colnagotifosi

I wanted to help others, bought my '02 track-only shell with a "new" top with glass/defroster. Well, turns out it is one of the really crappy cheapo tops and my rear window became unglued and fell out.

Someone on the FB S2K Talk & Tech page referred me to this link which was very helpful but incomplete. It gave me the guts to attempt this repair.
http://damnitkenny.com/2017/07/29/s2...onding-repair/
BTW, Kenny is available and I communicated with him. His window only partially came out so I guess it was easier. I wanted to do a complete re-glue which was more problematic. Since some of the substandard adhesive let go, didn't want to leave any of it in place.

Here are my extra notes and pictures link.
-I fully removed mine and then had a really hard time figuring out how to "pull" the upper edge and lower "slot" together to put it together. First, you have to use a new razor blade and your fingers to rub away as much of the old sealant as possible. Wore my fingers raw over several days/sessions.
-Use the razor around the entire window being careful to not cut the defroster if you have one. Clean all the adhesive off and clean the window. Then I could NOT figure out how to support the window anything like Kenny's directions. Ultimately I put several small boxes under the window, opened the roof about 3-4". Then I put several pillows on the boxes and finally used a series of towels to support the glass in position.
-I finally figured out to put a large single piece of cardboard across under the glass on top of the towel, pillow, box support I'd built. The key move was to use sewing straight pins through the upper and lower perimeter edges just outside of the ultimate window position into the cardboard to "hold" the upper "under" roof and the lower "pocket" in place long enough to glue it in place. I spent hours making sure I was ready to go.
-The other key step was to take blue painters tape as Kenny said and carefully put it around the entire inside and outside edges of the glass leaving the bonding area but protecting inside of that and protecting the defroster. Next, I went further and cut off strips of 1" blue tape and encircled the bonding area on the fabric. This was not easy, strips at a time, working under the lip of the overhang and inside the "pocket" at the bottom. In case you haven't looked (and I'm not sure Kenny got this right), the lower edge is bonded on both sides but the rest of the glass is only bonded to the fabric underneath the glass and the top forms a floating "hood" over the glass. I was fortunate to have my other S2000 with a perfect OEM top to compare to.
-Finally, just bit the bullet and painted the entire inside edge of the glass and the inside/outside of the bottom with the primer. I waited the 15+ minutes Kenny said, not the 5 minutes on the can. After painting the window I rushed to paint the entire outside surface of the top edge and the pocket just inside the edge of the painter's tape and the straight pins that barely held the fabric in position to set the top in place.
-Final step was to apply the Window-Weld around the bottom (inside) of the glass, then I put a bead around the entire fabric surface. I tried to use latex surgical gloves but quickly went through many. I quickly and carefully set the glass into the pocket but up against the upper and lower pins in place to keep it centered with the necessary 1/2" to 3/4" perimeter bonding area. I'm telling you, this is a PIA and it wants to move for 15 mins to 1/2 hour so you have to keep pressing and pushing it up to try to centered and a good bond all the way around. Just keep pressing it, moving it to center it until it fixes. At that point, move quickly to lay a bead inside the OUTSIDE of the pocket across the bottom and lay it over the outside of the glass pressing along the edge. Use the razor blade to clean away any excess before it hardens if possible but avoid smearing onto areas that will be visible later and don't cut the fabric.
-I got that weld all over my hands and it was impossible to remove. I used GoJo, DeSolves It, soap, but mostly pealing and scrubbing off my skin. I had business things to do the next few days and it was a HUGE problem. That stuff is really evil and the gloves just didn't work.
-It has been over a month, did two track days at VIR with 100+ mph runs top down and up and the window seems to now be permanently fixed in place. I think in the crappy aftermarket tops they don't use a quality adhesive like this 3m stuff. Blew my motor in the last session so the car is currently at the shop but the top is holding like new. I bought the primer, Window-Weld and wool applicators on Amazon for about $50. I have all but one of the applicators left, lots of primer left for several of these repairs and probably enough Window-Weld left for another one. Of course it will go bad quickly since it is a "caulk tube."

Here are images showing the taping and the use of the pins for locating and holding the glass which was CRITICAL to "pulling" the upper and lower fabrics close enough to set the glue edges on all sides.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ku96488WTbD3yJFd8
This link will take you to all the pictures posted below.

rockstar143

Thanks for sharing this...the idea of something under to hold the top and bottom piece in place is pretty genius...
Robbins said they'd replace the top and my installer reglued the bottom portion and made a ****ing mess last year...
thinking about hitting this myself so I can take the damn car cover and trash bag off the rear window and enjoy my car
again.

Slowcrash_101

OEM tops don't have this problem. If you keep your straps nice and tight, the OEM top will outlast any aftermarket one.