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Ratbert
Well-Known Member
How big are your tires and are your hinges reinforced? I'm just wondering if that could result in the rear window frame experiencing unusually high stresses.
OBD
Well-Known Member
My thought exactly.A combination of temperature,temperature change,and hinge side of door verse non-hinged side.
RAO
Well-Known Member
Had something similar happen on my wife’s new car. the glass fractured but did not fall apart til after I took a pic. The dealer attributed it to stress in the glass and replaced it for free.
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Gretchen
Member
- Thread starter
- #20
Wow! I'm glad I posted this here, a lot of good brainstorming. Sorry for the late reply everyone, COVID came for a visit and I am finally rejoining polite society again. Thank you so much for all the help.
I bought this Jeep second hand so I do not know what happened to this Jeep the first 9000 mi. of its life. As far as I can tell the person who originally owned the Jeep bought it as a city Jeep and kept it bone stock. Although the guy did do some weird unexplained things that were left over that the dealer was unable to hide and close to the rear window. When I bought it it became a built rig. I did replace the stock hinges on the tailgate with HD hinges and running 37x13.5 tires. Would that ad unnecessary stress? I don't think it would because if it did we would hear about that on so many other Jeeps being a problem. The tailgate closes with very little effort, so it appears to be aligned correctly.
Most of the year the Jeep is setup as an overlanding rig with gear in the back year round. Everything that is in the back is strapped down securely and nothing is touching the back window. If I roll the rig everything should stay in place. I'm glad I was not on I-25 when it blew out the first time but I was driving and it startled me pretty good. I do run a 140# roof top tent that sits on the Rhino Rack Back Bone System. So technically there is no weight transferred to the rear window from the tent.
When it first happened I was driving out of my neighborhood and thought maybe one of the kids next door took a shot at me but those kids are so not those kinds of kids and they don't own a BB gun.
The installer who replaced the window the first time I believe did a poor job and was under pressure to get it done quickly. He had no idea that not only was he replacing my windshield that day but the back window as well. The poor guy did not even bring the rear window and had to go back to the shop to get it. The guy was on a time crunch and I believe he made mistakes. I also might have made a mistake as well. These rear windows are expensive and because of the cost I thought I was getting OEM glass but that was not the case. $550-750 for aftermarket glass, $1200 for OEM glass. I contacted five glass company's and four responded. I could not be sure but I am hoping the OEM glass will make the difference this time. I have no idea why it broke the first time but the second could be answered, maybe? The installer was struggling and I was watching him from my office window. I think two people would be useful for this rear window install because you have to locate on the hinges. If he tightened those hinges down when the glass was out of location he could have put unnecessary stress on the glass potentially causing a fracture which could have exploded with the temp. change, 6* to morning sun and the added pressure of the struts could have blown it out. The guy also used the wrong sized torque wrench and partially striped out the heads of the bolts, I was so disappointed when I saw that. Then some of you mentioned stress on the glass a few times. That thought also makes me wonder if there is a torque spec. for the bolts or is the shoulder on the bolt enough to prevent over torqueing/tightening? They are shoulder bolts.
With all the info from everyone and finding out about OEM glass I think I should be able to talk to the installer and cross my fingers for the best results. Everyone really helped me process this issue, thank you again for all the help.
I bought this Jeep second hand so I do not know what happened to this Jeep the first 9000 mi. of its life. As far as I can tell the person who originally owned the Jeep bought it as a city Jeep and kept it bone stock. Although the guy did do some weird unexplained things that were left over that the dealer was unable to hide and close to the rear window. When I bought it it became a built rig. I did replace the stock hinges on the tailgate with HD hinges and running 37x13.5 tires. Would that ad unnecessary stress? I don't think it would because if it did we would hear about that on so many other Jeeps being a problem. The tailgate closes with very little effort, so it appears to be aligned correctly.
Most of the year the Jeep is setup as an overlanding rig with gear in the back year round. Everything that is in the back is strapped down securely and nothing is touching the back window. If I roll the rig everything should stay in place. I'm glad I was not on I-25 when it blew out the first time but I was driving and it startled me pretty good. I do run a 140# roof top tent that sits on the Rhino Rack Back Bone System. So technically there is no weight transferred to the rear window from the tent.
When it first happened I was driving out of my neighborhood and thought maybe one of the kids next door took a shot at me but those kids are so not those kinds of kids and they don't own a BB gun.
The installer who replaced the window the first time I believe did a poor job and was under pressure to get it done quickly. He had no idea that not only was he replacing my windshield that day but the back window as well. The poor guy did not even bring the rear window and had to go back to the shop to get it. The guy was on a time crunch and I believe he made mistakes. I also might have made a mistake as well. These rear windows are expensive and because of the cost I thought I was getting OEM glass but that was not the case. $550-750 for aftermarket glass, $1200 for OEM glass. I contacted five glass company's and four responded. I could not be sure but I am hoping the OEM glass will make the difference this time. I have no idea why it broke the first time but the second could be answered, maybe? The installer was struggling and I was watching him from my office window. I think two people would be useful for this rear window install because you have to locate on the hinges. If he tightened those hinges down when the glass was out of location he could have put unnecessary stress on the glass potentially causing a fracture which could have exploded with the temp. change, 6* to morning sun and the added pressure of the struts could have blown it out. The guy also used the wrong sized torque wrench and partially striped out the heads of the bolts, I was so disappointed when I saw that. Then some of you mentioned stress on the glass a few times. That thought also makes me wonder if there is a torque spec. for the bolts or is the shoulder on the bolt enough to prevent over torqueing/tightening? They are shoulder bolts.
With all the info from everyone and finding out about OEM glass I think I should be able to talk to the installer and cross my fingers for the best results. Everyone really helped me process this issue, thank you again for all the help.
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cdierks215
Member
- First Name
- Crystal
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2019
- Threads
- 0
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Vehicle(s)
- 2019 Jeep Unlimited Sahara
This just happened to me last night. It was cold out (15 degrees) but happened at midnight, so the sun was not a factor with my incident.I have a 2018 JLUR with hard top. The back widow spontaneously blew out (exploded) not once but twice since I bought this Jeep in Sept. 2020. Both times it has happened it has been really cold. This morning I was looking out my kitchen window and it blew out minutes before I looked outside. 6 degrees this morning and think when the sun touched the glass it exploded. It makes me wonder if the struts for the window have to much pressure on the window when it's that cold. Has anyone experienced this before? It does not seem like I could be the only one. It happened last winter when it was this cold. These back window are expensive and I really do not want to replace one every winter.
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Gretchen
Member
- Thread starter
- #22
Bummer! These back windows are expensive. The last glass shop I used to fix the glass did some calling around for me to try and get answers on why? The glass company was unable to find out why but every glass shop they called said it was not uncommon. Sad faceThis just happened to me last night. It was cold out (15 degrees) but happened at midnight, so the sun was not a factor with my incident.
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