Weird windshield crack starting

Thought i'd bounce this off the fine folks here...

Just noticed this morning when i got to work, a 5 or so inch crack forming on my windshield.
It's starting between the wipers on the bottom middle edge of the
glass and expanding upward towards the roof line.

Funny thing is, the crack wasn't there when i started her up and
didn't have a rock or anything hit the windshield on the way to work.
It's only a 5 mile trip and i was not behind anybody at all.

We had some snow the other day and the truck was sitting
with a couple inches of snow on the windshield during that time...
but when i drove it today all the snow was melted and i didn't use
any scrapers or whatever on it.

Anybody have an idea of how this could have happened?
I guess something could have hit the glass some time ago
and now it's just starting to crack or it could be a stress crack from
crossing a railroad or something...which there are several on my
way to work...but i drive over them slowly...??

I called the safelite folks, but they said the crack was already too big.

Guess it's time for a new windshield?

Would ya'll get aftermarket or OEM glass?

Thanks for any help.

PC

 

I always insist on OEM. A lot of people don't understand how much of a structural component the windshield actually is. The engineers might get horny when I say this- it's a diaphragm transfer component.

 

You probably got hit by a stone down really low on the windshield around the wipers somewhere, which caused a chip/pocket under the surface of the glass. Might not have even realized it happened at the time. Then after time that chip most likely formed into a crack, they can take months or longer to develop.

 

Or if there is a lot of cold to hot temps. As well as using your defrost a lot. The temps on the inside hitting the cold window on the outside can make it spread.

 

Was it sunny when the snow melted off the truck? If there was snow slid to the bottom of the window and the interior got quite warm on the sun, the temperature difference can crack a windshield, not common, but it does happen. Same with snow piled on the roof that slides down onto a warm windshield.

 

Keep in mind all the resin-injection systems can only stop the crack from growing, but can't really make the existing crack "disappear". At 5" I'd go for a replacement windshield.

If you drive in areas with a lot of gravel kicked up by other vehicles, go for cheaper aftermarket glass - it'll probably get hit again. Otherwise go for OEM for reliable optical quality.

 

Safelite generally uses OEM glass anyways. But I have not noticed any difference between glass from OEM and from "other" mfgs.

 

haha... that made me laugh, as i am an engineer.

Now that i think back, a couple months ago i did hear
a 'clink/pop' sound from up front and thought it was something
that hit the grill area.

hmmm, you know the front of my truck does face the afternoon sun and there was
some snow at the bottom of the glass the previous morning.
I guess when i was on the way to work the next morning,
i must have flexed the chassis just enough to reveal the
crack?...it has been pretty cold around lately, at least for NC.

Anyhoo...thanks folks, appreciate the feedback.

New windshield for me soon...as today the crack has grown a bit.

PC

 

Its possible you didn't notice the crank going to work in the AM, if you're the typical morning coffee chugging zombie trying to get excited about living the dream for the day. Either way, I'm thinking that new windshield ought to fix it.