Windscreen (its kind of cracked!)

[topgear]

Hi all,
Yesterday my windscreen opened up a hole to the outside world! IT seems there was a small crack behind the tax disc, and after going over one of thos friendly speed humps, the whole left hand side of the screen is covered in around 6 long cracks! Needless to say, i was very careful driving home along the motorway!

It will need a replacement, for sure. So how much would you estimate the cost of this?
Any ideas would be appreciated,
Cheers,

[E_T_V]

If your insurance is fully comp they'll do it for the 50 quid excess usually. Otherwise mine was 70 odd quid fitted. I had the crack in the same place too!

[MaestroMatt]

I noticed a huuuuge crack coming down from the top of my windscreen yesterday. Damn it.

[Delboy]

Provided the crack is outside the swept area of the wipers to comply with MOT requirements and if you are quick you can stop the crack running by using a small drill like a dremmel which comes with a small bit for drilling / engraving glass.

Mine was about 1.5 mm dia and by carefully drilling about 10mm ahead of the crack just deep enough to go thro’ the outer laminate then the crack will reach the small hole and stop.

I also plugged the hole with a dot of araldite to stop water / ice penetration.

After getting a crack in a brand new windscreen the above has been good for about two and a half years now, including extremes of temperature from 30 + deg C in France to freezing here.

Delboy

[John]

Watch out for the araldite it can react with the glass and cause more cracks.

[E_T_V]

Depends on how big the crack is. If it is longer than XXmm (50mm I think) then it'll still fail an MOT even if it is out of the swept area of the wipers - so I was told. When my crack was small I simply moved the wiper up a little so that it was out of the swept area, but it grew and grew and was about 4ft long by the next MOT :( Can't hide a crack that long!

Insurance is the way to sort it if you can but fully comp is too expensive for me at the moment.

[tony]

if the screen is cracked does it weaken it?

[Beaker]

I would have thought so.

:rolleyes:

[E_T_V]

Being a materials scientist I should be able to answer that one I hope. The answer is of course yes it does weaken it however (even after seeing the autoglass adverts) in my opinion I don't think that the glass is weakened massively due to the plastic layer in the laminated sandwich which is very crack tolerant and glues the two layers of glass together. The most critical thing is that you can't see properly throught the cracked area!
I've only seen glass used as a structural member in very few applications as it is so crack sensitive. Changing the topic somewhat I have actually seen a glass cylinder in a fully working engine and it was made by Rover!

[e692wtt]

Outside the area of the windscreen swept by the wipers, any defect in the screen will pass. Within the swept area it will fail if the defect cannot be contained within a 40mm circle, and in the 'special zone' centred on the steering wheel it is a 10mm circle used for reference.

Sad that I know this, I know...

The other other Rich.:confused:

[topgear]

Thanks for all your help.
I got the screen replaced in the end, cost me £70 for someone to come out to me and do it.. So, all is well..

The only problem is my rear view mirror of course had to come off.. and ive had major problems getting it to stick back again! Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to stick it to the screen PERMANENTLY! ??? :-) How about super glue?


Any suggestions, no matter how strange or silly will be considered!


Cheers! :)

[Austin-Rover]

Whatever you do - dont use superglue! My dad tried the same thing, and of course, the sun heated it up and it smeared all over the glass! I believe you can buy suction rear view mirrors that need no glue whatsoever.

[Jonathan]

You can get small double-sided adhesive pads from Halfords - they're very strong and do the job just perfectly. Obviously ensure all traces of the original pad are removed and both surfaces are clean.

[E_T_V]

For what it is worth here is my advice for sticking your mirror back on (The glass company really should have done it)

First buy the sticky pads from halfrauds or any motor retailer. Black rubbery-foamy pads the size of your mirror back.

Scrape all remains of the last ones off of the glass and mirror back. Get some Meths and thouroughly clean and degrease both surfaces. (any fingerprints will make it fall off). Warm the mirror back up with a hair dryer or something suitable till it is just warm to the touch. Stick the pad to the mirror. then warm up the area on the windscreen where you are going to stick it. Then apply the mirror firmly (and I mean firmly) to the windscreen and give it a good press on in all directions.

Bobs your uncle it should now never fall off.

If you just use the pads without good preparation of the surfaces in hot weather the mirror will simply just fall off!

Hope this helps, it has done me fine so far.

Cheers

Dan

[wemyss]

Apparently there are many cases of windscreens being cracked by not using the correct adhesive to the interior mirror.
The common result is a crack commencing from the mirror pad downwards.
The advice from windscreen companies is never to use aftermarket adhesives as they can be too powerful and promote a different rate of expansion.
nick

[Wonko_The_Sane]

Personally, after having my screen replaced and having the :censored: mirror drop off 4 times WITH a proper fitting kit, I went to a "suction" jobbie. That too fell off.

My answer? Open sunroof, and throw mirror upwards and out. Wingmirrors do a great job. Also better as I don't get dazzled by prats at night.

It's also fine with the MOT..so mine is staying out..:)

[John]

I used Araldite, it worked on mine but cracked the wifes right down the middle so I don't recommend, the sticky pads with correct preparation sound the best bet.

[mgdavid]

you can buy the correct special adhesive pads from Rover - about £1.30 each IIRC

[fastrack1966]

Returning to the first post re Windscreen - if anyone else suffers damage due to speed humps all may not be lost. In Hastings we have more humps than the whole of East Sussex. An enthusiastic driver spent weekends surveying over 300 of these things and found several were over-height or somehow infringing the regs. Councils are bound by the law as well as motorists and can be liable for vehicle damage over Suspicious Humps.
Claiming for an already damaged windscreen is pushing it a bit, but exhaust damage is a common complaint. I suffered it myself but by the time I realised the cause and saw the effect there was so much rust a claim was too overdue,

BrianJ

[topgear]

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments! i have, this afternoonm got that special adhesive from rover and stuck the mirror back, so fingers crossed it works... i was looking for some more lively suggestions such as:

1. Mix up a pound of weedkiller and sugar, add some honey.. ignite, wait for a bang.. and with the residue left over stick the mirror on.

2. Chewing gum!

3. Wallpaper paste/

4. Bluetack.

etc. etc...
but in the event your suggestions have been really helpful, and i thank you for all your time!
Regarding the speed humps, they're more hassle than they are worth!