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#1
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Removal of rear windshield on W126
I am trying to repair a rust condition on my 86 420sel on the bottom of the rear windshield. How hard a job is this to remove the rear windshield? Do I have to replace the seal after the windshield is removed? I search the archive here, but no step by step instruction. Don't want to break the glass in the process. Last time I check, it was about a $1000 for it.
Thanks, John |
#2
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Yes you will need a new gasket it is about $80-$90 from the dealer. As for removing it I have yet to do this same repair on mine, I am waiting for winter break. But my dad has removed one from my parts car and he said it was simple. I know you need to pull down the interor panals to disconnect the connections for the heater. I think after that you can just push the rear window out but I am not 100% sure.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#3
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I just dropped by the local MB dealer bodyshop to get a quote on fixing rust in the same spot on my W126.
The bodyshop manager has been there for years and knows his stuff. He has painted my car before and knew exactly where to look for rust spots on W126's, etc. He insists the gasket can be reused. I thought that was kind of weird, but he said they always reuse them unless there are visible cracks or if they are rotted. I was quoted 3hrs to remove & reinstall the back glass, so that should give you an idea. He said the rear interior panels (as hatterasguy pointed out) need to be removed. Both apparently need to be removed since the heated element has two connectors, not just one. He said to be VERY careful while the glass is out.. its quite fragile unless installed and very easy to crack. You might want to have a glass shop quote you on the remove/reinstall and do the rest of the work yourself. I was quoted C$180 to remove/reinstall (using existing gasket) and C$200-250 to sand all of the rust, treat it properly, then repaint both rusty areas. Mine is bubbling out from under the gasket and now reaches about 1/2" away from the gasket edge. The rust spot is about 3" wide (the visible part anyway.. I'm sure there is more!) I figured for the C$500 it wasn't worth it trying to screw with the glass, risk breaking it, sand & repaint rust, etc. My point is you may want to check with an MB dealer or VERY good shop.. it may not be worth your time to mess with it. Hope this helps! Neal
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'83 300SD 335,000km (207k) mi SOLD '87 560SL 163,000km (101k mi) SOLD '86 300SDL 356,000km (220k mi) SOLD '92 500SEL 250,000km (155k mi) SOLD '90 300SL 140,000km (87k mi) SOLD '01 S430 260,000km (161k mi) SOLD '03 SL500 167,000km (104k mi) SOLD '07 S550 4MATIC 235,000km (146k mi) SOLD '07 GL320 CDI 4MATIC 348,000km (215k mi) '13 GL350 BlueTec 4MATIC 170,000km (105k mi) '14 SL550 72,000km (43k mi) |
#4
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I would replace any gasket that is over 5 years old. I don't want any leaks or to have to re do the job.
My local body shop wanted $800 to pull the glass and replace the chrome trim and rear seal. But they said to fix the rust they would have to cut it out and weld in new metal. Their a resto shop, and their right that is the proper way to fix it but I don't have $3k now to spend on that. So I will just grind it down and paint it for now.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#5
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Quote:
~Bill |
#6
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Locally, a body shop quote me $200 for the job, reusing the seal. But he said he will grind down the metal and use fiberglass sheet to fill in. He did my front windshield, replacing it with a new one (was badly cracked), sand down all the rust, paint new primer and reseal it due to water leakage for $299. I guess I can't complain.
John |
#7
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I had the rear window replaced on my '85 380SE by a local auto glass specialty shop (Standard Auto Glass, Canadian, don't know if they are in the U.S. too). I dropped the car off after the glass arrived and they had it installed in under 2 hours.
They did call to let me know about a rust spot hidden by the seal on the lower lip, which I went over and treated myself with some steel wool and metal prep. They applied a coat of glass primer, re-used the rubber seal after cleaning it up, and the whole job, including glass, was about $500.00 CDN. I brought the shop manual over to provide details of interior panel removal, glass removal and install procedure, etc. The guy told me after that he didn't even have to take out the package shelf, just pulled back the side panel to reveal the heater wire connection and that was that, no leaks at all over the summer (done in April). There's a HUGE difference in the price of OEM glass and aftermarket. The only visible difference is the heater wires. The MB version had a large number of fine wires running vertically. The glass from India had thicker wires running horizontally. I know some have posted here that the fit is not always as good with the non-OEM either, but mine seems OK. The price differential was about $900.00+, so I'm living quite contently with the latter design, which is fine for a car that never sees winter here anyway.
