I would give it a shot taking it out.

A good glass company will come to your location, pop the old one out and have the new one installed in less than a half hour and usually for a very good price if you shop around. It ain't worth messing with it yourself.

 

[LXCam]

Sooooo you're reasoning for removing it intact is what again??. Unless your middle name is horder, I'm with outlawmws

BFH

Have some fun with it, beat it out, kick it out, hell man get a baseball bat and pretend away



Edit, I had to reread you're original post again. I get it, you think there's some kind of safety concern with the glass. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with safety glass, specialy a windshield. Ain't much gonna happen unless someone is licking it....just saying.

 

[FlyBy]

Call safelite.

 

[signcrafter]

This thread didn't really go as I planned but that's alright.

My only safety concern is about putting the new one in right, not about the old one. I can call a glass company and will look into that when the time comes to put the new one in. I don't want to replace it right now since I'm still working on it and don't want to break a new one. I can just leave it in for now but thought I would just take it out. I'm a DIYer and just like doing these things and learning new things. So while it may be a waste of my time, I'm still going to do it. Just figured someone had taken a window out before and could give some advice on what tools were needed.

 

[liliysdad]

Absolutely no point. The removal of the old windshield is included in the installation cost of a new one, and rarely can you buy a new windshield cheaper than you can have one put in. I simply dont see the point in pulling the old one out, and leaving the interior of the truck exposed, even if it is just a project.

Just leave it be.

 

[ng8264723]

Actually I have removed and replaced dozens of windshields over the years. I just did one in my silverado. I replaced it with urethane sealer and then 3 weeks later a damn tree limb fell on the darn thing. My wife and I cut through the urethane like butter with piano wire. One person on the inside (me). One person on the outside. I poked through first in a few spots with a long screw driver and then cut the urethane in a sawing fashion. I'm currently painting the truck so i figured out with the cracked piece and paint the jambs first and then replace the windshield.

 

[rsanter]

Leave the glass unless you are taking the truck apart for a resto or major body mods.
Let the shop that puts the glass in take it out and have to clean things up

Bob

 

[cburnscrx]

There are things to do yourself just to say you did them. This isn't one of those things. Nothing to be gained.

 

[ilovevocs]

I have removed my fair share with the tools you listed. Used piano wire once and will never do that again. Vehicles were receiving a complete paint job and original windshields were removed intact and reinstalled. Go for it, what's the worst that can happen.

 

[Zeke]

Absolutely no point. The removal of the old windshield is included in the installation cost of a new one, and rarely can you buy a new windshield cheaper than you can have one put in. I simply dont see the point in pulling the old one out, and leaving the interior of the truck exposed, even if it is just a project.

Just leave it be.

Did you read what he said just before you? He wants to see how it comes out. Some day that experience may become useful especially if he is restoring a car and wants to R and R the glass.

This thread didn't really go as I planned but that's alright.

My only safety concern is about putting the new one in right, not about the old one. I can call a glass company and will look into that when the time comes to put the new one in. I don't want to replace it right now since I'm still working on it and don't want to break a new one. I can just leave it in for now but thought I would just take it out. I'm a DIYer and just like doing these things and learning new things. So while it may be a waste of my time, I'm still going to do it. Just figured someone had taken a window out before and could give some advice on what tools were needed.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've taken a few windshields out. . . .but not in one piece.



If I have insurance that's paying for a new windshield or it's included with the price of the new one, I'm not messing with it, just making the phone call.

 

[sfckiddo]

if you remove the glass what are you gonna put over the hole to keep all the trash and dust out of the interior?

 

[NHBandit]

This thread didn't really go as I planned but that's alright.

My only safety concern is about putting the new one in right, not about the old one. I can call a glass company and will look into that when the time comes to put the new one in. I don't want to replace it right now since I'm still working on it and don't want to break a new one. I can just leave it in for now but thought I would just take it out. I'm a DIYer and just like doing these things and learning new things. So while it may be a waste of my time, I'm still going to do it. Just figured someone had taken a window out before and could give some advice on what tools were needed.

I did give you advice about tools and even posted a pic of what's a very good tool for that job. Pricy though so as a second choice I reccomended the special blade you linked to that fits into a Sawzall. I've taken out hundreds of them over a period of 40 years. What else do you need ? If there are unanswered quesstions ask.... Need more detailed answers concerning the cold knife and the wire methods ? OK cool. The blade on the cold knife is very often way too short. The bottom edge of the glass is sometimes glued 3-4 inches up from the edge. It's also very easy to slip and give yourself a nasty cut. The blade is also too thick to fit between the body and the glass on alot of vehicles but if they made the blade thinner it would be prone to breaking. Bad choice for many reasons. Next... windshield wire (piano wire). Requires 2 people, one on each end of the wire. Easy to accidently cut through inside moldings, the top of the dash, etc. It gets hot & breaks several times before you get all the way around the glass and makes you get pissed off and resort to the BFH method. Very hard to get the wire around the bottom corners of the glass without chewing up the paint on the front fenders. What you want for Urethane is a reciprocating saw of some kind and to cut from the inside. The main difference between using the correct tool and a Sawzall is the length of the stroke. A Sawzall has a fairly long stroke and the first time you go too deep and hit the metal that surrounds the glass you will bend the blade and then you will resort to the BFH method.. Hope this explains more clearly why messing with glass is best left to a pro unless you want to spend close to $300 bucks on the right tool.

