Hi

I saved the sunroof from my old Felicia because the "new" car's had been glued shut. I finally got round to changing them over last night but had a lot of levering to get the old one free of the silicone so I could get it out.

To come to the point, could this have stressed the glass? I decided to clean the old sealant off it with white spirit and re-use it in the frame that I took off the old car. I put it in yesterday evening and looked out this morning to see that it had rained and at this point the glass looked fine and I thought I'd check for leaks but by the time I got out a couple of hours later the car was full of glass and the roof shattered.

My question is - could I have stressed the glass levering it off the silicone, so that when it warmed in the sun it just went or is it more likely malicious damage? I'm reluctant to put my spare in now in case someone did it and just comes back. 8 o'clock this morning it was fine and by 10 it had gone:confused:

i suppose it could have had a hair line crack that you couldn't see, and when it heated up it popped

Probably worth asking on a glazing type forum.

I think when the sunroof is shut the glass has slight stress on it bending it at the middle from the winding handle, pushing it against the seal. I guess this would also contribute if as Tom says there was already some damage you couldn't see... Also I think it's not safety glass (like the windscreen) so if it breaks I think it would tend to shatter rather than just end up in two pieces or have a big long crack.

If someone's easily jealous of the sunroof or you working on it I'm sure they'd just as easily be jealous with the whole car, and there'd be other instances of vandalism.

Yeah, too much of a coincidence to have been working on the sunroof, then someone smashed it. Something was wrong somewhere for sure I reckon.

If someone's easily jealous of the sunroof or you working on it I'm sure they'd just as easily be jealous with the whole car, and there'd be other instances of vandalism.

I think you're right (hopefully) so I've put the other glass in. At least they're the whole assembly from the other car now. The glass is a bit scruffier but I haven't had to lever this one out so it shouldn't be stressed and it is in its original frame so should fit without stressing.

Both glass inserts looked identical but the frame of the one I replaced had a plastic retainer inside the roof, and the replacement is galvanised instead. There may have been something else different in the design that I didn't spot that put the glass under pressure.

If this one goes too it's going to have to be bin bags and packing tape for a bit...