Mike C.

A little more info first hand; I thought it would be a good idea to practice rear hatch glass removal as it so happens I have a hatch from a (South FL) parts car that was fully separated at the top. Interestingly, it turned out to be fully separated along the bottom edge too - the sealant had completely disbonded from the aluminum frame and judging by the dirt/mold on the fame here it had been this way for quite some time. But the sides were still well bonded and what a pita it is to get the well bonded stuff apart. I first used a utility razor knife to trim out the sealant between the outer edge of the glass and frame. I then used the 'wedge it open and sharpened (hot) putty knife' separation method. I used wooden shims to keep tension on the bond near the area to be separated and then heated the putty knife tip (half inch or so) to red hot, then plunged into joint from the interior side of glass. The sealant would smoke for a few seconds while the knife plunged in. Vigorous pushing of the knife along the joint helped to cut more sealant. I had to reheat it every 20-30 seconds to make steady progress. With the hatch already off the car and trim removed, it took about 2 hours to remove the glass. FWIW...

cie_lab

wow...that sounds like a major PITA.

Mike C.

I think I would rather replace a clutch....

mbonner

New hatch struts did my hatch in, just pulled the glass right away from the hatch at the top right after I put new struts in. They are too strong. I did the standard ghetto fix, duct tape across the top of the hatch, works 100%, keeps the water out.

Mike