Rear window in RT/10 shattered!!!!

[01 RT SNAKE]

So as we left our meeting destination for our cruise up to Yarnell/Bagdad, I turned the corner and accelerated up to about 50 mph. We started cruising and BOOOOOM! My rear window shattered. There was glass everywhere. We pulled over and swept it off the trunk, seats, dash, etc... and joined the group again. Unbelievable! So, my question is why did this happen? The rubber seal around the glass is worn with little cracks. It was about 55 degrees outside. I'm wondering by having the sun hitting it directly, it heated up quickly and blew out? Anyone else have this happen? (I haven't done a search yet, sorry).

How much is it to replace a rear window for a 2001 RT/10? (JonB?)

I wasn't too mad because half the Lotus club came back to check on me. What a good group of guys. Very nice. It's too bad there weren't more Vipers. I'll post some pics in a different thread.

Mike
2001 RT/10

 

[SkyBob]

Did you find any bullet holes in the back of the seat?

 

[Brian GTS]

Not sure of the price but I leave mine out...keeps the wind from battering the back of your head when going *******.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Did you find any bullet holes in the back of the seat?

funny you mention that, we were right near the Ben Avery shooting range but there's no way it was anything like that. I'm guessing worn out rubber seal. We didn't hit any bumps that would have caused the window to shatter, either.

I've only used the window about 5 times since I've had the car (3 years).

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Can I use my existing rubber frame and put Lexan in there?

 

[got one]

Will be interesting to see if others have seen this happen. I personally have never heard of this happening before in my 5.5 years of ownership.

 

[eucharistos]

Can I use my existing rubber frame and put Lexan in there?

that sounds like a good idea

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

It literally scared the crap out of my wife and I. We were just tooling along and it exploded. Glass fragments flew forwards and backwards. Some of the window was still stuck in the frame. I initially thought something had hit my windshield because I was looking up towards the rear view mirror and saw the shattered glass. Then I realized it was the back window. We pulled over, swept the glass off the trunk (and everywhere else) grabbed the frame and threw it in the trunk. I have all the pieces to put it back together.

I've heard of people's rear windows spontaneously exploding, in fact, my buddy with the Elise said it happened to his 280Z back in the day.

Is it possible that the rubber was too hard and the stress just caused it to shatter? I drove the car 15 or 20 miles before it went.

Sweeping the shards of glass off of the trunk was also killing me. Luckily, I do detailing work on the side and have everything to take the scratches out of the clear coat.

 

[DLTARNU]

It literally scared the crap out of my wife and I.

Literally?

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I just made side windows from Lexan. It's a surprising tough material and should be fine. Score, snap, drills predictably. I think it might be prone to scratches, but as a back window probably not a problem. I suggest you get the same thickness as the glass was so that the gasket works properly.

 

[Venomiss]

Call your insurance to see if it's covered first.
See if they recommend a glass place above others for you from their preferred list.
They can also probably answer questions on the Lexan and installation.
The good news is it wasn't raining while it happened.

 

[-FROG-]

Can I use my existing rubber frame and put Lexan in there?

Heck yea... and tint it a little and it would be perfectly fine. Won't have anymore worries like that.

 

[1994viper]

I need to make windows too! Where do I get Lexan in Canada??

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Many online plastics stores sell Lexan and a plate glass (not auto glass) shop might have it in stock or can order for you.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Literally?

Ok, not quite "literally", but close!

I went online last night and found several Lexan distributors. It asks for the specifications your looking for and gives you a price. The most expensive place was something like $40. Polymerplastics.com was one place I checked.

Also, I don't want to deal with my insurance company. At the end of 2008 my wife got into a very expensive front end collision in our Honda. This year on our honeymoon I rear ended a car on the I10 going to Disneyland in the same car (my 1st at fault accident). So needless to say, if I make another claim, I might get dropped. Can't have that happen.

 

[2snakes4us]

Sorry about your mishap, My window stays in the bag and is never used. I would suggest keeping the rubber seal even if you dont use it. I dont think you will find another one. Call Jon B.at Parts Rack or Email him.
Good Luck

 

[xlrashn]

Sorry about your mishap, My window stays in the bag and is never used. I would suggest keeping the rubber seal even if you dont use it. I dont think you will find another one. Call Jon B.at Parts Rack or Email him.
Good Luck

What advantage is there to leaving it out. Mine has always been in.

