stuck in the rain today... and windshield leaks

[Dakota Boy]

Drips of water coming into the interior, up at the top of the windshield. I'm pretty sure the windshield rubber seal is the original one.

I suppose I'll need to remove the exterior windshield trim pieces, and apply some silicone around the rubber seal.

If anyone else has already been down this road, please chime in....

thanks-

[Joe Johnston]

I have had to resort to doing that with a salvage truck I was rebuilding, but used the urethane sealer windshields are now glued in with as it seems to stick better to glass. One of the issues you may be fighting is the leaking water has carried dust into the opening and may have left a film that you can not clean thoroughly and may make it difficult for your sealer to adhere. Try blowing a bit of alcohol through with compressed air to rinse the void and remove any moisture.

Whatever sealer you use, take a few minutes to mask everything off near your work area as these sealers are messy and nasty to remove. Excess can usually be washed away from the glass and rubber with enamel reducer, or mineral spirits which normally does not harm paint.

Removing the windshield and installing a new rubber gasket isn't beyond a do it yourself project, but a helper is necessary, and one that has done the job before is a big plus if you never have changed one.

[simplyconnected]

I totally agree with Joe.

Back in the day, they put the windshield AND moulding in the rubber windshield gasket as a unit. Then two guys offered the whole thing to the body aperture. A guy inside pulled two cords simultaneously, pulling the rubber inside lip over the body steel while the outside guys 'slapped' the windshield, which seated it.

Later, they used butyl rubber 'ropes' under the glass, and sand bags on top to slowly squish it out. Now, we tamp moulding channel all the way around the glass edge, then apply a tall bead of urethane. The urethane adheres to the glass, body, and moulding. No two car bodys are the same dimensions, so the moulding helps center the glass and it covers inconsistancies while the urethane fills any gaps and metal stacks.

Use a cleaner MUCH stronger than alcohol. It must dry without leaving any water behind. The key to adhesion is an ultra clean surface. At the factory we clean, then paint a black primer onto the glass and the painted body.

The type of urethane you need is only found at a good auto glass place. It comes in two flavors, two-part and air-dry. I was paying $20/caulk tube for air-dry. Once opened, use the whole caulk tube because it progressively cures inside.

Exposed to the air, you get ten minutes, then it 'skins over' making adhesion impossible. But, ten minutes is a very long time to do a whole windshield or backlite. In 24-hours a 1/2" thick bead will be totally cured (for air dry). A sharp razor blade is the only way to remove after it cures.

Urethane is not like silicone sealer. It cures much stiffer but still somewhat flexible. It is fabulous stuff but expensive. Don't get any on your clothes. If you do, leave it alone and let it cure. Pushing it into the fibers just makes removal impossible.

Hope this helps. - Dave

[Dakota Boy]

Holy smokes. This sounds like it's turning into a serious project here.

I might be better off just not "pressing my luck" with the rain clouds. I took a chance today, and I ended up getting bit.

[partsetal]

Resealing a windshield is something that was common when the rubber gaskets prevailed. It would be resealed to the body and to the glass using a special sealer that is difficult to find today. It dried but never got hard.
The technician would remove all the moldings, pull the rubber back from the body and clean out as much old sealer as possible, same with the rubber that contacts the glass. Using a small hand pump type unit that screwed onto the sealer can, they would insert the small nozzle (1/8" as I remember) and pump fresh sealer into the seams, wiping off what squeezed out when the nozzle was withdrawn.
The windshield sealer was made by 3M but has been discontinued as well as the pump used to apply it. These items are available from CR Lawrence if you have someone who handles it in your area. I found some on Amazon last year. As I recall, the sealer was around $25. and the pump was about $40.
Carl