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[Cliffo B]

about 6 weeks ago  miggy had a replacement windscreen fitted through the insurance.I picked up the spec info off the screen bottom L/hand corner and wrote it on a piece of scrap paper the night before,to cut straight to the chase the screen that is now the replacement is the 3rd (the previous 2 cracked 1st on install 2nd a week after install I think due to they didn't replace the rubber seal), I now suspect the 3rd does  not have an elite spec,the car appears to be far more easily affected by sunny conditions,and wait for it,can't find my spec notes,so can any member kindly let me know the spec from an original elite screen,or know if there is any other way of checking.The existing spec is:-                                       

SPLINTEX
Laminated  GF
Dot 24 AS1 M11
Transp.   75%
E6  43R -  008591

I would be gratefull for confirmation either way, if it is a down grade the car interior will in my opinion suffer,I think there are already faint signs,however it could be the seasonal extreme sunny conditions we have recently had.   

[feeutfo]

Only two specs afaik. Heat reflective which has a purple ish tint to it or standard with or without rain sensor.

I'll nip out in a mo. Afaik it's the original.

[feeutfo]

This is mine, but the numbers are different to those on the other windows. No idea if that means it's been changed or not... :-/

[tambrath]

Only two specs afaik. Heat reflective which has a purple ish tint to it or standard with or without rain sensor. the rubber trim is just cosmtic . Sounds like that have not put any rubber blocks under the screen to stop it sinking, this helps with out possible strees cracks and rubbing on dash, as the the marks there the manf codes

[feeutfo]

Having seen the screen removed on at least 3 occasions there are no rubber blocks involved as I understand it.

The screen is bonded all the way round directly to the metal ledge(?) provided for it, and as any screen installer will tell you, it forms part of the stiffness of the chassis. It must be firmly glued in or it will creak, as they sometimes do if driven in the first 24 hours until the glue sets fully.

Only thing I have seen to cause a screen to crack that's not a chip or damage of some sort is rust forming on the bonded area of the metal chassis. The rust swells up under the glass deforming and eventually cracking it. Sometimes the tell tale is a white area in the black printed area of the screen edge that covers the glued in section.

However that's not to say there arent other causes obviously... odd one.  :-/

[tambrath]

The rubber blocks are tiny but give enough support to stop the glass sinking tight to the body when you have layed it in. not all fitters use them. the slighest mark on the edge can cause a stress crack

[Bionic]

You do not say who fitted the screen for you. Was it a reputable company like AutoGlass who fit the screens that are OEM, or was it a cheapest option company that the insures love to use if they can get away with it?
Some time ago I had two rear screens put in by a cheaper option because I ded not realise that my own widscreen cover actually meant that it covered all of the glass in the car, not just the windscreen. Point is both went bang within weeks of each other! I then called into the local AutoGlass and they told me that my Comprehensive insurance covered all of the glass in the car, sides too. They fitted the rear screen whilst I waited and that has now been in for ages as far as I know because another oofer bought the car from me. As we keep in touch it is still the same one too.
Anyway m8, it sounds like you have probably had the same experience as I had before I used AutoGlass.
They fitted all of the necessary trim bits new too.
With migs two types are fitted too. They are different for cars with AirCon and without, as is the rear one too.
The screen should come with a warranty anyway.
Mine is a;
GUARDIAN
Laminated
DOT22 M55 AS1
43R - 000305
E9 Transp. 75% Min
*****

No rubber blocks are used under the glass, some temporary ones might be used to hold the glass in place at the bottom of it until the adhesive sets (about an hour, then the car cannot be washed for 24 hours). The blocks should then have been removed before the trims were put back. Nowadays AutoGlass use an adhesive tape to hold the screen in place by sticking it to the screen top and roof, then the sides and once the adhesive has a hold they take it off. It leaves no marks at all.
Hope that is of some help
 

