Replacing 283 windshield.........

[sthomas]

Can anyone comment on the difficulty in replacing a windshield on a 2005 Release?

I was able to great Grady to send my dealer a new one, seeing that the existing one had a good deal of blistering on the on the frame.

My dealer wants 4 hours of labor to remove and replace the new one. Plus two hauling charges. We are talking about $800.

I have a friend who has offered to do the job. He is not a marine repair professional but a mechanical engineer who is I have a lot of confidence in. He has a Grady and does all of his own work....

I do not want to be "penny wise and pound foolish!"
If it is not difficult to do, I just as soon save the $$.

Thanks for any and all feedback. ST

 

[BobP]

I bet the haulout/in is half of it (?)

 

[sthomas]

That is affirmative!

 

[BobP]

If your buddy doesn't do it right, and the glass fails (or he drops it), you are SH-T out of luck warranty wise, otherwise, go for it.

Just like buying car parts at dealer and installing them yourself. Can'r complain later to dealer.

 

[sthomas]

Most definitely a consideration in making a choice as to what I should do.
I agree with your thoughts.

Thanks! ST

 

[CJBROWN]

Are you replacing the glass in the frame, or the whole assembly?

Either way, I'd be doing it myself. :wink:

I have a 2005 Winnebago motorhome. When it was less than a year old we got caught in a wind storm out in the desert here, 70mph+, and the windshield got sandblasted. It was hard to tell 'till the sun shown on it just right, then it looked like snow or stars. Insurance claim paid $800 for each panel (right and left) and $800 installation. They did a horrible job, it leaked, the outer rubber mouldings came off on the freeway on a trip, and after a few months you could see the patch on the dash covering vinyl where they either caught it with a tool, dripped solvent on it, or dropped the glass pane on it. And this from a Winnebago dealer with one of the best reputations in the southland, on a virtually new $100K unit, so go figure. I have since re-sealed the frame and replaced the outer moulding channel and it's finally quit whisteling and leaking.

My point is, it has to be something I cannot possibly accomplish before I will take my stuff to some dealer, mechanic, or 'technician' - the latter is always in question.

BTW, why do they have to haul it to replace a windshield?

 

[sthomas]

Thanks Chris!
Good question on the haul out / in. It is the whole unit. It is actually the frame that has developed cosmetic blistering. Aside from a phillips screw on the cap end of each side of the frame, I have no knowledge as to how the winshield is secured to the frame / channel. Would it likely be held in by some heavy duty epoxy? I would guess that the frame may be fastened down with a gasket over it. I would assume the w/s would be glued in ontop of the gasket.

Any thoughts?

Thank you! ST

 

[CJBROWN]

I would think a quick call to GW customer service would get the info on how the frame is fastened down. It is either srewed down from above and then the glass is set in, or finished panels are screwed down from beneath.

If you already have the whole windshield assembly, I would guess the latter. And I doubt the glass is glued in, it's simply set into a weatherstrip and the frame wrapped around. The panels are set on foam weatherstrips, at least that's how mine is.

Getting to the underside may prove difficult with the hull interior liner. Half of your quoted install time may be just for getting to the fasteners.

But yeah, I can't imagine why they can't work on it in the water. Why do you have to pay $400 to haul the boat out so they can work on it? Once it's out it's too high to stand on the ground as opposed to a dock anyway, so either way their standing on the walk-around deck and in the cockpit. It doesn't have to be out of the water to do that. And they may be quoting two guys labor, so it's really a two hour job with one guy doing and the other guy to hold panels while the other screws it down and drink coffee.

There's nothing difficult about the job, other than finding out the fastening method and how to get to them. The rest is just turnin' a screwdriver!

 

[sthomas]

The job is finished! It took me less than 10 minutes to remove the windshield.

The new windshield has a different design as far as the frame goes. The botttom of the frame has an oval shape and requires a gasket.

Of course, the holes did not match up! They were close enough to cause some splintering on a few of the new holes. I will have to get some gel coat to fill in the small divots in the console. Other than that, a far cry from 4 hours!
Total time =1.5 hours!

I did the removal job at the mooring and the install later at the dock.

I am sure that they could have been even quicker and more precise.

A learning experience for sure!

Thanks to all!

 

[gradyfish22]

The splintering was likely caused by drilling in forward through the gelcoat, you need to drill through gelcoat from the top in reverse, once into glass or wood, then drill forward, this action will prevent an splintering or cracking and will avid the need to ever have to do repair work. Glad the job was doen quickly and for far less then a dealer was asking, price seemed steep to me, and the haul seemed very unnecessary, even traveling to the boat to work should have cost less to install, just seems like they did not want to be bothered with the work unless they made a great deal off it.

 

[sthomas]

Thanks for the feedback. Lesson learned! ST