Greetings.

Rotten luck here. Rock hit my windscreen right at the lower driver's side edge and I got a 8cm crack in my windscreen upwards. Unbelievable, you can see where the rock hit, right at the edge. Crack can only be felt on outer layer. Windscreen and all windows on my XJS are marked with the Triplex logo (see attached). Is that the original and is it from Pilkington? Or is Triplex an OEM replacement?

I ask, because the windscreen and all windows on my 1992 (all marked Triplex) are in virtually mint condition (obviously except for the crack that happened a few days ago) compared to my 1993 Daimler. The quality is markedly better on my XJS. I have contacted Pilkington and they have been extremely helpful.




A windscreen replacer here said they could replace it with an OEM product, but I really want to go with the Triplex. A "fixer" said he could stop the crack from spreading, but couldn't make it vanish!

Charles

 

Sorry about that.

I meant to type "aftermarket" not OEM.

Is Triplex original or an aftermarket replacement?

 

Triple X is the original maker and supplier to Jaguar, has been since at least the 60's. That's likely the windscreen the car was built with.

Did you notice the little dots above the r and the X in TripleX? That's a date code, if you know the code it tells you when the windscreen was made. Looks like October, 1991. See Triplex Glass Manufacturing Date Codes | Turner 950 Part and Assembly Information

 

Charles,

I quite like originality and the date markings etc, so I'd be minded to try and keep my original screen. Some of the liquid fillers that fitters have available can give some really impressive results.

If you decide to change it, be careful. Triplex is a brand name acquired by Pilkington many many years ago. The screens for many classic ars are now made in their factory in the UK about 20 miles from where I Iive.

Pilkington was bought by Nippon Sheet Glass in 2006.

And there are fakes out there! I have seen screens offered recently for XJS that are stamped as Triplex but seem to be fakes. The writing is not consistent with genuine screens. So be wary!

Also the screens on Coupes and Convertibles look the same but they are actually of different thicknesses.

So good luck with your decision!

Paul

 

Many thanks!

1991 would make sense as the MY of my XJS is 1992.

Great website to help decipher the codes on the Triplex sticker.

 

All that being said, is the crack a problem? Where I live they put pea sized gravel on the roads in the winter to aid traction in the snow and ice, and when a small rock hits the glass in the cold it cracks. Most cars here have cracked windshields, For example my X Type has one that goes the entire width of the glass about 3" from the bottom and another running from bottom to nearly the top. On average a windshield will last 2 years here before it's too cracked to see out of and needs to be replaced.

 

Id leave the windshield alone for now. Doesnt look bad, but if you feel that it makes the car look uncared for, then its reasonable. Order the XXX and inspect it before accepting the installation. I have a coupe, so I had a hard time finding a factory windshield for a good price. So I went with an aftermarket winshield with zero distortion. Im very happy with it

 

Greetings.

The "look" of the crack doesn't bother me much at all. The problem is road worthiness inspection that I have to go through every year here in Hong Kong. Since my XJS is older than ten years, my mechanic has to take it for a government inspection once a year.

It's a tough call, as the crack's location means it is totally at the discretion of an individual inspector. If it impairs driving visibility, it is an automatic fail. This doesn't. Even if it doesn't, if it impacts the integrity of the windscreen and safety, it "can" be a fail. How the later two are measured is not clear. If a crack goes through both the outer and inner layer of the windscreen it is an automatic failure regardless of position; this doesn't.

Lead time for getting a Pilkington replacement made and shipped is roughly 10 to 12 weeks.

Many thanks,
Charles

 

Where I am average life of a windscreen is 2 years, so I've had plenty of cracks caused by flying rocks. The only time I ever had one go through both layers when when I was following a loaded logging truck at highway speed and a large rock came off, I'd estimate a foot in diameter and hit the glass right in front of me. The windscreen practically exploded and was impossible to see though. It still held together though.

 

So leave it alone, and if the inspector says it has to go, then it goes. Simple.