I'll preface this by saying that I've pulled and reinstalled more than one windshield, and that I'm not setting out to defame one of our best parts suppliers, I'm just trying to determine if I'm at fault here or if the rubber in newer seals is of poorer quality.

Last year I removed the windshield from my 67 wagon. Now that I've converted it to D-jet and can move it under it's own power, I wanted to properly install the windshield to avoid it falling out and breaking.

I ordered a new seal from IPD and after wrapping it around the glass I installed a 3/16' nylon cord in the retaining groove. I started by positioning the glass in the frame and holding it firmly with a suction handle. I then pulled the cord to "pop" the rubber lip over the windshield frame. The bottom edge was fine, and the sides popped into place as well.

HOWEVER, as soon as I got to the top edge, the rubber lip RIPPED off the rubber seal.

As you can imagine, feeling a $50.00 rubber seal come apart during installation is *very* frustrating.

This was not a problem on the other two installations I've done and I'm not sure if the cord I used was too small (and cut the rubber) or if the rubber was defective or just an inferior quality material.

I'm considering calling IPD and asking for a refund or replacement, but I'm not going to do that if this is entirely my fault.

Has anyone had any similar issues with windshield installation and IPD rubber?