Advisability of replacing windshield seal?

[mmc757]

Any advice on replacing the windshield seal? I have some air noise and can feel leakage when I put my hand up there, but it seems to keep water out.

Not sure if this is something I want to mess with or not...Have heard a lot of horror stories, but not sure how true they are.

 

[tommudd]

If you have a leak then you'll need a glass place to come and cut it out and more than likely will need a new windshield as well.
I've seen people try and seal it themselves but rarely does it turn out that good

are you sure its from around the windshield and not the door frame or ???

 

[boebr1]

If the glass is crack and chip free... a competant glass shop should be able to remove the glass and reinstall it without breaking it... but... they probably won't guarantee they can do it without breaking it. The have to remove the cover from the edge of the glass, then insert a wire saw/knife thing between the glass and body and slide that around to cut the glass away, then you need solvents to clean the glue off of both, and then you have to prep the area, reapply glue, reinstall the windshield, and then finally install the seal cover (if it doesn't get glued in at the same time as the glass). This is really not a do-it-yerself project unless you are used to doing these things.

 

[05liberty]

mmc757 ,I worked in the auto glass industry fro 12 yrs and I cannot recall an air leak at the top of a windshield with out water getting in ... possible I guess .
A way you can check , if you have access to an air compressor , mix some car-wash soap ... alot ...then more.... in a pail and pour it over the top of the windshield , from the inside blow air along the top of the glass if you get a big bubble on the outside you have a leak in the seal ... if no bubble than air is coming from some where else .

Now resealing the glass, if needed ,should be done by an experienced glass tech .. be sure they use windshield urethane .. not silicone or butyl ...
and be aware there is always a chance they may break the glass while trying to re & re , sometimes its possible to run a bead of urethane from the inside but I would only do this if the original seal was in good condition.

Hope this helps

Dave

 

[mmc757]

Thanks all. So the concensus seems to be for me to not do it myself, including from one actual glass guy. Fair enough.

Dave, the leak seems to be from the side of the windshield (vertical section), thats probably why no water but I will take a closer look before I put out any money on it.

 

[05liberty]

mmc757... how did u make out ?? .. If the leak is on the side you might be able to remove the a-pillar trim and squeeze some sealer in there from the inside !

 

[mmc757]

Havent done anything yet. We got about 6 inches of snow and ridiculous winds the last last few days and still no water evident so I will probably just leave it alone for now and focus on more pressing issues.

 

[JibeHo22]

Thanks all. So the concensus seems to be for me to not do it myself, including from one actual glass guy. Fair enough.

Dave, the leak seems to be from the side of the windshield (vertical section), thats probably why no water but I will take a closer look before I put out any money on it.

I have a 2005 Liberty that I bought used 1.5 yrs. ago. For a year, I thought my Liberty had an air leak on the side of the windshield, exactly as mmc757 described above. And I also thought it was the windshield that was leaking air on driver side. UNTIL yesterday. I put a sweatshirt on the driver side of the dash, tight against the bottom of the inside of the windshield. When I did that, I could no longer feel the air leak that I thought was along the side of the windshield. So it seems the leak is just below the front edge of the dashboard on driver side. I am still working to pinpoint where exactly the air is leaking into the vehicle. Please reply if you have had this same issue and found a solution.