DSMblue

Many have tried, and I will use the wisdom of those who have come before me. Some prior owner decided to do a wiper delete. Unfortunately, they broke off part of the frame that holds the rear of the wiper housing, as well as cutting the wiring that goes to the third brake light in the bridge spoiler. Hatch is off, now I just have to separate the glass from the frame.

Zirconocene

I'm very excited to follow along and see how you get on with this. I have 2 cars that need some help with these issues so I need to learn as much as possible.

Cheers

924RACR

Cool... I did this once before, very long time ago... have better tools this time around, and need to do one or three myself, including an update to the bridge spoiler you already have... looking forward to any tips you uncover...

ElRicardo

Good luck Jeff!

944tger

I did the same not too long ago, good luck!

DSMblue

Finally succeeded in separating glass from frame last night! It took quite a while, as I wanted to do everything possible to not shatter the glass. Working tip - make sure to wear reasonably heavy duty gloves. Early on, I wasn't and in the process of cutting the urethane with a utility knife, proceeded to slice my thumb wide open.

I started by using the utility knife and a beveled small putty knife and rubber mallet. That worked fine for the top, but proved generally ineffective as I worked down the side. I then added a heat gun to the arsenal, and this helped a bit.

Ultimately, I got the Harbor Freight windshield removal set that uses the stainless steel wire. I combined the heat gun and this set to move a few inches at a time. If I hit a snag, I stopped for the day instead of trying to force the issue. In my experience, holding the heat gun about 2" away from the glass and moving it over a 6-12" section for a minute or two worked well. The wire broke a few times, but there is plenty.

After removing frame and glass

SeaCay

There is a guy in one of the FB 944 groups that is doing this as a side job, with good success. You may want to talk to him.

DHS928

Is he on this form?

DSMblue

Agree, I have traded messages with Jose Cacaro. He is a good resource, but is on the east coast, half a continent away from me. Therefore, it means I need to do the work myself. If I lived close to him, would definitely have him do the work.

dssamusaran

Good luck! I'll follow along as I might have to do that some day.

sm

Are you replacing that frame with a good, unaltered, one?

DSMblue

Nope, will be having broken tab section rewelded onto existing frame. From factory, it is apparent that it was also welded on to the base frame, so I'm not concerned about that. Cleaning the old urethane is proving to be a time consuming process.

DSMblue

I just got the frame back from welding today! Looking good, now it's on to prep and paint the portions of the frame that won't be getting primer and urethane.

Lower driver's corner showing welded bracket for wiper motor and hook for cargo cover

bobinnova

I am on the east coast. Does anyone know where Jose is located?

944Fest (aka Dan P)

Massachusetts I believe, perhaps Middlesex? These are old prices in the 2022 post, he's more $$ now.


Hatch repair guy in Mass, on Facebook