 

[liliysdad]

Did you read what he said just before you? He wants to see how it comes out. Some day that experience may become useful especially if he is restoring a car and wants to R and R the glass.

Yeah, I read it, and it still doesnt make any sense.

 

[92GreenYJ]

BFH

How about a brick

 

[neophyte]

I doubt this is the exact type of solution you're looking for, but I've been wanting to post the video for a long time and this seems like the right type of thread for it. The tool is the FEIN SuperWire. It's probably an overly complicated method for doing the job, and Fein tools are usually not cheap but its sort of a complicated way to use wire to remove a windshield. I presume there must be an advantage to it for a professional.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w88SX8CQAHA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[neophyte]

Fein also makes accessory blades for their Supercut oscillating tools that can be used for windshield and cauld removal. If your not familiar with the Supercut it's an oscillating tool similar to the Fein Multimaster but with a larger oscilation angle and more powerful motor. I don't know whether a lighter duty oscillating tool would have a powerful enough motor. This is another video from Fein showing the Supercut being used.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ctgJ1p2Yk3o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And this is the Fein pamphlet on the Superwire and Supercut.

http://media.fein.de/catalog/18831778210-en_us.pdf

 

[NHBandit]

I doubt this is the exact type of solution you're looking for, but I've been wanting to post the video for a long time and this seems like the right type of thread for it. The tool is the FEIN SuperWire. It's probably an overly complicated method for doing the job, and Fein tools are usually not cheap but its sort of a complicated way to use wire to remove a windshield. I presume there must be an advantage to it for a professional.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w88SX8CQAHA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Well that sure is easier than using an old steak knife... But.. a good glass guy like the one I used when I was service manager at a used car dealership would have been all done, mess cleaned up, and halfway to his next job in the time it took for that guy in the video to get the machine rigged up. It's very cool but also looks to be very expensive and a bit of overkill unless all you work on is extremely expensive cars.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

used a bango string back in the day

 

[oilfieldtrash4]

Phone and the number to local glass guy.

 

[oilfieldtrash4]

Did you read what he said just before you? He wants to see how it comes out. Some day that experience may become useful especially if he is restoring a car and wants to R and R the glass.

So what if a guy wants to build his own ratchet and wrench sets for the experience? Would you suggest him doing so for the experience as well?

 

[ChevyEFI]

Sorry, the 70s are over... LoL Good luck cutting Urethane with that. By the way though since you brought it up, if it is installed with the old style stuff that dosn't completely harden there is special serrated wire made for cutting out those style windshields. Hell in the old days working in salvage yards we even used hood release cables in a pinch.

Yep. Butyl is different but easy enough to deal with.
Piano wire still works on urethane though.

My only safety concern is about putting the new one in right, not about the old one. I can call a glass company and will look into that when the time comes to put the new one in. I don't want to replace it right now since I'm still working on it and don't want to break a new one. I can just leave it in for now but thought I would just take it out. I'm a DIYer and just like doing these things and learning new things. So while it may be a waste of my time, I'm still going to do it. Just figured someone had taken a window out before and could give some advice on what tools were needed.

That's fair. I did several with a cold cut knife, including removing good ones from salvage cars and re-using them in my own cars. It's not that rewarding as work goes, but for some reason I've kept my cold knife all these years. Want it?

The piano wire and vice grips method works too, if you can avoid grinding the edge of the glass you're trying to keep. Helps to have a second person of course.

So what if a guy wants to build his own ratchet and wrench sets for the experience? Would you suggest him doing so for the experience as well?

You sure you want to ask that question on here with talented machinists amongst OCD DIY types?

 

[signcrafter]

So what if a guy wants to build his own ratchet and wrench sets for the experience? Would you suggest him doing so for the experience as well?

