Yesterday I bit the bullet and replaced the rear window gasket myself on my 300D. I had found someone to do the job for $75 but with no guarantee against breaking the glass. So, having done two windshields (on little Triumphs) I decided to attempt it.

Well, I did it without breaking it, but I must have bent the aluminum trim taking the old rubber out because it doesn't sit quite right. I'm not sure I got rid of the leak, but I feel a lot better because the old gasket was a mess! And I understand the concern about that glass because it is real thin. I thought several times I was going to break it but I was lucky.

The good (?)part in doing it myself was that I caught some rust starting under the gasket before it rusted through. Other than that, it wasn't worth the effort, as it took me ( I am slow) about 7 hours of not-so-fun work. But if you do have someone else replace it, my advice is to ask up front what they will do if rust is encountered. You want to be sure it will be fixed, and have some idea what that might add to the cost.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)