TooMch

I've used it successfully before as well on my 2001. For me it has only lasted 2 years. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. It is time for me to do it again.

John001

This rhino glue does it hold up and is it a one man job

m4bgringo

Yes and yes. In fact, in my case, it was a 1 one woman job. My wife decided to fix it by herself after I bought the glue from Amazon and gave her what she needed.

km60sb@yahoo.com

Hi John. I did mine on my 02 C5 vert. 3 years ago April and redid it almost to the day. About 50% failed. Driving highway speed it failed a little bit at a time. Was an everyday car. It lives in southern FL Jan thru May. MY tops window fell out 75% AT 90K 1st time. I re searched for a week mostly on utube sites then mostly CF.
For the directions i followed picture by picture line by line
Go to CorvetteForum Threads enter...
His username is.... enter gem Convertible reawindow How to re fasten


gem
picture by picture he posted is so easy to follow a
Caveman can do it. The suction cup rope method is brilliant. I didn’t have garage roof joists in FL. so i did it in the FL shade on a 80 degree day. i used suction cups on the fiberglass tonnaue cover and the handles of the suction cups with towels to prop the window into place then 1/8 inch bead RHINO GLUE on the rubber seal on the top 2 to 3 inches at a time. Overlapping a 1/4 in. at a time. I drove it in all weather until then. Learning i wont drive it below 30 degrees. Ive had to many failures in below 0 weather especially 20 25 below I experienced trans and rear end leaks.
Having the dealer replace all the seals trans and done at a 100k. They have the pump to empty and fill the trans. Then run it on a lift for 15 minutes in drive stop it and pump the last i don’t remember 2 or 3 qts into the trans. Good luck with the window. John

km60sb@yahoo.com

I wanted to add use Acetone to clean all the surfaces you might get Rhino glue on. also mask the window as close to the canvas as possible. I recommend using Home Depot 12” in masking paper and 2 in blue tape. Then masking the canvas as close to the glass as possible. Sure to contain every spot glue can run or leak onto the canvas or glass. Before the glue dries carfully pull the masking. Using Acetone with a lint free rag wrapped tight around a thin putty knife it will melt the glue off slow but sure. Make sure a well ventilated area with acetone. It’s not friendly around families. Surprised acetone didn’t harm or discolor the Haartz canvas material or plexiglass window. Thanks. Mule

Mike1305

Hey everyone! Hope 2021 is looking up for you all. Or at least better than 2020. I'm resurrecting the thread. My 06 vert has a similar problem, but with a twist. The window itself seems to be holding in quite well, even at 16 years, but the rubber bezel that holds the glass onto the fabric is letting go of the glass, at the bottom of the window. Almost as if the fabric between the bottom of the vert window and the bottom of the fabric top is shrinking. I'm getting water intrusion into the interior, as it appears water is going around the glass window through the failing seal on the bezel. Does the Rhino Glue flow well enough to get into the very tight space between the glass and bezel, and seal out water? Any help would be really appreciated!! Stay safe and healthy, one and all.

c7pilot

FOLLOW-UP: It has now been over 11 years, and the 3M Urethane Window Weld is still holding strong. Probably because it is the correct adhesive for the job!

Hope this helps someone.

frsr06

Rhino glue is a liquid that flows but you only have a short time to play with it - plan on 30 seconds or less before it starts to solidify - similar to super glue.

JimHarris4

You can do this. It’s an easy fix and I’m no mechanic. I got a $1500 quote for a new roof. Instead, I bought Rhino glue and $40 set of suction cup clamps from Amazon.
I didn’t do the pulleys but with big comforters stuffed inside against the glass, I glued the loose edges carefully to be sure to get no drips on the window itself. I put the clamps in and left them there for 48 hours.
I’m happy to say it’s been holding for months now, even driving in the rain.

of

LAGary

Your Rhino Glue recommendation was AWESOME!! My rear window completely fell out the day the Rhino Glue arrived from Amazon. It only took 2 hours to fix.

My roof has two straps that keep the window positioned within two inches after it is completely detached. BTW.

I propped the roof to loosen the tension with a 16 oz bottle of milk. Under the center of the window, I positioned an inflatable neck brace to position the window then glued a segment at a time: bottom, left side and top, right side. I stuffed a shop towel roll where I was pressing for glue curing 60 seconds.

The Rhino Glue Dispenser is made for a thin bead. Do not squeeze too hard or dwell to make a thicker bead, the thin bead is perfect and did not leave any over spill to be razored off.

1 hour later PERFECT!! I locked down the top. There showed two suspect areas. They could have been stuck further back, but I re-propped the roof and added glue to both, they were on the lower left corner and upper right corner and, again, used the Shop Towel roll to support the window while I pressed the roof and window together for 60 seconds.

