[ROVERNET - UK] SD1 Windshield removal

Tue Mar 20 05:41:16 GMT 2007

Nick,

Everything Bill has said fits with my experience.

I repainted the lower "shaded" edge of my windshield with some epoxy 
paint I had in the garage, and it stuck just fine.

You need to cut the trim and windshield out. Don't try to push it out or 
lever it out.

The original Rover windshield (at least on early cars) has an 
electrically-resistant wire wire going through the goop (it might be in 
the windshield, but I think it was in the goop). The service manual 
explains the factory procedure of hooking the two ends of this wire up 
to an electrical source which causes it to heat up and melt the goop for 
removal and installation. As an alternative removal tool, I used a 
heavy-duty needle to pull a guitar string through the existing goop, and 
then used the guitar string to pull something heavier through. You need 
something big enough to not break when you pull on it but small enough 
to cut through the sealant. You'll be yanking on it fairly hard.

In the past, there have been some posts about how fragile the windshield 
is and how they often crack after installation. Here are a couple of 
points to remember. First, when you install the glass, be certain that 
there is no direct glass-to-metal contact. It should be centered in the 
opening and float a bit. Second, I think most (probably all) of the 
problems people have are due to using flimsier after-market windshield 
in place of the original windshield. I think the Series 2 cars got 
cheaper glass, but all of the SD1's we got in the states came with an 
original equipment Triplex windshield that was very strong. If you have 
an early SD1 with an original windshield installed at the factory with 
the wire in the goop, it is very tough. I removed an original one from 
my parts car and installed it in place of the stone-damaged windshield 
on my good car. I thought I was going to be cute and tap the old damaged 
windshield with a hammer and watch it fall into a thousand little 
pieces. I found that I had to really whack at it using a heavy hammer to 
have any effect at all. Once the glass was cracked all over into tiny 
pieces, the windshield still retained its original shape and would not 
bend! It was amazing. There seem to be at least a couple of sheets of 
plastic in the Triplex laminate material. I ended up putting it in place 
on the parts car afterward just as a physical barrier to support the tarp.

For the sealant and adhesive, I went to my local auto body materials 
supplier and asked for their advice. Remember, the SD1 windshield is 
actually bonded to the body of the car and adds rigidity to the 
structure. Make sure your supplier knows this, if you ask for advice. 
You don't want to just use any old black goop you pick up at the local 
hardware shop. I think the two products I used were by 3M.

If I recall correctly, I was given some stuff that was actually a long 
bead of "caulk" coiled up between two sheets of "waxed" paper. The bead 
is extremely tacky and about 3/8" in diameter. This held the windshield 
in position on the car pretty darn well, but Bill's suggestion about 
using a couple of spacers to keep it from sliding down out of center is 
a good one (and I'm pretty sure I did that as well).  This beaded stuff 
was especially useful because you do not want the glass up against the 
metal at any point, or it is likely to crack. The windshield is bonded, 
but it should be up off of the metal. Sounds like Bill had one fairly 
thick material. In my case, the bead supported the glass, and the 
finishing sealant could be fairly thin. When the windshield is put into 
place, you put pressure around the perimeter to seat the glass and 
compress the bead. Then you install the finishing sealant, and the trim 
is held in place by that.

When I did this job, I had never installed a windshield before. I got 
good advice from the body shop materials supplier and had no trouble at 
all doing the job. I had no cracks and no leaks.

Glen

Magnet wrote:
>  We took the trim off first, to get access to the joint.  The screen was 
> pretty loose at the top (hence the leak) and it was easy to get the 
> wire through.  We cleaned up the old screen (razor blade got rid of 
> the old sealant) and re-fitted it with polyurethane windscreen 
> adhesive sealant.
>
> Hints:  Re-paint the black band at the bottom, if it's gone flaky, 
> with the most durable paint you can find.  We used rubberized 
> rocker panel paint, but it has shrunk after two years.   Use little 
> blocks of wood under the edge of the screen to hold it in position 
> while the adhesive cures.  Don't put the moulding in too soon, but 
> not too late (!)  You can judge the right time by the feel of the curing 
> adhesive.  Don't drive the car at speed till the adhesive has really 
> cured.  (We lost the top trim piece to the wind this way -- happily 
> found it by the side of the road the next day).
>
> The hardest bit was getting a nice-looking smooth bead of sealant.  
> The stuff we used was really too high viscosity -- meant, I think, for 
> use with an air gun -- and was very hard to extrude smoothly with a 
> hand caulking gun.
>
> Good luck!
>
>  -- Bill
>
> =======
>
> On 19 Mar 
>
> 07, at 17:49, flynp170 at cablelynx.com wrote:
>
>   
>> Bill, did you remove chrome after screen was out? You cleaned and
>> reused old window? What did you use for sealant? Thanks Nick
>>  We took the screen out of my son's SD-1 by working a thin steel wire
>>     
>>> through the joint and dragging it around the circumference to cut >
>>>       
>> through the adhesive.  The chrome trim is embedded in the sealant, and
>>     
>>> just pries out (with care, of course!) > >  His screen leaked like a
>>>       
>> sieve, too!  (But not, I'm happy to say, after > replacement! ;-) > >
>> Cheers, > > > Bill Daddis > > TARC > > ================== > > Nick and
>> Laurie Hand wrote: >> My 1980 SD1 leaks  water around the windscreen.
>> My local shop is scared >> they >> will brake it , whilst trying to
>> remove. So I'm going to remove and go >> from >> there. I need help
>> with the basics, i.e. how do I remove chrome? Any >> ideas >> on glass
>> removal? I tried a petty good push, but it seems really tight >> [but
>> not water tight] Thanks Nick >> >> >>
>> _______________________________________________ >> rovernet mailing
>> list >> rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com >> To unsubscribe, go to this web
>> page, look near the bottom and follow >> instructions: >>
>> http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet >> Back-up list
>> and photos at: >> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/ >> >>
>>     
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________ > rovernet
>>>>>>>               
>> mailing list > rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com > To unsubscribe, go to this
>> web page, look near the bottom and follow > instructions: >
>> http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet > Back-up list and
>> photos at: > http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/ >
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
> --
> Aurora, Ontario, Canada
> The Toronto Area Rover Club
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rovernet mailing list
> rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com
> To unsubscribe, go to this web page, look near the bottom and follow instructions:
> http://mailman.nipltd.com/mailman/listinfo/rovernet
> Back-up list and photos at:
> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rover_net/
>
>   