[Cliffo B]

firstly thanks Chris for your pic more about that later,with regard to the screen cracking problem, with the original a crack appeared at the L/hand corner(passenger side) it did not show any impact damage,the 1st replacement screen was damaged when the fitter was strokeing/ pressing in the rubber bead down the R/hand side pillar and appeared at the bottom corner,this I saw happen,and I can comment I did'nt think undue force was being used,nor was there any noise,the 2nd was installed and I wasn't happy about the rubber surround from day 1 it just wasn't a firm fit specially the top R/hand corner it started to lift up after I washed the car  I complained to the fiirm and next day I noticed a crack once more at the bottom R/h corner,I can comment that with the 3rd present screen the rubber surround is firm as was the original and all seems Ok,as to the cause of the screens cracking it's a hard one but due to the damage appearing at the same place could it not be a production fault?Now down to my present misgivings with regard to the screens ability to provide a barrier for the car interior against solar ray damage I think I can detect in the plastic dash and front leather seats a very slight loss in shade intensity in the black/ dark grey interior colour.Thank you once more Chris for your pic I'ts much appreciated, it may have brought to light what may be the problem  my on screen spec print out is allmost identical to yours only it does'nt have the GM logo!! also the very bottom line on yours has 2 with two following offset dots mine is two lines of offset dots only.I'ts possible my screen is still made by Splintex but not to Gm spec,I'm going to be looking in to this aspect further,I did insist when I placed the order for the replacement screen that it be a GM one.      

[Cliffo B]

The firm I went to is Auto Windscreens,I went to them as they did my previous facelift MV6 and it was Ok, only difference is on this occasion it was done at home in my drive/carport,previously it was done in their workshops.The MV6 had the same glass and colour interior as miggy's and I was carefull to watch for any tendancy for fadeing and none occured,it's just that without watching for it I've noticed some slight degradeing could be the effect of the extreme sunny days weve had recently I'm going to seek out a good interior matt  polish with anti UV properties,and also of course make sure more importantly the screen is a GM one,I've already phoned up and asked for a copy invoice all I have is a receipt for my excess payment

[tambrath]

The rubber blocks are not seen and just stop screen sinking after laying in. The trims have allways been tight to get on and risk shelling the glass

[Cliffo B]

the final replacement screen is not in my opinion any thing like the original and as there is health issues here,as well as asthetic issues I decided to seek a 2nd opinion from a small local (non national) firm. To keep everything on a neutral basis I did'nt disclose the identity of the suppliers of the screen.The chap came yesterday and the main results are on his 1st approach to look at the screen the immediate comment was "that is no way a GM screen!" this when he was about 6ft away! He told me who 2 of the local suppliers would be and phoned up for a price which turned out to be 95.00 I already had checked my dealers price of 234.00 It looks to me as if the choice of 2 types of  screen heat reflective and the one they supplied as they kept quoteng  me is not quite correct theres a 3rd, a GM product. As I specified to the firm I would only accept a GM screen, I am of course now about to take this up with them and insist they replace it.If any other member on the forum has had similar issues with screens or can help with advice/info I would appreciate any comment        

[twiglet]

Only just picked up this thread...

I'm an ex-windscreen fitter and, without meaning to cause offence to anyone, there is a whole lot of rubbish in this thread! 

Can we go back to the beginning please... Cliff, was the screen replaced under your insurance?

[Cliffo B]

Thanks Twiglet,Please speak frankly no offence will be taken by myself anyway I do not pretend to be an expert.Yes the claim was thro the insurance but bear in mind a condition of my insurance is they will not use budget/aftermarket parts when original are available and this is reflected in my premiums.

[Cliffo B]

an update that may surprise most, it certainly did myself.
 With the info kindly supplied by Andy B I was able to appeal to my insurance company Aviva, who were sympathetic to my problem.
 They instructed me to get in touch with Autoglass who would sort things out for me.
 So the correct screen is now on order with the main dealers and is now I hope on it's way from Opel in Germany.
It seems that Auto Windscreens who did the last one are thankfully completely out of the picture.

[feeutfo]

Ah,didn't AW go bust... Or sumat?