I would if he wants to and if I had some advice or knowledge to offer I would share it with him. There is a member here that makes a really nice hammer and set of punches in his machine shop. He could go buy a great set of punches and a really nice hammer. He could go buy a nice hammer and set of punches if he wanted to. Does that make him stupid for making his own tools? NO. Sometimes it's not about "making sense". I change my own oil when I can go to quick lube and get it changed for the same price as it costs me for oil and filter. Why? Because I know it's done right and I actually enjoy it. I installed my own remote starter when I could have had the local car audio shop do it for 50 bucks since I know the owner. Why? Because I like doing stuff myself. I've made a lot of tools for about what it would have cost to buy them. Why? Because I enjoy doing it. I spent about 2 hours making a metal frame to lift my truck bed with my engine hoist and will be making another one that is better sometime in the near future. I could buy one for around 200 bucks so if you factor in my time and material it would probably be "smarter" to just buy. But I like making things and working in the garage. I also put my own carpet in the house and it cost me more to buy the tools then it did to have someone do it for me. But I have the tools now and the main reason I did it was because we were remodeling and I could do it a room at a time.

Maybe I'm crazy or dumb or both and I will agree with those that said there really isn't a point to doing it myself. But I like doing new things and don't really see any reason not to besides those that say it's a waste of time. I was raised to do what you can yourself. From home repairs to car repairs to everything else. I can go to the store and buy tomatoes, but I grow my own, does that make me stupid? I may be a little crazy when it comes to doing things like this but that's just how I am. Now if my only option is an 800 dollar tool to take the windshield out then I'll pass. But if I can do it for a few bucks in tools then I'll give it a shot.

 

[Monte]

It's very cool but also looks to be very expensive and a bit of overkill unless all you work on is extremely expensive cars.

only €940.- + tax
http://www.fein.de/de_de/automobil/ausglasen-fahrzeuge/superwire-0298635/

 

[Zeke]

So what if a guy wants to build his own ratchet and wrench sets for the experience? Would you suggest him doing so for the experience as well?

Simply, yes. Is it practical? No. But why then are there still blacksmiths around making things with coals, an anvil and a hammer? Because smithing is one of the oldest methods of making tools in all of history and some people want to experience that.

 

[kiatech]

When I worked in shops the guys used a scraper attachment in a cordless sawzall, made quick work of it.

 

[wafrederick]

There is the heat induction too,no clean up at all after the windshield is removed.Does no damage at all and the quickest way to do it.
http://www.theinductor.com/index.php?m=28

 

[pop pop]

OP, you've already gotten more information than you need or can use, but whatever method you use will likely damage the primer/paint under the glass unless you are real careful or lucky. Take time to reprime with the special primer or the pinch weld will rust out on you later. Those who do it for a living can get them out without paint damage from experience 99% of the time. Local guys will also come and remove it. Then come back when you are ready and install a new one for you.

 

[3oheight]

my buddy has been a glass man for a long time. I have seen him use all sorts of stuff. a pull knife http://www.harborfreight.com/windshield-removing-tool-99892.html an sawzall type of tool, and even a piece of conduit smashed down on one end with a razor blade stuck in it.

 

[BBBC23]

I did give you advice about tools and even posted a pic of what's a very good tool for that job. Pricy though so as a second choice I reccomended the special blade you linked to that fits into a Sawzall. I've taken out hundreds of them over a period of 40 years. What else do you need ? If there are unanswered quesstions ask.... Need more detailed answers concerning the cold knife and the wire methods ? OK cool. The blade on the cold knife is very often way too short. The bottom edge of the glass is sometimes glued 3-4 inches up from the edge. It's also very easy to slip and give yourself a nasty cut. The blade is also too thick to fit between the body and the glass on alot of vehicles but if they made the blade thinner it would be prone to breaking. Bad choice for many reasons. Next... windshield wire (piano wire). Requires 2 people, one on each end of the wire. Easy to accidently cut through inside moldings, the top of the dash, etc. It gets hot & breaks several times before you get all the way around the glass and makes you get pissed off and resort to the BFH method. Very hard to get the wire around the bottom corners of the glass without chewing up the paint on the front fenders. What you want for Urethane is a reciprocating saw of some kind and to cut from the inside. The main difference between using the correct tool and a Sawzall is the length of the stroke. A Sawzall has a fairly long stroke and the first time you go too deep and hit the metal that surrounds the glass you will bend the blade and then you will resort to the BFH method.. Hope this explains more clearly why messing with glass is best left to a pro unless you want to spend close to $300 bucks on the right tool.

what he said

 

[rharman]

< snip >
...Fein tools are usually not cheap but its sort of a complicated way to use wire to remove a windshield. I presume there must be an advantage to it for a professional.

Mr. Goldberg would be proud.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine

 

[FJ 432]

Can a cold knife like this take one out, http://www.tooltopia.com/tool-aid-87900.aspx? Or would a urethane cutter like this help, http://www.tooltopia.com/mountain-1826.aspx? Or can I get a blade for my regular sawzall to go from the inside?

A windshield company came out and replaced my W/S and left a cold knife cutter like the first link but it's older and used. It's yours if you want it. Send me a PM.