My Experiance with Watkins Shepard!

some more than others!!!

 

Every windshield in every vehicle has flaws that you can't see. During the process of making then shaping the glass, you get microscopic flaws (cracks) of various sizes, lengths and directions. Tempering the glass also changes it's composition stressing it toward leads (cracks). It doesn't take much to get those cracks running whether it was not ground well along the edge, the housing is not exactly right or it was roughed up before/during installation.

I worked in a glass plant making windshields for more than ten years. That knowledge is basically useless to me since my job and hundreds of thousands of other manufacturing jobs are now in Mexico, China, India and elsewhere .

AT is exactly right - poor engineering to have the fuse box in such a vulnerable place.

 

Thought I'd add my two cents on this. Having worked with a buddy in his dad's auto-body shop, I've learned that in vehicles needing windshields after being wrecked, you have to do what they called a "stress relief drive". I've seen the Helena shop replace a few now (Including yours AT if you remember the day you got that truck), and they never do this. They set the glass in the sealant and let it harden completely on a nice flat floor with no movement.

What we would do is....

Set the glass in the sealant and let it just get tacky. Then snap the trim in place and take it for a drive over some tough roads, bumps and hard corners. This allows the body to flex and the glass will seat in a more neutral position. Bring it back to the shop, remove the trim and allow the sealant to cure. Dump water all over it around the edges to check for any leaks. If found, use just enough sealant to close them without adding any "hold the glass in place power". Let it cure and put the trim back on.

This is especially important in big trucks as we all know how much these fiberglass bodies can flex.

 

I never woulda guessed.

 

Always a hit from a rock...The last I thought was a stress fracture as it started at the rubber strip but upon further examination I could see where the rubber took a hit...

 

AT turn the TV off and get the rest of those vids uploaded to YT!!!

 

Hey AT,just watched your videos on youtube.really cool.Keep up the good work.I driive a white W9 with orange fenders.If u see me around,give me a shout.