windshield loose

[fogcity]

Cleaning the inside of the windshield today I saw that it was VERY loose. Almost all the way around it had a lot of give. It's the window, gasket, rubber and everything that gives as one big mass. Being the nervous person I am I bought some 3M Super weather strip glue and squezed some inbetween the gasket (I guess) and the frame in at the two top corners where it seemed the loosest.

So, do I have to r&r the windshield (which I've never done) or can I get away with just squirting more 3M around the whole window frame?

And, speaking of weather strip, how do I go about replacing the rubber tube-like strip that surrounds the door frame. It looks like I have to remove the headliner (and in which case, forgetaboutit).

Thanks a lot.

[Chuck Moreland]

The windshield should be fairly easy to flex in and out a bit when pushing on the backside. This is normal.

It's pretty easy to push or kick the windshield out completely from the inside. A safety feature.

I wouldn't use adhesive. If yours is really too loose, I'd get a new gasket and R&R the windshield.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

911 windshields are ludicrously loose, which is a function of the fact that the frames are all slightly different,with semi-handmade bodies, and the slack is taken up by the huge fat gasket. You don't want to glue the windshield in place, it's supposed to sort of float around in there, what you want to use is a 3M product called Windo-Weld, which seals but stays flexible.

Stephan

[aigel]

You should quit putting adhesive in there. The factory installed these dry. You are really going to make the next time you need a new rubber hell because you will have to clean all that gunk out. How do I know? Took me 6hours to get all the stuff out someone had squirted in my windshield seal to try to fix the leak...

Good Luck, George (now rain tight SC!)

[88911coupe]

Replacing the "tube" around the inside of the door is not too hard but you'll need to get the 3M adhesive remover to get the rest of the old tube off the door. Use 3M door seal glue to put the new one in. Be careful b/c that glue can get away from you pretty easily.

[fogcity]

Thanks for the feedback. I hope I didn't wreck anything by putting about 6 inches of 3M weatherstrip glue around the two top corners? Am I enviting a cracked windshield? It's amazing that they all are "suppose" to be that loose (although the glue did hold it some). I'm sure I can still kick it out if I drive into a lake - before it seemed like a big pot hole could have knocked it out.

Buck - how do you fit that new "tube" - it seems like a tight fit? Also, there's a 2'nd strip of weather seal that runs along the top of the door frame to midway down the front (ending a bit below the consul) that looks real easy to replace - perhaps I'll start with that. The leak I get is rain running down the "gutter" along the roof, down along the door frame, between the door itself and the frame, and ending in the storage area of my door and onto the floor. Also, is that 3M door seal glue the same as 3M Super Weather Strip glue?

Thanks again.

[fogcity]

Sorry to carry on - I just searched the Pelican catolog along with another company's and couldn't fint the other piece of weather strip. It's the piece that runs along the top of the door frame and ends midway down front and back of door frame (this is along with and other than the "tube" of rubber that completely circles the door frame) - anyone know where that piece is in the catolog?

[KTL]

The 3M windshield stuff that Stephan recommends is not the same as 3M weatherstrip adhesive. The adhesive is sticky goo that is a MUCH bigger pain to clean up than the 3M Window Weld that I used (to everyone's dismay)

Windshield Sealant

The urethane stuff cleans up quite easily with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover. The weatherstrip adhesive is much more stubborn to remove after dried. I've done both jobs and the windshield channel was easier to clean than the door weatherstrip channel.

The old urethane (yes, it was dried, rubbery urethane from a previous "fix" attempt- not by me) that was in my windshield channel wiped out with a swabbing of a paper towel dampened with 3M GPAR. The door weatherstrip channel was a pain in the arse. The old dried glue took many soakings and scraping with a plastic scraper to get the majority of the crusty glue out of there.

I agree that the windshield assembly should flex a little bit. But you should not be able to easily push the whole gig out of the car. If "loose" is an accurate description, then a new gasket is in order. My car had a terrible wind noise problem because the gasket was so bad. I needed no help whatsoever to get my windshield out. Just started pusing from the driver's side upper corner and it came right out with little effort. A frail old woman could have pushed it out. With my new gasket in there (before I sealed it), the glass was nice and tight. Very little flex.

There have been conflicting statements in the past about whether the windshield seal is left unsealed. I say seal it and be done with it. Seal the body to gasket joint and seal the gasket to glass joint. Not a big deal. If I can do this, anybody can with a little patience. Just use the right stuff.

Even the urethane Windo Weld stuff I used is not going to be a hassle. The amount used was very little in my case. The only places that used a significant amount of sealant ( a very small squeeze of the gun = significant to me) were the top corners of the gasket at the body. This may glue the glass into the car, but it's not going to be a huge issue upon removal in the future. Simply cut THRU the seal with a razor knife and push the glass out. You should never reuse a seal, so cutting it is a non-issue. And urethane ain't hard to remove once the seal is out of the way.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by KTL
than the 3M Window Weld that I used (to everyone's dismay)

Even the urethane Windo Weld stuff I used is not going to be a hassle.

Windo-Weld 999 is a great window sealant.. that's what it's made for.

if you are at all familiar with various sealants this is a no brainer as soon as you see it...... Ron

[fogcity]

Kevin - Ronin: Thanks. I too have the terrible wind noise - I'll order a new gasket and go to it. I read Wayne's book on window removal - I couldn't quiet understand it but I'll assume it will all make sense once I start. Any other tips?
Thanks

[KTL]

Be prepared to possibly do a bit of minor rust repair/arresting. Bottom corners of windshield opening are prone to rusting because water sits there.

Don't pull the metal trim out of the gasket until you push the whole window out and have it on the floor on a blanket. Then you can spread the gasket apart and carefully remove the trim strip. IT BENDS EASILY.

Before you install the new gasket on the glass, shape the trim pieces to the shape of the glass. After new gasket is installed around glass, put some soapy water in the groove to make pushing in the trim go easier.

When you're ready to install, get gasket wet with soapy water and rope in the glass with some good braided rope (soaked in soapy water too) like run of the mill 3/16" stuff you can find at the hardware store. Have a helper push on the glass as you go around pulling the rope to set the gasket lip inside the car.

Not a hard job.

Don't forget to run the wire thru the gasket for the radio antenna. I put a little bit of silicone in the hole with the wire passing thru for a little added insurance against leaking. Do it the day before and give it time to try before soaping everything up!

[RoninLB]

I had to build up the 4 corners with dum dum to center the windshield.. otherwise I had a space at the top corners.. 3 tries till I got it correct.

Kevin feed me info on my install..