m73m95

So like everyone else's 944, my glass is leaving the frame. Its gone far enough that the top (front) has come out of the frame. For some reason, it only leaks a tiny bit of water when I wash it. There still must be some glue left on the inside.

How much damage will this do? I don't have the time or the place to repair it at the moment. I can't leave my car outside with the hatch off, or I will own a freshly glued up hatch, but no Pcar to put it on.

Will it eventually break going down the highway, and leave me dragging the hatch by the struts? It shuts and locks fine. I usually don't let things go this far, but like I said, Its my DD, and I'm garageless at the moment, so I can't leave the hatch off the car for the 2 days it takes to reseal/glue everything.

Thanks,

alex

I think if you left the struts off and used a couple of straps or something to keep the glass snug in the frame you'd be ok. The problem it seems is that the struts push against the setting adhesive and it separates before it can cure. I don't know if having straps wrapped around the spoiler for a few days would make it deform at all or not.

m73m95

I'm not to nervous about fixing it, when I get the time. I'm just worried about it until then.

If it latches and locks should I worry about it.

I've been reading people's hatch problems in my searching, and I don't have any of them. It doesn't come up by itself, it doesn't squeek, it doesn't leak (bad anyway). I'm wondering if I'm worrying about it to much or what. It looks horrible. If there was no glue in the crack, there's a good 1/8in between the metal frame, and the glass. Its really being held by residual glue

alex

Oh... in that case you should be fine for a while. It would take a relatively large gap for the air thats going over the hatch to get under it.

My hatch has about a 1-2mm gap right now (doesn't leak water though), and I am going to wait until I park it for the engine rebuild before I worry about it.

m73m95

I was thinkin of the higher pressure in the car vs the low pressure of the 80mph air outside pulling the hatch up..... I had a nighmare about this a week ago, and its been stewing in my brain ever since. Especially on my 600mi trip this week. Makes me nervous as a pregnant nun at a virgin meeting.

Alex, your hatch sounds like mine, so hopefully you're right, and we're ok for a bit.

V2Rocket

i just bought a tube of silicone sealant, thats the right stuff isnt it?
for now i think ill just put a bead around the edge of the frame to at least keep the glass from rattling

MyBlackCar

Silicone will work in the meantime. My PO did that, but that little annoyance is the least of my priorities. You could always pick up a spare hatch to reseal and install. When everything is satisfactory, sell your old hatch.

alex

And just to ease your worried mind a little, I had one on my first car that was way worse, and never had it fly off on the fwy- this is with almost weekly trips from SB to Temecula (180 miles 1 way).

fbgh2o

There is a flowable silicone product by Permatex that works quite well. I have used and it has stayed together quite well.

http://http://www.amazon.com/Permate.../dp/B000BKEBO0

m73m95

Thanks for the input guys. The List is always a huge help.

I guess i'm not going to worry about it. I was thinking of buying another hatch, fixing it, then selling mine...it would have to be local though.

Thanks again

alordofchaos

I read somewhere that when using silicone products, you won't be able to get a good bond after if using other type of adhesives afterwards. Someone that said they had done quite a few hatch reseals.

Just FYI. Dunno how true this is.

joonas

http://karl.wilen.us/images/944HatchReseal.doc

http://clarks-garage.com/phpBB2/view...t=hatch+reseal

User 41221

I am the guy that said that, and I have a LOT of experience with hatch resealing. It was based on products available a number of years ago, tho, and I'd be interested in looking at th ePermatex flowable stuff, as that does sound promising. Still, in my own experience, either do it right or don't waste your time, which means pulling the entire glass out and resealing it with teh 3-M Window Weld product line.

As to the original concern, I can't imagine the window ever coming completely loose from the hatch frame by wind pressure. If you ever remove one, you'll see exactly what I mean. Even if you have the entire top of the frame lifted from the frame, I can't see it breaking loose, so don't worry about driving it.

Regards,