I have not water tested, because I don't drive my C5 in the rain or park it in the rain without a cover, however, I have tried to pull the seal everywhere and there are no loose spots at all !!

Thank you so much for the Rhino Glue recommendation!!

grinder11

I used this 3m window weld stuff 7 years ago, Summer of '14. I got lucky, because my wife saw the window coming loose while we were out for a ride. Talk about words you dread hearing!! How about "MIKE, it looks like the rear window is falling out"!!!! DOHHH!!!!! MY heart must've gone from 70 beats/minute to 500, minimum!!! Lucky part was the window didn't come completely out, so alignment of it in relation to fabric was still there. It was close, though. We high tailed it for home!! I can't overemphasize being careful not to get anything of it on the fabric. I don't care what you use to try and get it off, the fabric will always show something happened in that area. Mine still looks very good. As good as a 21 year old convertible top can. The window repair is so good, you can't tell it has ever been repaired. Like I said, I got lucky..........

grinder11

1 more tip that worked for me. I used 3 or 4 of those bathtub/shower suction cup handles, you know, the ones with a suction cup at each end and the handle runs between them. They're cheap, available at WalMart, and the cups are each about 2-1/2"-3" diameter, and the handle between them is like 5" long. Hope this helps someone. Take your time, think it through, and you can do it!!!

TooMch

My luck was not as good as some. I did the rhino glue thing. Cleaned everything the best I could, propped the top open a bit with a piece of two by 4 and put a thin line of glue around the edges of the window. Then pressed it together and put bolsters in side to push against the window and used a set of ratchet straps from my fender opening to a board I laid across the rear window with shop manuals between the board and read window for pressure. This worked for 2 years. I knew I had a small issue right at the beginning because I heard a sound sort of like Velcro when I first closed the top. It was pretty hard to do on the passenger side. I am guessing I did not prop the roof open quite enough. That might have been my downfall, but I am not sure. I tried to do it a second time but it was impossible to clean all the dried glue from the roof material. I did the best I could and glued it again but that time it only lasted for a few months.

I gave in and had a new top put on not long after that. I was done fooling around with it. I had new seat covers put on by the shop with new foam at the same time.

I like what people are saying about the 3m window weld, though. I would try that if ever asked to help someone else with the problem. The good part is that the new top has a better method of attaching the window and top (I believe they used that on the 04), so I am hoping this will be the last time I have to mess with it.

brsmith1410

My rear window fell in completely with only the 2 cloth upper and 2 lower straps keeping it from being totally free. I purchased a dual suction glass lifter from Harbor Freight for $9.I bought the the same Rhino Glue from Amazon. I too strung some line to the garage ceiling from the glass lifter through the hook and back. Since my window came completely out I had to glue the entire perimeter so that meant I had to have everything ready except for the gluing. I went to side of car and glued 2/3 of the window and hurried to the other side to apply the rest and pulled the rope and handle up to seat in place. I also stuffed 2 old pillows in each corner to help keep the window pushed against the top.

I placed a laser on the rear window aimed to show approx. where I needed to install a garage hook in the ceiling. Luckily I found a stud close to the spot.

Glued and set. Next time I need to use a non-fiber rope as this left little fibers everywhere. Hopefully I won't need ​​​to. Note the pillows stuffed in the corners.

Sam Handwich

That is a good overall explanation of what you did. I wonder if the high-performance hot glues with a long open time would work for this kind of repair. For example, there are glues that are used by flooring installers, as well as auto body shops.
I realize that you have about $25 to $30 in your repair, and I hope you get excellent results.
And welcome to the forum.

brsmith1410

That's a good question. I went with the Rhino Glue mainly for the adhesion qualities the others experienced. I was a little apprehensive though since I had to apply the glue to the entire perimeter of the window and get in place before the glue set. I figured I had 30 seconds work time so with everything in place I did a trial run acting like applying the glue just to see if I could do it. It seemed like I could so I did it and the rest is history. Thanks to this forum I saved hundreds of $$$.

My 2002 C5.

TCFS

To all the vert loosing their rear glass and not willing to go the rhino glue, a product is made to glue plastic on glass, stay flexible and water tight, it is 3M VHB VHB tapes. It is sold as a double sided tape, so you have plenty of time to do the job peacefully, and it will absorb some of the tensions of the roof when it is locked in place.
TCFS

Sam Handwich

I have the VHB product and have used it in numerous situations. Had not occurred to me to use it for this, but makes all the sense in the world. Will file the suggestion in my mind.
Thanks for the idea.

grinder11

3M Window Weld is exactly what I used. You must be careful with this stuff!! Do it right, and there's no issues, leaks, etc!! Did mine 7 years ago, so long ago I had to think about what I used!!! Hope this helps.......

grinder11

Kinda sad that we "backyard" engineers find something that may work better than what the GM engineers used.......