NEED HELP Rear Window To Hinge Adhesive

mrwitty_1

Original poster
Member
Jan 28, 2014
90
Has anyone had a problem with the adhesive that holds the rear glass to the hinge coming lose ? I had been having trouble with the lift gate and the glass binding on the roof line when opened after the truck had been in the sun. I removed the spoiler that holds the high mount stop light because the two outer mounting bolts had broken from the plastic, thinking that was the reason for the binding. After repairing but before I could get a chance to re-install, I open the rear glass to find that the left side has become separated from the hinge. Lucky for me it did not break the glass so I removed the lift strut from the glass to remove the force on the glass. Can anyone confirm what was used to secure the glass to hinge, looks like it maybe windshield urethane. I'm considering either 3M 08609 super fast urethane or would an epoxy be better ? Not sure about the force of the lift strut against the repair maybe repair and leave the strut off a few weeks or until cooler weather allowing the adhesive to cure. Any thoughts ?
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
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mrwitty_1

Original poster
Member
Jan 28, 2014
90
Sounds like urethane is the choice now what to do with the rest of the tube.... lol
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
Yeah, I know .....I did search for a smaller tube (with no luck). These are sized for a full windshield job I guess.
 

ddgm

Member
May 7, 2013
152
If it were me, I would take it to a Windshield install/repair place, like Speedy. They may have access to adhesive not available to the public.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
What about the adhesive to stick back on rear view mirror mounts?
I think that mirror stuff is too thin, it's like Crazy glue. If you look at the hinges you will see that the metal is dimpled to apparently allow space for a viscous adhesive. I can see what appears to be urethane oozing out on the spring hinge on mine.
 
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Reprise

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Jul 22, 2015
2,724
A while back, I came across a guy who documented a JB Weld-based repair for his TB rear window (w/ pics.) He used a specific variety; I forget which, but I think he waited 24hr to cure.

Right now I'm on my phone, but if you can't find it, I'll look for it later. AFAIK, the repair lasted.
 

mrwitty_1

Original poster
Member
Jan 28, 2014
90
I have ordered new hinge pins,bushings,retainers etc. Upon investigation the bushings are gone and the pins are worn. After they arrive I will remove the glass clean the old adhesive and apply the 3M product, and repair the pins and bushings. Hopefully this will fix the binding issue also.
 

Twisted

Member
Jan 17, 2018
12
Chicago
I used construction adhesive worked for me but ,,,,,I try not to use the glass unless I hafta I just outlined the hinge area & carefully ground off the old adhesive,put on a good amount of the construction adhesive & was able to lightly clamp it for a few days then re assembled the glass ,,,,good luck &a be careful with that GLASS
 
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WarGawd

Member
Sep 2, 2012
468
I have a spare rear glass if anybody might wanna come and get it or cover shipping from Ottawa.

FWIW, I believe its from a Trailblazer, and I believe the glass curvature is very mildly different that the original glass on my Envoy. But it worked well enough for me when I removed mine to repair the defrost gridlines.
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
XL or SWB? They are different.
 

WarGawd

Member
Sep 2, 2012
468
I honestly dont recall, been quite a while since i grabbed it at Kenny u pull. My guess would be it's from an EXT TB, because the structure of the various hardware bits that the HMSL mounts to are the same as on my Envoy and i think the SWB models are a bit different. The glass itself impinges a bit on the tailight housings when i close the hatch, whereas the glass from the Envoy doesn't.

If there's any real interest in it, i think i remember some part marking on it.
 

WarGawd

Member
Sep 2, 2012
468
If there's any real interest in it, i think i remember some part marking on it.

I have finally fixed my defrost grid, and re-mounted my HMSL, and re-installed my original rear glass. I also noticed today it's a much darker tint than the spare I was using in it's place while I worked on the original so that's nice to have back.

I took a closer look, and can't seem to find any part markings on the spare glass so I'm not 100% sure what I took it from. I'm sure it'll suffice for anybody who may want it in the Ottawa area.
 

Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Don't use epoxy - the bond strength declines as the temperature increases. The heat from the sun could cause a failure.
 

mrwitty_1

Original poster
Member
Jan 28, 2014
90
Update on remounting the hinge to the glass. First I removed the rear window and cleaned all the old adhesive which was a task in itself, the lower part of the hinge had a very sticky black adhesive that only seemed to hold the hinge in place and then it seemed to be set with an epoxy on the rest of the hinge. With seeing this I decided to try a five minute epoxy, everything went well and it was very solid, so I let it dry 24 hours, when I went to install the glass it immediately separated from the steel hinge, Fail ! !
I then had to remove the epoxy from the glass, not an easy task. The epoxy had set to the glass extremely well, with a small flat putty knife and a small hammer that task was done without damage to the glass. Next I had many thoughts of how to repair and even went as far a pricing a rear glass with privacy and heat.... needless to say I think $650 is a bit much. I thought maybe drill the steel hinge with a series of holes to allow the epoxy to seep thru to the upper side and then bond that, but after the first removal of epoxy without damage I feared the second time I might not be as lucky if it failed. I then tried the 3M 08609 super fast urethane as I had first thought. I allowed it to set over night but needed the truck the next day so I had to reinstall it on the truck. I did not install the pin in the hinge as the urethane was still soft, days past as the urethane was still setting and in the direct sunlight would still allow the hinge to move without the glass. Two weeks after the repair the urethane has set up hard and I reinstalled the pin, so far so good, even in the heat of the sunlight it remains solid. Only time will tell .....
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
Epoxy has let me down about as many times as it has helped me, I think JB weld is the most over rated of the bunch, even the word "weld" seems to be an attempt to mislead.
 
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Twisted

Member
Jan 17, 2018
12
Chicago
I removed the window ,lined up the hinge as best as I could ( eyeballed it ) outlined it with a crayon cleaned up the the old adhesive &used construction adhesive & lightly clamped it & let it sit overnight & re installed it the next day,,,,,,its been over a year But I try NOT to use it unless I hafta ,,,,,,good luck
 

vipergg

Member
Dec 7, 2011
191
I would take it to someone like Safelight, they would probably fix it for not too much .
 

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