My rear windshield is leaking. I supposedly have one on order from mercedes - coming from germany - but not actually in stock. I have been assured that it is going to come - I hope but have my doubts. It has been about 2 months now.

I didn't actually order it, the guy who does all our glasswork at our dealership did through one of his suppliers, somehow it is actually cheaper than me ordering directly from mercedes??? When I checked with mercedes myself, it had to come from germany. He refuses to use any aftermarket seals except for certain brands known to be good (with good cause).

Can anyone recommend a decent source for these seals? I'm really sick of my trunk filling with water. It has been sealed up temporarily with silicone but I want it fixed.

__________________
1982 300sd, new project car to restore

It doesn't matter if you know what you're doing, as long as you look like you know what you're doing.

The general consensus, as you know, is to stick with OE for that seal. It's extremely complex in shape and the tolerancing must be exact for the thing to function as designed.

With aftermarket, it's a total crapshoot.

Although, I must say, the new sealant that only the installers have is quite excellent. They have confidence that it can seal anything............for a very long time. They ran a bead on the inside edge of the seal to the glass on the SD...........very impressive material.

In my experience the dealer can usually reduce their cost to you by about 10% - but they make a really tiny margin on the part then. I've bought stuff at cost via the dealer before because of a cock up and the amount they make is tiny. It isn't like other retail situations from what I can make out where you can afford to give 50% off etc.

Have you actually checked with the dealer for the cost of the replacement seal? Are you going to be saving that much? Have you asked fastlane for a quote yet?

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

IIRC the dealer is about $150

aftermarket is about $80-90

Dealer/ OE all the way. Order it from Phil here at fast lane and get free shipping.

The glass guys I have encountered will not install aftermarket seals for the windshield and rear glass on older german vehicles.

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

AND be prepared if this has leaked for a long time, to encounter RUST back there. Repair that correctly with POR-15 etc. If possible pull the rear glass (carefully) before you call the glass guy and see what lies beneath so you have time to fix it.

__________________
-------------------------------
'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

X2.

You don't want to find out that the steel supporting deck for the glass is heavily rusted after the glass is removed. The vehicle is at the glass shop and you have no options.

Remove the glass yourself and treat the area with POR-15, as minimum, provided that the rust has not severely compromised the window channel. If that has occurred, you need the replacement channel from M-B............if you can still get one.

I removed the rear glass from an '86 420 SEL to install in my 84 300 SD. The glass in the SD was 'frosting,' in the lower corners. I purchased a hook type blade for my standard sized utility knife which made the removal quick and easy. I noticed there was a layer of compound between the glass and the rubber seal. It was a light-grayish color and the texture reminded me of plumber's putty. Can anyone tell me what this stuff is? When did MB begin using it and was it used in response to the frosting issues?

No I am not a 7 yr old boy though the rapid fire of questions may indicate otherwise.