You're welcome! The rear (defroster) glass is not laminated. Unless you mean the defroster grid is delaminating. The grid usually fail by fracturing (open circuit) from corrosion, not delamination.

I posted a thread on how to test the defroster grid:

How to test W123 back glass defroster DIY the easy way

If the glass is still in the car, use the ammeter on the fuse panel. If the glass is out already, use an ohm meter (should be around 2 ohms)

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

IDK. You may be the one to answer your own question. Give it a try and report back.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I have my glass out right now. I have a new seal, but decided to replace the tint that the PO scratched and tore a bit.

I will try the Dap glazing. I think it should waterproof as well as anything, and also stay flexible.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

Also a question about the foam tape, Mercedes part# 123 627 00 98.

What is the purpose of it? I didn't see any sign of it under the rear glass, just a bunch of grey glazing. Seemed to work fantastically. Bone dry and absolutely no rust. Should I bother with the sticky foam tape, or just rely on new glazing?

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

I think mine is actually tearing itself apart as a result of the delamination (though, I'll grant you, it seems an academic point!)

Glass Guy who knows these cars pretty well tells me that there are two types of these rear windows - some with the defroster laminated directly between the structural layers of the window. This is what my OEM window looks like; in it, the defroster tracks are very fine - almost invisible.

In the other type, the defroster is laid on the inside surface of the of the window (I have this type as my replacement). He chose to call this the non-laminated type. Was certainly confusing to me, as the entire window is constructed by lamination in both cases!

It's easy to see that this non-laminated type of defroster grid can rust/corrode, as you suggest.

Yes, thanks for that. The '7 Amps'/'2 Ohms' bits were the things I was looking for. My sense is that the amp draw is the more sensitive test - window I have now, for example, will I'm sure draw quite a bit of amperage, as much of the defroster path is still electrically intact. My guess is that the resistance testing, especially without the effect of flowing amperage, will be misleading on a partially-intact defroster. Heck, we'll see!

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'83 300 SD
'68 Triumph TR 250 - The only car I ever loved more than the Mercedes; who needs electricity, anyway? - Damn, why did I sell it?!
'59 Jaguar 3.4 'Le Chat Noir' - Damn, why did I sell it?!

It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.
- Niels Bohr

I replaced my W123 240D rear seal recently, welding up some rust holes in the right quarter. Metal repair went well. and was not the cause of later problems. However, when I removed the window, I pulled the trim out rather than cutting it out. Although I did this very carefully the trim distorted. I had a new Uro rubber seal which , from discussion here, probably did not help and I could not get the trim to sit down in the seal around the window edge in preparation for installation. I'm a patient person, but after about a week, with fingers bruised to the point where I could not continue, I took it all to a local expert. There are two installers in my area and the first one I contacted said he would install without the trim. Information on this site had told me this was wrong so I went to the other man. He got it all in (with trim) with the help of two assistants and cord around the rim, but it is not pretty as the trim does not seat well. He installed it without sealant, then ran a bead of butyl mastic under the lip all round. The job works and doesn't leak. Other work on the car now has priority, but I will try it again one day with 'new' secondhand straight trim and a better quality seal.

One way to get the trim off without distorting it is to spray soapy water on it first, then lift one end carefully to get a rope under it and pull the rope to lift the trim out while spraying it. To straighten bent trim use a rubber mallet on the trim against a wood block.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Following up. I have a small leak, which I was able to finally pinpoint today after it rained but before it dried. It is in one spot on glass to molding. I always had a towel shoved in the gap between the hat rack and the molding to absorb any water. I would always find a damp towel in the same spot every time after it rained. Not much, maybe about 2 tablespoons worth at most since the towel is damp in one spot and not saturated or dripping water. Neither the carpet or trunk gets wet.

I did get another tube of 3M sealant to do the glass to molding. But it was done a day after it rained and I did not take precaution to make sure it is dry (like blowing it out with an air gun). It most likely did have water in the gaps between glass to rubber which I'm sure did not help. Now I know exactly where it's leaking, I will blow it dry and add more sealant. The second tube of 3M sealant is used up already, most of it leaked out the bottom of the tube (bad design). I have a jar of plumbers putty from Home Depot and will try to use that to seal up the leak ($1.79 instead of the 3M sealant $19).

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Like other posters I installed a new URO seal on my back window and the trim just won't lock in. After quite a lot of frustration I decided to put down the hammer and walk away. The window doesn't leak but there is no trim. I'm going to buy a genuine MB window seal and do it again correctly.

I did order the tube of genuine MB window sealant from the dealer but have not applied it yet. It was around $25 if I remember correctly. I don't know how that compares to the price of other tubes of sealing material. Even though an adhesive sealant will make future window replacements quite difficult I don't think most of our cars will be around long enough to need a new seal again unless the window is broken.

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'82 300D - Light Ivory, 2nd Owner (Back in the wind April 2013!)

'95 E300D - White, grey interior. (Suffering from stuck/broken glow plugs)

Deuteronomy 22:4-
"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again."

Steve, I had an old glass guy tell me, to remove the Trim, slide the little slider at the top to one side. Gently lift up in the trim enough to slip in a piece of 3/16" line under the trim. Loop it so you are holding both ends, then pull back as you hold the trim down so it doesn't curl.

In PNP, use a spring loaded Center Punch, glass will be in a million pieces instantly. knock out remaining glass, move slider to one side. pull down from the center. It will sag some, pull down gently, pull out the sides, and lift up and you will have the gasket and trim out.

Then gently remove the Trim. Be careful with the lower piece, it will bend/tweek easily.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Good news! The leak has stopped! It's been raining for a few hours. I just checked and the towel is dry and water is not coming in through that spot between glass and rubber anymore. Either the leak stopped from debris plugging up the leak, or from me pushing on the rubber from inside the car the last time I checked it. When I applied the sealant about a month ago, I did push all along the gasket from outside the car to "squish" the sealant, but not from inside. So pushing on the gasket may have redistributed the sealant and plugged the leak.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

What do you mean the trim won't lock in? How and when was the trim installed?

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I was just hipped to this excellent thread .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better