macas, I covered it with an M sticker, like you see them on BMW alloys, so no more Rover sign there lol
Update from 14/01/2012:
My rear demister wasn't working, because the electrical grid around the corners was burnt, so the power was only right where the metal connectors were and it wasn't going further up to be distributed through the whole screen.
This pic should give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
The whole stripe along the edge should be light brown, like it is in that small section, but as you can see, it goes dark brown/black further up, so the power stops there. It was exactly the same on the other side of the screen.
After doing some digging around, I found out about "demister repair kits" and got one of these from Halfords:
I thought I would try to use the electrical-conducting paint over the burnt stripe, which hopefully would make it come alive again, but it didn't work...Well anyway, according to the instructions on the box, it's only good for repairing broken stripes, so I guess it was my mistake to buy it in the first place. Nevermind.
Was lucky enough to find a good condition rear windscreen with working demister on eBay that wasn't too far from me, so picked it up and the guy gave me the weatherstrip and the locking strip as well, although you can simply re-use your own.
Then after doing some research, I found out what tools you needed to do a windscreen change on cars where the screen is held in place with a lockstrip, rather than glued on like with modern cars.
The main thing that you need is the so called windscreen diamond tool (see pic below), which is required for putting the lockstrip back in place. Apart from that, a hook screwdriver (or a thin flat-head screwdriver might work too) and loads of WD40
1. First, disconnect the demister wires connected to the screen from inside.
2. Spray WD40 all around the rubber weatherstrip to soften it, so it will be easier to work with.
3. Then you need to pry off one of the metal "cups" on the bottom corner of the windscreen. The reason I say one, is because the other one will come off itself, when you remove the locking strip.
Use a hook screwdriver to get the it off. No matter how careful you are, it will get slightly damaged, so if you're really fussy, then you can get a new one from BMW for about 8 quid, otherwise you could re-use the old one, but it won't look 100% perfect.
4. These cups connect the top lockstrip, which goes around the top of the windscreen, with the horizontal piece that sits at the bottom. Once one of the cups is out, simply remove the top lockstrip, and then the bottom piece and the other cup will come out easily.
Everything is out:
Here's a close-up for you:
5. Now you can start to slowly push the windscreen out from the INSIDE. Start from bottom corner on one side and then work your way round. Get someone to help you at this stage to handle the glass. Keep in mind, the rubber weatherstrip stays in place, so don't remove it, otherwise you might get water leaks, if you don't fit it properly.
You're half-way through now:
6. Spray some more WD40 inside the weatherstrip all around, so the new glass with slide in more smoothly. Now you want to get the new windscreen inside the weatherstrip. This is pretty simple, assuming there's someone helping you. One person is holding the glass, while you go around the screen pushing it into the rubber. Some people use a rope to feed the glass in at this point, but I managed to do with my fingers and it wasn't hard at all.
7. Once the glass is in, it's time to put the lockstrip back. This is where you will need your diamond tool. Find the right size diamond head for the locking strip, so you can feed the strip inside the head.
I started with the top lockstrip, but I guess it doesn't really matter, as you could do the bottom one first too. So what you do, is feed the edge of the locktrip through the diamond head in the bottom corner where you put the metal cup and work your way around.
The way it works, is the head of the tool stretches the rubber of the weatherstrip, so you can push the lockstrip back in place. You simultaneously pull/push the tool and squeeze the locktrip into the rubber. It's quite easy, once you get the edge in. Then you do exactly the same thing with the bottom piece.
8. When it's all in place, make sure the gaps in the bottom corners of the lockstrips are even, and if so, then put the metal cups back in the corners (a bit fiddly), re-connect the demister wires and you're done!
A dark picture, but you can see the new windscreen is fitted lol. Notice the solid, light brown demister stripe across the edge.
It's about a 30 min job, if you've got the necessary tools and definitely worth doing, if your demister grid is burnt.
Hope the above info will come handy for you.
The next thing on my "to-do" list is the still the new clutch/gear linkage that I haven't come around doing yet, due to it being quite a big and pricy job. I'll see how it goes in the next few weeks/months and will keep you updated.
Thanks for following!
