Cracked windscreen

[queeniee]

I had a brand new windshield installed on my Ram Cobra by a professional. I drove it for 300 miles since last week-end and today, a crack running from the top to the bottom of the windscreen appeared when driving slowly to park on a garage ramp. Absolutely nothing hit the windscreen . Had somebody this sad experience and what can be done? And, unfortunately, this crack is in front of my driver's place. Only the external sheet of glass did crack.

[Grease Monkey]

Could be down to poor fitting / tensioning.

Could have been a faulty screen to start with.

Over here i guess you'd just claim on the insurance, not sure about over there.

[Clarkson]

Might be a silly question,but do you have a centre stay on your windscreen??

If not that will be your problem!

I have broken 2 windscreens in ten years!

[Clive]

You must ensure there is no stress on the windscreen legs where it attaches to the body/chassis. If there is any gap between the legs and where they attach to the car then packing pieces need to be made to avoid any undue stres when tightened as this will cause the glass to crack when tightened.
Clive.

[Clive]

You must ensure there is no stress on the windscreen legs where it attaches to the body/chassis. If there is any gap between the legs and where they attach to the car then packing pieces need to be made to avoid any undue stres when tightened as this will cause the glass to crack when tightened.
Clive.

[David Large]

Just replaced my screen after the original 18 year old screen cracked last year.
All of the good points have been raised in earlier replies, the only other thing is if a passenger has used the top of the screen as a grab handle to support their weight as they get in or out of the car. I think that is what happened to mine in Le Mans last year, mind you it was awfully hot as well and there were some stone chips in it.
I don't think that not having a screen frame tie will neccessarily cause the screen to crack.

[queeniee]

Originally Posted by d clarkson

Might be a silly question,but do you have a centre stay on your windscreen??

If not that will be your problem!

I have broken 2 windscreens in ten years!

No, I have no center stay on my windscreen but the previous windshield (no center stay either) lasted for more than 15 years without cracking.

[queeniee]

Originally Posted by Clive

You must ensure there is no stress on the windscreen legs where it attaches to the body/chassis. If there is any gap between the legs and where they attach to the car then packing pieces need to be made to avoid any undue stres when tightened as this will cause the glass to crack when tightened.
Clive.

The shop fitting my winsdhield checked for tension and for the correct fitting of the legs attaching to the chassis.There was no stress on the frame.

[queeniee]

Originally Posted by David Large

Just replaced my screen after the original 18 year old screen cracked last year.
All of the good points have been raised in earlier replies, the only other thing is if a passenger has used the top of the screen as a grab handle to support their weight as they get in or out of the car. I think that is what happened to mine in Le Mans last year, mind you it was awfully hot as well and there were some stone chips in it.
I don't think that not having a screen frame tie will neccessarily cause the screen to crack.

I did not think about that last hypothesis. When I went for the technical control, last week, I remember that the (fairly heavy) men responsible for the control got out of the car, using his hand on the windshield to lift himself. The (delayed) crack occured 90 miles after that....It was really cold but cold temperature also stresses.

[queeniee]

Originally Posted by Grease Monkey

Could be down to poor fitting / tensioning.

Could have been a faulty screen to start with.

Over here i guess you'd just claim on the insurance, not sure about over there.

Unfortunately, I have no insurance covering things that break on my car....
The shop checked carefully about fitting, tension, stress. The hypothesis of a hidden microscopic crack as a start , under the frame, might explain.