Question about windshield seal

[eric1514]

Here is a picture of the top edge of my windshield. There's a pretty wide channel up there and I've placed a pencil in there to show scale and to define it better,

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Is there supposed to be a rubber seal/molding that goes in that space? The windshield doesn't leak and I could leave i alone or I could fill it with caulk or the proper piece, if there is one and I could find it.

 

[seafish]

There is a moulding piece that fills that space, but I dont know if it is still available it or if you could find one in good shape at a junkyard. I chose to fill mine with black 100% silicone caulking. I first applied blue painters tape on both the roof and windshield to make applying it and cleanup MUCH easier. A little acetone on your gloved finger does wonders for smoothing the surface of the caulk after it is applied. Came out great.

 

[eric1514]

There is a moulding piece that fills that space, but I dont know if it is still available it or if you could find one in good shape at a junkyard. I chose to fill mine with black 100% silicone caulking. I first applied blue painters tape on both the roof and windshield to make applying it and cleanup MUCH easier. A little acetone on your gloved finger does wonders for smoothing the surface of the caulk after it is applied. Came out great.

Was the caulk you used something that you bought at a Lowes or Home Depot, or was it automotive specific? Seems like a black window & door product from the hardware store would work.

 

[seafish]

It was a regular caulking tube of outdoor 100% silicone window and door (exterior)caulking

IiRC it took almost the whole tube to fill the gap.

Obviously it’s a good idea to thoroughly clean the channel and adjacent areas with acetone first.
After cleaning, I applied the painters tape to the top edge of the glass and the front of the roof.

I let the silicone set for about half hour and then pulled the tape so it didn’t get stuck under any cured caulking.

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[24turbo]

Next guy who changes your windshield isn’t going to be happy about that.

 

[JeepJeepster]

My 2004 KJ, which I bought new and has the original windshield, has nothing up there.

 

[eric1514]

My 2004 KJ, which I bought new and has the original windshield, has nothing up there.

That's interesting. I can find no mention of it in any of the parts diagrams. I'll have to check out the examples at the junkyard next time I go. I thought I saw something up there on one car that crumbled when I tried to remove it, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Neal]

That's interesting. I can find no mention of it in any of the parts diagrams. I'll have to check out the examples at the junkyard next time I go. I thought I saw something up there on one car that crumbled when I tried to remove it, but I could be mistaken.

05 bought new and never had anything there either

 

[seafish]

Bought my 2005 used and it had a piece of moulding there that was starting to come unglued at one end and flap around at highway speed and marking up the paint job so I just pulled it off completely.

 

[24turbo]

That's interesting. I can find no mention of it in any of the parts diagrams. I'll have to check out the examples at the junkyard next time I go. I thought I saw something up there on one car that crumbled when I tried to remove it, but I could be mistaken.

Some windshields years back came with a plastic moulding around the edge or at the top of the windshield, but now pretty much all are just glass edge. That might be what you encountered.

Thinking about it I would not apply silicone in that gap. The windshield is “glued”to the vehicle with urethane sealant and that bond between the vehicle and the windshield has to be very strong ( it is a part of the structure) When it comes time to change the windshield all that silicone must be thoroughly removed to ensure the urethane is bonding to the pinchweld and not silicone residue on the pinchweld. Any contamination will compromise that bond.

My guess is the guy doing the windshield won’t take the extra time to remove it properly

 

[seafish]

When it comes time to change the windshield all that silicone must be thoroughly removed to ensure the urethane is bonding to the pinchweld and not silicone residue on the pinchweld. Any contamination will compromise that bond.

As always … your car = your money = your choice.

Personally I am not worried about that all… all the silicone that I applied is completely outside of the parts that any hypothetical future urethane adhesive will need to bond to, as evidenced by the fact that it is all applied above the TOP edge of the windshield. Furthermore, if ever I need to change the windshield, I can either do it myself, like most of my work, or make sure the installer knows about the silicone.

 

[JeepJeepster]

I don't believe 24turbos post was directed towards you at all since he quoted Eric's post...

 

[seafish]

I don't believe 24turbos post was directed towards you at all since he quoted Eric's post...

Not that concerned about it, though of course I was the person who actually did use black exterior grade 100% silicone caulking to fill the gap that the OP was asking about. Anyone else, of course, can have thier own opinion about it and make their own decision if it is a good idea or not, but I for one, am very happy with the way it turned out and can see zero downsides to it. Of course, likely there are zero downsides to leaving the gap unfilled as well …LOL !!!

 

[eric1514]

I’m undecided about what, if anything, I’m going to do. That gap looks odd and unfinished which is why I posted originally, asking if there was a piece of weatherstripping I was missing. On the one hand, filling the spot partially or completely with caulk would look more finished and add an extra level of security against water. Then again, it would make replacing the windshield a PITA and the joint doesn’t leak as it is. I’ve owned a few cars and in all my considerable years, I’ve never replaced the windshield on any of them, so there’s that.

 

[24turbo]

My post was not directed at anyone in particular. By all means you do you…..

I just wanted to make light of a potential problem if anybody followed your lead.


Nothing wrong with what you did, it was more pointing out that if you were not aware, and I hate to say it, but the guy doing your windshield, don’t clean it properly, it may lead to a safety issue


I can see where a previous comment may have made it seem it was directional.

All is good.

 

[eric1514]

I'm going to try this. It comes in various widths from various manufacturers. I went for 30mm. I'll keep you updated.

LINK

 

[joshcsmith13]

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FWIW, my 2002 (First year Libby) has this nifty rubber gaskety thing that has swollen and bulges out now. I had a piece of gorilla tape holding it down for a while, but it has come loose again. I too have been wondering what to do with this part of my car. I was considering gluing the strip down with some black silicone.

 

[JeepJeepster]

May need to pull that end out, cut a little off, then glue it back down in there

 

[seafish]

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FWIW, my 2002 (First year Libby) has this nifty rubber gaskety thing that has swollen and bulges out now. I had a piece of gorilla tape holding it down for a while, but it has come loose again. I too have been wondering what to do with this part of my car. I was considering gluing the strip down with some black silicone.

That’s what mine looked like but instead of gluing it I just pulled it off and the filled the gap with silicone

 

[eric1514]

So I bought that seal from Amazon I linked in a previous post and here's how that went.

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I started by laying some blue tape to show me the edge of where I needed to place the seal. It was much easier to visualize the 1/4" reveal I wanted for the seal to reach the windshield and the roof. Then I stripped away the red film on just the lower half and stuck the seal down following the edge of the tape. When I was done there, it was an easy job to just remove the red film on the upper half and secure the seal. It was stuck in place and not moving. I improvised a J-roller to press the seal down hard.

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Came out OK. I had previously stuck down a 2" piece to see if it would stay and after a few days it took some tugging to remove. The adhesive is easily removed with acetone or mineral spirits and the smallest roll I could get will allow me to do this job 3 more times, but I think this will last.