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FMTV Windshield Replacement
- Thread starter HDT
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- Camp Wood/LC, TX
Absolutely this is a job for a pro that does this all day long. Call around to local heavy truck repair shops and ask which glass shop they use.
- 7,716
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- Charlotte NC
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I would like to know what you find out. Supposedly all it takes is time and effort and skill (Ha!) and can be done by anybody. If you discover a nationwide organization, it might be nice for me to use them as well. I have a new window in the crate. Ready to install. Mine is cracked - but that is the smallest problem I have at the moment - so unless I can pay somebody else, it can wait for now.
WHO KNOWS, maybe we could pick up a new nationwide sponsor for Steel Soldiers if they had any interest in doing MV work. The place I worked long ago had a contract with a local supplier. They would rebuild window and door glass frames with safety glass - on Deuces and 5-Tons...
TacMac2012
Active member
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- Wallburg, NC
I had a guy I know out of Greensboro do one for me, actually helped him do it and it wasn't bad. He charged me $100, not sure if he would drive to Charlotte but I can text him and ask.
spankybear
Well-known member
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- WA
I wished someone told me this was a job for a pro... The hardest part is getting the gasket on the glass... my thumbs still hurt... The TM recommends lube and I will say it helped. A LOT
- 7,716
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- Charlotte NC
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In no hurry at all - but absolutely YES. If your guy is willing, a hundred bucks and a tank of gas or something similar, maybe even lunch to top that off...
Ronmar
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- Port angeles wa
It is not difficult, but it does require a few extra hands to get started and apply pressure to help get the seal to settle into the pocket around the knife edge of the opening. Lube liberally. Use good heavy line in the groove(parachute cord works and absorbs/holds lube(soapy water). I have a special tool of my own design I call a “wubbler” that can help get the lip of the seal up and over the metal edge if your line fails to do this at any point. It is a old screwdriver with about a 3/16-1/4” shank. Cut the head off and round/radius the edge at the cut. Bend the last 1/2” of the end 90 degrees then grind/sand all the tip area and bend smooth. You can get the bent tip into the rubber groove and use a prying/twisting motion with the metal edge as the fulcrum, to work the rubber lip over the metal edge in the tough spots.
The procedure in the manual describes it pretty well, and the “Wubbler“ helps a ton with the tough spots. You just need to make sure the first corner is seated good and deep as the window needs to slide fully into that corner to make enough room to get the lip of the seal over the edge at the opposite end/corners... there are like 3 small lip seals on the outer edge of the seal these need to all be lubed for it to slide in properly...
Done tons of Toyota rear windows over the years and never had a problem. The LMTV windshield took me 3 tries as I wasn’t getting that first corner and edge fully seated...
any place that does mobile windows should be able to help you out...
The procedure in the manual describes it pretty well, and the “Wubbler“ helps a ton with the tough spots. You just need to make sure the first corner is seated good and deep as the window needs to slide fully into that corner to make enough room to get the lip of the seal over the edge at the opposite end/corners... there are like 3 small lip seals on the outer edge of the seal these need to all be lubed for it to slide in properly...
Done tons of Toyota rear windows over the years and never had a problem. The LMTV windshield took me 3 tries as I wasn’t getting that first corner and edge fully seated...
any place that does mobile windows should be able to help you out...
Picture of your Wubbler, please!
Ronmar
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I’ll have to find it, give me a bit...
Third From Texas
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Four-to-six able hands, some lube, and a 1/8" piece of rope (the length of the diameter of the the hole plus about 3 feet).
All you need to do any windshield swap (assuming the rubber gasket is good).
*pro tip: it also happens to all one needs for a weekend in Bangkok
All you need to do any windshield swap (assuming the rubber gasket is good).
*pro tip: it also happens to all one needs for a weekend in Bangkok
Third From Texas
Well-known member
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- Corpus Christi Texas
Third From Texas
Well-known member
- 2,766
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- 113
- Location
- Corpus Christi Texas
Jet Packs are awesome, but simple glass cups are several hundred times less expensive.
Personally, I prefer a helper but something like these will do:
Personally, I prefer a helper but something like these will do:
Amazon.com: FCHO Glass Suction Cups Heavy Duty Aluminum Vacuum Plate Handle Glass Holder Hooks to Lift Large Glass/Tile Suction Cup Lifter/Moving Glass/Pad for Lifting/ Dent Puller (2 Pack): Home Improvement
Amazon.com: FCHO Glass Suction Cups Heavy Duty Aluminum Vacuum Plate Handle Glass Holder Hooks to Lift Large Glass/Tile Suction Cup Lifter/Moving Glass/Pad for Lifting/ Dent Puller (2 Pack): Home Improvement
www.amazon.com
The rope trick looks pretty easy ! When we would get big bus windsheilds replaced they would put the gasket in place in the then put these what looked like 1 foot round suction cups with the that pumped up in the grip handles then wet the rubber gasket so they could really shove the glass in what ever direction it needed to go while using these white plastic sticks to pull the rubber in on the glass and it was always a pain to get the glass in then they would put the center locking rubber piece in and we were good to go . You could go by a local glass installer like ppg or saftylite like the vans that come to you and replace windsheilds they could slap it in in a few minutes
Ronmar
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Wife and grandson helped me do mine with a couple of stepladders. In hindsight, the pickup parked with the bed across the front of the LMTV would have made a good work platform...
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- TN
You may want to hit the rubber with some AT ATP 205 to soften up the rubber a tad. Sun beaten seals crack and are hard to work with. I hit mine all the time with it, just to keep it soft. New seals are pricey.
Ronmar
Well-known member
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- Port angeles wa
My new seal cost more than the window...
Ronmar
Well-known member
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- Location
- Port angeles wa
This is a “Wubbler” (Patent Pending
) I guess the tip only sticks out 5/16-3/8” This looks like a 3/16” shaft screwdriver... Everything polished smooth so it is less likely to damage the seal... Scrap screwdriver, saw, vise hammer and grinder/file...
) I guess the tip only sticks out 5/16-3/8” This looks like a 3/16” shaft screwdriver... Everything polished smooth so it is less likely to damage the seal... Scrap screwdriver, saw, vise hammer and grinder/file... This is a “Wubbler” (Patent Pending
View attachment 830936
View attachment 830937
Nice!