 

[RoadiJeff]

What advantage is there to leaving it out. Mine has always been in.

Less air resistance. Even in the winter when I put the top back on my rear window stays in the basement, no matter how cold it gets.

 

[eucharistos]

my local lowes has lexan in the glass cutting area

 

[JonB]

1) You can use Lexan

2) We can provide new glass (NOT the surround)

3) PartsRack will be closed til WED AM 11/25 if U need help then.... minor medical issue, 1-arm-paper-hanger... THANKS ALL

 

[Brian GTS]

What advantage is there to leaving it out. Mine has always been in.

With it left in, the rear window deflects the air and wind batters the back of your head. Take it out and try it...you'll notice a big difference.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

my local lowes has lexan in the glass cutting area

Mine, too, but only 0.093" thickness. It's OK, but may crack at the holes drilled for the fasteners. My side windows did, so I'm redoing them in 0.125". The glass shop had it because he said that's what the race car guys want...

 

[slartibartfast]

Glass can be funny. (Funny strange, not funny ha-ha.) I was pulling a still-warm beer mug out of the dish washer once and the darned thing exploded in my hand. Luckily there were no injuries. It made no contact with anything other than my hand.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

I'm wondering if a small rock or something flew in the car and hit the back window causing it to shatter? I didn't see anything fly in from above, however, it's not out of the question.

My friend at work had a question about using Lexan instead of safety glass for the rear window. Is it possible that in a car wreck, the Lexan can break and cause large flying pieces to hit us in the head? The safety glass in the window did exactly what it was supposed to do, it shattered into a thousand little pieces. I went to a tint shop today and they said that Lexan cannot be tinted. I thought that tint would hold the Lexan together if it was broken. I suppose race cars would not use Lexan if it was deadly when an accident occurs?

 

[J&R3xV10]

Lexan CAN be tinted and you can even get it in "smoked" which is similar to tint but won't help hold it together. In the event that you where in an accident bad enough to get the Lexan to break that would be the least of your worries. Lexan can take a LOT of flex and pressure, thats why it is used for racing, water tank, saftey shielding, and such applications. We use it regularly on tradeshows to encase machinery or possible projectile demos, VERY STURDY stuff!

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Lexan CAN be tinted and you can even get it in "smoked" which is similar to tint but won't help hold it together. In the event that you where in an accident bad enough to get the Lexan to break that would be the least of your worries. Lexan can take a LOT of flex and pressure, thats why it is used for racing, water tank, saftey shielding, and such applications. We use it regularly on tradeshows to encase machinery or possible projectile demos, VERY STURDY stuff!

Cool. That's all I needed to hear!

Next project will be digging that damn glass from the rubber gasket. It's stuck in there good! I'm guessing Dodge used some sort of adhesive to hold the glass in the gasket. Any ideas on breaking it down without destroying the rubber?

 

[jdeft1]

Wow! I never heard of something like that happening!! Glad you or the wife didn't get hurt.

Good luck with the repair..

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I made some practice side windows from a cheaper acrylic sold at Home Depot for storm doors. I used the tool to score a line (many times) and it snaps to a nice clean break. After my practice sizing, I made some windows of the 0.093" Lexan. Do the same score and snap, except it won't snap. Score some more, no snap, score until the tool breaks through in some spots, but all it will do is bend with a tough rubbery feel. It almost needs to be scored through completely to finish the cut line. It is indeed a tough material.

 

[RapidTransit]

I tried to have my rear window tinted at a very respectable shop in town and after keeping it for a day said they wouldn't do it because it wasn't glass. The reason was because the window flexed, it couldn,t be glass. So I just shelved the idea until I read this post. I looked at the window and it has an official etching into it leading me to believe it is glass. My question is this, does the factory glass flex alot...like 2" up and down on the ends?

 

[2snakes4us]

Less air resistance. Even in the winter when I put the top back on my rear window stays in the basement, no matter how cold it gets.

Just what Jeff said....Less resistance