Ot glued in windshield removal

[fordman]

i was at the junkyard last month or the month before. and they were removing a windshield for my dodge dakota. they used a iron to heat the glue that held the windshield to the cab. does anyone know what that iron is called. or where i can get one of them? i have a carpet seaming iron. i dont know if that will work though. i also have a bad windshield remover knife thing. but its for removing the old bad windshields.

[ncranchero]

I have fought ...... and broken......windshields several times over the years. I recently had to remove one from a Dakota. After working on it several hours I decided there HAD to be a better removal tool. I decided to give a cutter like this a try.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Air-Wind ... veQ5fTools

http://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-W ... B00061SHKI

Let me tell you, this is one of those things I cannot believe I hadn't bought before. I had the glass out, in perfect condition, in 15 minutes. It was so easy I still can't believe it! They had them at tractor Supply or Harbor Freight or somewhere locally too I found after I bought mine from eBay. When I got mine in March they weren't as high as the one I linked to. Mine was $40 w/$12 shipping. Look around for the best price but buy one. You'll be glad you did!

[fordman]

i want the heat one.

[bnl44]

It’s a “Magnetic Induction Heater”. It uses electromagnetism to reach through the glass to heat the metal surface and break down the adhesive bond.
Because it heats the metal side and not the glass is why it works so well.
Applying enough heat from the glass side usually will create rapid expansion in small uneven areas, which means it will most likely crack the glass.

You can buy one of your own.
http://www.ntxtools.com/network-tool-wa ... -6650.html
here is a YouTube video of it in use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0a-zLVdR-Y

It's on my Some Day list.
Maybe when the price comes down some more.

[fordman]

thank you very much. i guess its out of my price range too. i wanted to go get one from the junkyard myself. the one i seen ran on a battery i think. maybe not. but i wanted to be able to remove one myself without having to pay someone else to do it.

[sargentrs]

One of those "windshield replacement where you park" guys came out to where I work and swapped out the windshield for one of our employees. He had an interesting tool. I think it was air but may have been electric. It was kinda like a air hammer with a spatula attachment. The blade was really thin, about 1-1/2" wide x 6" long and looked like a beaver tail. It was steel but still flexible, almost like spring steel. He just hopped inside, slid it down the windshield to the rubber/sealant and hit the trigger and then worked his way around the inside and outside. Took him, like, 10 mins to go all the way around in and out and then cut the rubber on the outside and lifted out the glass. Made short work of the cleanup around the gasket area too.

[fordman]

that would definetly trash a dakota windshield. there is no way to get under it at all because of the hard plastic trim. i broke my good dakota windshield because of the plastic trim. all i was doing was cutting the tirm away from the windshield so we could get under it. i didnt get very far.

[ncranchero]

I don't know what year Dakota you're working on, and I know you can't take the tool I posted out into a junkyard but I bought that tool to remove a 2004 Dakota windshield and it worked like a charm. The hard moulding on a 2004 is at the top so you just do the top from inside, the sides and bottom from the outside.

Pardon me for posting Dodge photos on a Ford site but.....
Bought like this, 2004 V8 auto 4x4 w/28K miles.

Even with limited time lately it's coming along fine.


I had a same color parts truck and that's what I removed the windshield from.

[fordman]

my dakota has the molding on top and both sides. it is one piece that wraps all the way around. i was just scoring the plastic with a utility knife when the windshield cracked.

[ncranchero]

I did a 94 F250 4x4 before this Dodge....... and before my air tool . Nicked it on the bottom with only about 12"-18" to go....... CRACKED! So, that meant a $164 windshield. I know the pain!

What year Dakota are you working on, if I may ask?

[ncranchero]

I was surprised at the way the vibrating/reciprocating/whatever-ya-call-it action cut the urethane in this glass! Yep, hold it against your hand and no cut at all.

I tried a Harbor Freight hot knife first, ptttttttt that was a joke!

[fordman]

well i was working on a 88. but i have that glass from a junkyard now. because i cracked mine. 70.00 pulled. i was actually wanting the heater for another piece of glass i have in a hatchback. but at those prices. i may just wait until i test the rear heat in the glass in the car before i go to try and save the other glass. nothing happened the first time i checked it. but i didnt check very long. plus i may have to pull other glass at the junkyard. and i thought the heat tool would be great if i had to do this and could save costs doing it. but it seems not. plus i could use it to change out other windows in the future.

[fordman]

wow i did it. i took my carpet seamer. and used it to heat the glue under the glass. i just ran it over the top of the glass and let it sit a few times here and there. and it unglued the sealant. i was able to pull the rear hatch glass out of the old hatch i have from a escort i bought. now i just have to figure a way to do this out in a junkyard. if i ever have to.