Gap between Rubber Windshield Seal & Body

[randywebb]

I have some of that & had the same experience at several parts places as Jim did. It wasn't just kids either - 40 -50 year old men didn't recognize the term dum-dum. Maybe it is a regional slang.

Maybe I'll try that first...

[joefrantz]

Originally posted by 1982911SCTarga
Ryan, I would have to go and look it up, but I think the Porsche workshop manual specs a starting dimension for the space between the top and bottom windshield trim sections at the center. Of course, the workshop manual also suggests using the factory's windshield fixture (a steel mock-up frame) to check the overall dimensions and correctness of the body's windshield opening before putting the windshield back in. John Walker, do you have one of those?

As Randy Blaylock says, with one person inside roping, the second person can slap and move the windshield around as it's being roped in. This isn't rocket science -- however much we want to intellectualize and mythologize things related to our marvelous cars.

I'm also with Randy on saying no to dum dum and other foreign materials. No leaks from mine. But, hey, I've got a Targa so I've got plenty of other places to worry about leaks.

Brian

The factory manual (Manual II pages B20 thru B21) specifies a 1 cm starting gap top & bottom for the moulding (bezel).

It also specifies a "tap to fit" procedure similar to Randy's, and a final seal with "special cement".

Joe

[randywebb]

Thanks Randy!

I traced the outline of the Al on paper, transferred it to a piece of Redwood 2x4 and then used that.

Very simple when you find out the trick & much easier than wangling with the painter...

[Randy Blaylock]

Welcome sir, just don't forget step #6, :-)

[randywebb]

no problemo!

[lateapex911]

I took another look at mine, and I'm almost embarrassed that it didn't dawn on me that the rubber seal gets it's radius from the aluminum trim, and the radius of my trim was greater than the radius of my upper windsheild opening.

Thanks Randy for helping me see the light!

[randywebb]

That's Randy B. you're thanking, just for the record.

[Randy Blaylock]

We all contributed to the discussion, so I'm glad that this may have been helpful.

Wow, Mr. Webb, you have a few posts. I see you're from the Portland area. Ever see my wife's old track car that I built for her around (73 RS 3.6 replica) that Earl bought?

[Tom '74 911]

Randy B. -
Just tried your method of "persuading" the aluminum trim on a windshield I installed about 10 months ago. It worked great! No more gaps!

Thanks for the awesone tip.

Tom

[randywebb]

I'm in Eugene (2 hrs. south of Portland). I'm nots ure - I might have seen it at Emory's. What color is it? Last year I saw two nice Rguppe cars - bright red and a burgundy one...

[Jandrews]

Can we get a big Hell Yeah! for Randy Blaylock here? I think he just unraveled a mystery that has been plaguing many of us for years. I have had gaps on both sides of my windshield for 10 years, considerably worse than what Randy Webb posted. I went out into the garage last night with a wooden drift and a rubber mallet and 15 minutes later, no gaps!!!

Simple, but effective. What's funny is that many of us swore that we must have a bad windshield (that's what I thought my problem was), or bad trim, or the wrong seal, or the factory cut it too close or whatever. In reality, just knowing how to deal with it was the answer, and my hat's off to Randy for coming in and clearing up a real annoyance!


JA

[Randy Blaylock]

Here's the car;


I built the car for my wife as a track day car. She was very generous in letting me use it for a couple of races a few seasons ago when I was waiting on a sports racer that didn't work out. It was a great car, I qualified two tenths behind the Viper Competiton Coupe in the pic. It was fun to drive it to the track, finish 4th in class and drive back home. Needless to say none of those tube cars have license plates.

Times changed though and we sold the car to a guy in the Portland area. Reports indicate he's enjoying the car, so that's nice.

[randywebb]

Can we get a big Hell Yeah! for Randy Blaylock here?

- Hell, Yeh!


Randy - I haven't seen that one. I'll keep an eye out for it when I'm up there tho -- the warm & ("relatively") dry weather is bring out the Porsches - I saw 2 993s & a Cayman yesterday while driving mine around... an unusual conglomeration in our little town...

[porsche930dude]

my windsheild leaks on the lower passenger side causing it to fog up between the glass which sucks. But rather than replace everything can i just squeeze some silicone in along the opposing area to fend off the leak or will this harm the rubber? I dont drive in the rain if i can avoid it

[Randy Blaylock]

You have a problem with water collecting in the unibody channel in a pool, which then seeps in between the glass layers, causing the clouding of the plastic lamination film. Drying it out typically doesn't solve the cloudy look, only a new piece of glass and solving the pooling problem will help.

[porsche930dude]

i know the glass cant be fixed. i just want to prevent the water from coming in the car and dripping down my dash onto the floorboard and causing damage to the interior pieces

[Randy Blaylock]

Try moving the seal to cover any gaps as previously described, it will work anywhere around the seal. That should help considerably, unless you have an underlying corrosion issue that's complicating the issue.

[porsche930dude]

it would appear to me that the gaps are irrelivant. if the seal is H shaped like i think it is then the glass side is leaking and not the body side. Which it obviously is because of the window fogging. Also i peeled back the window side of the seal with a puddy knife just to see if i could enough to get a silicone bead in there and i found ice crstals all along the fogged area. So obviously i have to wait till spring if i am going to calk it but you know what im saying. I guess i could try moving the seal around a little to get it to maby seat better but i dont think it will make a difference

[Randy Blaylock]

The seal is "H" shaped in a simplified description as you mentioned, and I agree that moisture does have to be present in the glass side of the seal in order to fog the laminate. The thing is, if you ensure that the outer lip of the seal opposite the glass on the unibody flange side is covering the gap, this rocks the seal and changes the shape slightly so that it pressurizes the side where it contacts the glass to aid in it's sealing performance.

[porsche930dude]

i see. In that case i will definatly check the gap. I just hope the seal is not deformed from age to the point that it cant be moved to its proper position without bouncing back or somthing. thanks for the replies