Windshield Brace

[dalelease]

Hey guys/gals, hoping I could gather some advice on my windshield brace I have fashioned. I got sick of hearing the windshield squeak as it bounced/vibrated back and forth (particularly when I had my top off). I decided I wanted to brace it from my rollcage. My friend helped me weld 2 pieces of square tubing (1 on the driver, 1 on the pass side, 1/2" I believe) onto the roll cage, so it spanned the distance between the rollcage and the top edge of the windshield frame. Sounded like a pretty good idea at the time. Obviously, we only welded the roll cage side, so the windshield could still fold down freely. We also welded a cap on the extending end of the tubing to make a flat surface. I made sure that the end of the tubing was grinded down smoothly to produce a nice resting surface. The result: now my windshield makes even MORE noise, since when I drive, the rollcage kind of sways a little bit from driving and such. It makes a horrible shrieking noise as the end of the square tubing and windshield frame rub together with metal-to-metal contact. I tried buffering it with tape and a couple of other things, but it cut through quickly and was not a permanent solution. What a GREAT idea...lol
My inclination at this point is to add an additional piece to the inside of the square tubing. I 'm thinking if there was a metal plate extending from the side of the tubing a couple of inches with a hole in it, I could use a bolt and anchor it to the windshield frame. That way it wouldn't vibrate freely and cause this horribly dreadful noise.

My two questions are:

1. Does this concept sound like a terribly bad idea for any reason?
2. Would having the rollcage and windshield/frame attached in this manner cause any unforeseen problems?

Thanks for the help!

Dale

[blazinchuck]

welcome Dale! thanks for joining! i would take the 1" square tubing and weld a flat piece with a bolt hole on the windshield side..that way you can bolt it solid,no noise . chuzie did something similar..but with smaller tubing. welded to roll bar-bolted to windshield frame...works great.

pics might help also...you can use photobucket ,etc, or upgrade membership.

[broncosbybart]

My $0.02:

You actually want the body to be able to flex independently of the cage. For a trail only rig, just about anything would work, but it'd make noise, like you are experiencing. I'd try using 2 small linkages with heim ends on each side. Check this out. You can either try it or make something similar.

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Win...Bars_Cages

[dixieboyz13]

I just got done doing mine yesterday. I just went and got two turnbuckles from lowes, bolted them to the windshield using riser bolts, and tapped and bolted into rollbar. still alows flex, and cheaper than wild horses kit

[rtj731]

I just got done doing mine yesterday. I just went and got two turnbuckles from lowes, bolted them to the windshield using riser bolts, and tapped and bolted into rollbar. still alows flex, and cheaper than wild horses kit

Welcome,
I did just as dixieboy, but inserted a plastic bushing into the turn buckle eye, found in the hardware bin at lowes, redneck heim joint.

[blazinchuck]

all very good ideas...i guess i was thinking he didnt have a front down bars from the cage. i was thinking 4 point cage and 2- 1" rods from the main hoop toward the windshield. hence the need for pics lol

[chuzie]

I did exactly what you did. I used 1/2" square stock. Beat the piss out of one end to flatten it enough to drill for the bolts I have on the windshield for my soft top track. Welded the other end to the roll cage. Two supports total. They work great, no squeaking or movement, and I can still lower the windshield. No over-engineering required on this one.

[dalelease]

Sweet, I appreciate the advice guys. I've been building up a lot of crap that needs to be done to the old girl, so I'll probably be posting a lot of other questions and requests for advice. Thanks a lot!

Dale

[jdowns67]

I did a write up on this a while back with part numbers and everything. Here's the link

http://www.cb4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3486

Missing some pictures now. I'll try and fix it.

[dalelease]

I decided to cut off the square tubing and go with the turn-buckles from the hardware store. Got the pieces, now just doing the work...

Dale