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Well folks my 1998 Vert with 41k has a problem. I went out to drive it tonight and found the glass window in the soft top had literally fallen off the top and was hanging by two straps. Wow. Anyone know if it can be re-glued or do I need to replace the top? Looks like the glass just came unglued. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Without typing everything that's already been done, if you want to read several fixes, go to Google, type in "corvette forum c5 convertible rear window" and you'll get hundreds of Corvette forum hits showing how to repair it without replacing the top. The Google search is much more direct and gets much more information pertaining to your question than using the forum search function.
Wow. Many thanks gentlemen. I didn't realize this was such a common problem on the Vert. I imagine I will have to remove the top from the vehicle to do this. I will do the Google search. Thank you everyone for replying.
Wow. Many thanks gentlemen. I didn't realize this was such a common problem on the Vert. I imagine I will have to remove the top from the vehicle to do this. I will do the Google search. Thank you everyone for replying.
If you remove the top you will be asking for a big bill. I just did mine a month ago. Hopefully the bottom of the window is still glued in place.
First thing to do is get on line and order Rhino glue - best glue in the world.
Second is to find a way to hold the window in place - I've seen folks say they used pillows and other unique ideas. I used a couple adjustable shower curtain rods to push the window in place and a piece of 1 1/2" PVC to shim the window up from the bottom.
Using a razor blade clean off as much of the old glue as possible. Also mask off the areas where you do not want to get glue (although it will clean off after dried)
You'll have to do the gluing in several steps. Take your time and get the middle of the top glued first - the glue dries in minutes.
Once the middle is cured the rest only takes a few minutes. Total job is less than an hour.
Luckily, the window in my 2004 is still tight, but if (when?) I need to perform the fix, I'm going with Rhino Glue. I also like the shower curtain rods as support idea!
OP - Did the rear glass show any sign of separating prior to it falling completely off? I check mine pretty much every time I put the top up just to make sure it's not separating.
Luckily, the window in my 2004 is still tight, but if (when?) I need to perform the fix, I'm going with Rhino Glue. I also like the shower curtain rods as support idea!
OP - Did the rear glass show any sign of separating prior to it falling completely off? I check mine pretty much every time I put the top up just to make sure it's not separating.
I was on my way to Carlisle earlier this year with the top up and I could start to see some light coming through on the top of the window. I typically ride with the top down about 80% of the time but it was raining and did not have a choice. It gradually got worse over the next 100 miles or so until the window dropped and was supported by the two cloth straps. Chevy must of had an inkling that this could happen as it would have been a real mess without the two straps. It may be coincidental but I did notice that the window did start to hit the tonneau as I raised or lowered the top. Once reglued there is no longer any interference - returning to how it was a few months back.
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded. I used the double curtain rod set up and the Rhino glue. With the glass properly positioned it took me about 30 mins start to finish. Rhino is the only glue I have ever used that really worked as advertised. I started at the top center and worked my way to either side in three inch segments. It didn't run and made a really nice bond. The edges are tight all the way around and it looks great. Sure beats the cost of a new installed top of about $1000. Thanks again everyone.
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded. I used the double curtain rod set up and the Rhino glue. With the glass properly positioned it took me about 30 mins start to finish. Rhino is the only glue I have ever used that really worked as advertised. I started at the top center and worked my way to either side in three inch segments. It didn't run and made a really nice bond. The edges are tight all the way around and it looks great. Sure beats the cost of a new installed top of about $1000. Thanks again everyone.
I just did mine a week ago having read some of the other Rhino glue posts. My window had been separated for years on the driver's side and I had used 3M extreme mounting tape. Which worked great btw for many years, up until now when the original seal finally gave way completely. When looking at the various recommended positioning setups I could not see how this could possibly stretch the fabric in the right directions. It would never have been aligned perfectly with the glass as my top needed lateral tension around the window to put it in the right shape.
So what I did I used the mounting tape again to tack the window in place exactly where it needed to be. This took a bit or repositioning i.e. removing some strips again and putting in new ones, then carefully unfolding the top to see how the result would look. When they are not on for more than a few hours they are quite easy to remove. It took two one inch strips at the bottom and two two inch strips at the top, and one tiny strip on each side. There was quite a bit of tension on the fabric. Then I folded the window up a bit so it lay horizontally and relaxed on the tonneau on top of some clothes to start the glueing. I started in the middle of the bottom and then worked my way up, alternating each side while letting it sit for 10 minutes before doing the next 8 inches or so (as bid as I could still press down with my hands for 90 seconds to get the glue to bond). Each time I would remove a strip and sometimes place a new one farther off to do the tacking. The strips should not be too close to the last glue section or each other because you need a bit of twisting to remove them (The two top strips were really hard to remove: I should have replaced them with smaller strips after gluing the bottom half of the window as less tension was needed at that point). This was a slow and deliberate process and took me about 4 hours.
The bonding seems to have turned out very strong and the bond looks indistinguishable from new, sealing very tight. I used the thin long plastic extension for the Rhino glue to put on a small meandering bead on each section. Definitely you do not want to pour it on thicker than that.
The result is practically perfect except for one thing. The fabric between the window and the bottom is not tight all the way, which is barely noticeable but of course now that I know I wish I could have put more tension on it by pulling the lower edge 1mm further in (which probably is where it was originally glued to but it was hard to tell and I was afraid of putting too much tension on it). This is the only area that's unforgiving btw because the fabric can't redistribute the tension at the bottom strip. Again it's barely visible. All in all it's very tight looking and that's amazing given the top is 19 years old and survived in mostly uncovered parking. Probably the most sturdy part of the whole car apart from the engine.
scaffolding/tacking the window onto the top
Final result
Last edited by nuts105; 02-19-2017 at 06:11 PM.
Reason: adding pictures
I can't get over how crisp the back looks now. If I had known the result would be this good, I would have ripped off the rest of the glue a long time ago.
Alas, at the corner I started the glue is starting to separate. It was the only place where tension wasnt absolutely perfect. **** rhino. If anyone has had no problem with the fix for 1 year please post. I think the problem is the glue is hard so eventually will go brittle. Next time will use 3M window weld urethane. Lots of thumbs up from convertibles other than vettes.
my '99 with 60K has developed the loose vert window syndrome. So far just the top part is showing daylight, but I notice it got worse quickly today on the Hwy ride home from work..
Here is what I did last year to fix my window. Still holding great. Hope this helps.
Bought Rhino Ultra Glue and “Universal Vacuum Clamps” (six in a box) on the Internet.
Unlatched the top to loosen the fabric. Supported the top with a piece of PVC piping. Stuffed pillows against the window from the inside.
Removed the old glue stuff from the glass using a glass scraper. Cleaned the fabric and glass with rubbing alcohol and glue remover. Masked the outside fabric as a protection against any glue run off. Glued glass top first using all 6 clamps. Clamps stayed on for 12 hours for each application.
Alas, at the corner I started the glue is starting to separate. It was the only place where tension wasnt absolutely perfect. **** rhino. If anyone has had no problem with the fix for 1 year please post. I think the problem is the glue is hard so eventually will go brittle. Next time will use 3M window weld urethane. Lots of thumbs up from convertibles other than vettes.
I used epoxy, great fan of it. Held for years until the top needed replacing.
10-10-2014, 12:10 AM
Rear window soft top fell off
Wow. Many thanks gentlemen. I didn't realize this was such a common problem on the Vert. I imagine I will have to remove the top from the vehicle to do this. I will do the Google search. Thank you everyone for replying. 
