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Gallardo glass engine bonnet shattered

6.9K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  LAUTLOS  
#1 ·
I came home last night and found my glass shattered on the engine cover - car was in the garage, and was not done intentionally - i was reading that the glass is very weak on these gallardos.

I am unable to find a price on an original replacement unless i call Lambroghini. I came a across an aftermarket glass (plastic) for $789. Has any used this before? does it look cheap on the car? is anyone selling an original glass?:(
 
#2 ·
According to eurospare.co.uk the original glass is $460, #408827631A. You need new gaskets too. I have one sitting around as I planned to do the conversion, but I may never proceed with the project. Unfortunately shipping it from Europe may be too expensive and even dangerous for the glass.
 
#3 ·
Yeah the PO of my car did the same thing. The wrong screws were used and he over tightened and shattered the glass. I believe he said it was about 900-1000 CDN to be replaced by the lamborghini dealer (which I didn't actually think was too bad).. If it were me I would most likely go out and get some plexi glass that is rated for some heat..
 
#6 ·
The OEM glass is available from factory $642.85 retail price and your cost would be cheaper.
There is also a lighter shatter resistant glass available aftermarket at $780 but would need to check availability
 
#12 ·
After driving my G I park it in my garage and raise the bonnet for two reasons:

1. To cool the engine bay to prevent cooking of the wiring which after 15-20 years causes the wires and connectors to become brittle.
2. To keep the glass from cooking and becoming brittle.

Now if you are going to keep your car for only a few years you do not have worry about the above. I tend to keep my sports cars forever, e.g. I am the original owner of my 1990Nissan 300 Z (Over 26 years).
 
#13 ·
I absolutely do the same, and I am convinced its why my SL bonnet has absolutely no delamination on it when most others I've seen do.
No reason (especially in the hot summer) to let the engine bay heat soak for hours when you can ventilate it.
 
#19 ·
> I absolutely do the same, and I am convinced its why my SL bonnet has
> absolutely no delamination on it when most others I've seen do.

Ah... the good old polycarbonate delamination problem!

My SL engine cover suffered from it at its rear edge, and I had it replaced
under the CPO warranty back in 2012. I too suspected heat... but by now
I have learned more. First, the replacement has been fine for 4 years, and
my use of the car did not change. And second, I went through damage on
both triangular side windows as well. It started with a damage which grew
to ~2" over 3 years, and then -- last year, on the opposite window -- I did
manage to catch the whole thing in the act, so to speak: I suffered from a
rock impact during a drive, which left a tiny crater... that then grew to ~1"
over the course of just 2 days, while driving through rainy weather during
a road trip. That is, the actual delamination of the top protective layer is a
result of minute damage -- impacts, scratches, stress fractures... and while
heat certainly can lead to such micro damage, the specific batch of material
seems to matter as well: else my replacement engine cover ought to have
failed again already... but it hasn't.

For the replacement side windows I opted to go with glass, not poly.

Another thing I noticed: the front triangular windows are supposed to be
poly as well... but they don't really seem to be. At least that's what their
actual markings suggest (and gentle knocking seems to confirm).

Last but not least, there is the "after about half of the production run the
US cars no longer got poly rear windows" tidbit.

Anyway... yeah... poly can be a b****...
 

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#21 ·
so i called Lamborghini Uptown Toronto, and the damage is not bad at all. The glass is $665, and about 3-4 hours of install. my total with taxes they said would be under $1000 (like around $995) - so i am going with this option...now the challenge is to get the car there with or without the broken glass...hopefully it does not rain that day
 
#22 ·
[mid 2017 update]

> For the replacement side windows I opted to go with glass, not poly.

still happy -- no regrets

> [engine cover, thermal vs micro damage]

it's definitely micro damage for me, not thermal

the replacement poly engine cover from early 2012 lasted until now -- no thermal damage in 5 years

however, the rear edge once again has started to delaminate, and this time I was able to pinpoint it to micro damage: clear coat polishing during cleaning... despite a protective tape strip on the edge of the poly cover

oh well

to reign in "growth" of the minor damage, I had a clearbra stripe added at that rear edge -- for now it's doing the trick... we'll so how it fares in the next rainy season later this year :)