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1986 560SL 2002 Toyota Camry 1993 Lexus |
#8
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But you want to use an oe seal. The aftermarket ones are junk and not much cheaper.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#9
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I had my (leaking) gasket replaced on my 560SEC last week. I had an indy auto glass shop do the work.
The dealer here in Portland quoted 4.6 hours (nearly $500) for the job in addition to the part $99. The indy shop did it for $125 and they went above and beyond the pale by sealing it with extra stuff. The 126 rear window is brittle becauase it is laminated glass, and thus very easy to break. In general, seals should not be re-used. To be done right to minimize chances of rear window breakage, the old seal should be carefully cut away so as not to damage or nick (introduce a weak spot) into the laminated rear window. Rust should be checked and treated if necessary. Then a new gasket/sealer should be used and the window replaced. This is a several hour job by a competent shop. Hope this helps. Cheers, Gerry |
#10
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I'm assuming a typo here...$99.00 for the glass?? I'd grab a couple of them as spares at that price!
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1986 560SL 2002 Toyota Camry 1993 Lexus |
#11
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I'm assuming $99 is for the rear window seal. But used rear glass should be pretty cheap their are a lot of junked W126's.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
#12
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$99 for the rear window SEAL. The rear window glass for a 560SEC is just under $1,000, retail.
Cheers, Gerry |
#13
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I just had the back glass replaced on my 84 300SD for $256 =tax by Safelite. The milky areas in the corners finally got to where they were extended about 9 inches into the glass and the heater no longer worked. All the junkyards had windows that were milky too and there was no guarantee that anyone I hired would not breaK the glass installing it. I bought a new gasket from Caliber (an MB dealer in Anaheim with reasonable parts prices).
When safelite quoted the job I had a choice of a laminated glass like the original one or a tempered glass. I wanted to keep it original so I requested the laminated one. When the guy arrived he had a tempered glass but it had the stock number of the laminated glass. They shipped in another window and it was the same. We finally figured that the laminated glass was no longer available through them and that they just had not adjusted their computer yet. The dealer had one but it was $750. He said that 86 to 91 126s have a different glass (Maybe to cure the milky delamination problem) I found a place on E-Bay that advertised all types of windshields and back glasses, so I wrote an e-mail E-Bay sellers inquiry to ask whether He had a laminated back glass for a 300SD. When I didn't hear from him i went ahead with the tempered one. Safelite did a great job and Everything is ok now. They had to use a little extra goo because the tempered glass is thinner than the laminated one. One week later I got an E-mail from henrylisk@earthlink.net telling me he had a new laminated glass for my car for $177 = 76.55 freight to anywhere in the lower 48 states. The installer said that my original gasket was OK but i used the new one anyway because i am tired of having water in the trunk. Anyone who wants it can have it.
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Tom Hughes St. Louis 84 300SD 92 300D 86 300SDL |
#14
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After hitting the send button I see that I left a couple of things out. That was $256 + tax for the job. The gasket was $55 from Performance but I went to the dealer and spent $72.98 to be sure I got an original MB part.
The guy from Safelite came to my house and removed the glass and cleaned the channel. He was willing to come back 0n another day for installation so I was able to fix a couple of minor rust spots. I used POR 15 and would recommend it. If you have some serious rust you could use POR Putty. Hope this helps.
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Tom Hughes St. Louis 84 300SD 92 300D 86 300SDL |
#15
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Wow. I did a search on the windows of these cars and needless to say I am in awe at the price just to have the resealed. Hopefully it varies region by region. I had no idea it was this costly to replace/reseal. When I had the rear glass resealed on my old 72' Buick, it was $50.00 and took about 15 minutes- no panels had to be removed and no rust was under it - and it was even 30 years old when I had it done.
My window has a very small amout of the hazing, which I do not care about, so I want to keep my glass, but I do want to get it resealed. I am going to call around tomorrow to get some quotes on getting a new seal installed, unless using caulk (as recommended by some) may be a better way to go. However, I have noticed a small rust spot on the lower left corner of the glass. I think I may try to get some sandpaper in there, sand it a bit, and they put some rust inhibitor on it - then perhaps try the reseal with caulk. Seems messy however. I do not know how I can effectively get the caulk under the seal. Many have said if the seal is flexible, then it should be OK. Well, mine is very pliable and flexible, but I am pretty sure the seal is leaking, because I have that blasted rust on the upper inside of the trunk under the rear window area where those holes are. I hate leaks - I hate rust. |
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