Replace rear glass 1998 Subaru Legacy

[Yoyota]

I had a rock thrown through my rear window last week. For the first time in a long time the Internet let me down. Very little information on how to remove and replace the rear glass on any car- never mind a Subaru.  So here is my accounting of my experience. It should be mentioned that the real reason I did this is because the cost of the glass and the install fee was pretty crazy expensive. Min $650 and then $260 on top of that to install it never mind taxes.  It took me most of the day to hack out the replacement glass from a salvaged hatch back, clean up the broken glass from the receiving car and glue it into place. A lot of work to be sure but I saved $900+ so, worth it in my opinion.

 

Here is the before picture:

 

The tools that really helped were a oscillating saw and guitar strings.

 

Saw in action ( Look very closely for the little teeth)

 

I used a medium sized blade on the saw. A 3/4" blade for wood. I really took my time and did not force it at any point. First thing I did was to remove the "SUBARU" bar and lights from the donor hatch. It would get in the way of the removal of the glass. I put a piece of foam to protect the glass. At times I had to lightly strap the hatch to my work table to stop it from moving.

 

 

 

I used the oscillating saw to cut a hole for the guitar string. You have to use them like a pull saw. A handle on either side. Pull, pull,pull.  I started with the largest E string and worked my way through a set of old strings, breaking them as I went. I went through  almost a full set but finished with the second smallest string

 

I had started using wrenches as handles but it was too hard on my hands so I made some wooden handles and drilled a small hole for the guitar string. I had to keep a eye out to not hack up the gaskets on the window. That being said there was some damage done to the seals. Not enough to worry about but it would have been nice to pull the window cleanly.

 

FINISHED!

 

 

One of the surprises were these plastic plugs that had to be cut through with the wire

 

The hardest part of this project was removing the glass intact from the donor hatch. It took a long time. You have to be careful of the defrost connectors and the seal on the donor glass. I took hours. Cleaning up the urethane caulking on the glass was fast and easy on the glass side with the oscillating saw!! Like 60 seconds!!!   Not so much on the car side. I would strongly recommend safety glasses as the splinters shoot into your face as you cut away the glass impregnated glass with the oscillating saw.  I also damaged the paint on my car with the saw.

 

I was not too worried as it would be covered my the glass, but it still meant another trip to the  hardware store. I could not find the perfect match of paint either. Again. Not worried as it would be covered. I masked the SUBARU bar and some lights with tape. Sprayed a couple of coats of paint  on the bare areas while I tried to get my seized window wiper nuts removed.  (Penetrating oil and a wire brush).

 

I was lucky to have a glass shop 6 blocks away. They sold me this urethane caulking

I think that you have you use the urethane caulking in one go. The glass shop recommended that you lay a bead the size of 3/8" or 5/16". I considered taping the glass into place as it dried but It was the end of the day and the glass seemed to fit snugly. The window wiper nut held everything in place as well.

 

The "After" Picture.

 

I don't think you could do this job without the guitar strings or other string-like cutter. You could use other cutting devices for the caulking removal and clean up - but I really liked the oscillating saw. (I got mine at Canadian tire on sale for like $30) A sharp chisel and utility knife would do in a pinch.  Just remember to take your time and don't force things and it all should work out.

 

[Olnick]

Man!  You got guts!  Nice going, Yoyota.  (And nice savings too!)

[Bushwick]

Yeah, very nice work. Suppose piano or even guitar wire could work too. Did you spray any type of grease or lube in there to make it cut easier? Suspect grease, or white lithium grease would let the wire cut through that easier. Urethane is NOT fun to cut, even when using a razor.

 

 

BTW, you *did* inspect each row of the defrost stripes, right? I replaced my hatch which was rusted and last winter noticed the rear defrost barely worked. Turned out PO of the hatch must have hauled something that rubbed on the lines

 

Oh well, hopefully no one else throws a rock at it!

[Yoyota]

Great Idea with the lube!

I forgot to connect the defrost so NOW I will have to take a part the inside of the hatch.  So sad.....

I think you can repair the defrost lines with a kit no?

[matt167]

permetex makes a defrost repair kit. comes with an epoxy to glue the 'tabs' back in place and a copper paint to fix broken defrost lines

[Rooster2]

Nice work, but sounds labor intensive. Were there any Subies around in wrecking yards, where you could have bought an entire hatch, and swapped that in?? Would think that would have been a lot easier.

[Yoyota]

Oh yeah. Totally labor intensive. Yes I thought about replacing the hatch but the wreckers wanted $450 and it was the wrong colour. I think that the idea of the lube  on the cutting wire would make a difference in extraction  time. Certainly spend less time taking yet one more string from my guitar.......

[Bushwick]

Oh yeah. Totally labor intensive. Yes I thought about replacing the hatch but the wreckers wanted $450 and it was the wrong colour. I think that the idea of the lube  on the cutting wire would make a difference in extraction  time. Certainly spend less time taking yet one more string from my guitar.......

$450 is pretty pricey. Think my replacement hatch was $60 and it was even black and had everything still attached.

 

But hey, you did a great job and got around the most difficult part of NOT breaking the replacement glass!