after tackling most undercarriage rattles, noises, leaks and vibrations the jeep drive really nice and its time for some attention to the cab area.

my windshield is leaking since were having a ton of rain the headliner is starting to get wet all the way from left to right not sure yet if its one spot and spreading from there or bigger, ive watched a couple of youtubes how to remove the trim and that doesnt seem to be the hardest part just carefully. whatever i will find the windshield is not going to come out or being replaced im looking for a seal/silicone that will patch it up but havent found what is the best for this issue.

i tent to remove the trim and clean it up as much as possible getting it dry and fat free so it will bond good probably will use rubbing alcohol to get a fat free surface.

what would be a good sealant any suggestions would be appreaciated.

thank you.

marc

 

Before you go to that much trouble on the inside, you might want to consider sealing it on the outside instead. Two possible places to try and isolate the exact source would be the windshield gasket of course, or the gutter corner ends. What I found on mine is that the urethane glue holding and sealing the windshield in comes unhooked and separated from the glass. It's much easier to seal this from the outside than the inside, same with the gutter corners.

 

Under the right conditions Marc, the outside lip of the windshield gasket can be gently lifted up and sealer can be applied in the channel under that lip between it and the metal frame so when you are done it seals it but cannot be seen or look ugly. But since it is cold there proper conditions are very important to do this. I can explain more if you are interested.

 

If the windshield is leaking, it needs to be removed, the urethane bed cut back to 1/8 of an inch, the dirt or rust in the area that leaks removed and primed then the windshield re-installed with the proper urethane, while using a new molding.
Just back filling the molding does nothing to address the the reason that the windshield is leaking. Has the factory urethane lost it's "grip" on the pinchweld? Was the windshield replaced since it left the factory? If it was, was the job done correctly? If the urethane is losing it's "grip" on the pinchweld, will the windshield stay in place if the air bags were to deploy? Far too many questions and worries about safety to just backfill with silicone and hope for the best.
Also, if the molding is really old or hard as a rock, it will not bend easily and might tear when pulled out enough to get the nozzle of the silicone tube behind the lip.

YMMV

KenR

 

Another thought,
Is it possible that the roof racks are not sealing to the roof, the water can get under the racks, run down the inside of the roof and run down the headliner and the inside of the windshield?

If you spray a lot of foaming glass cleaner under the lip of the molding, then blow compressed air between the inside of the windshield and the headliner, you will see the glass cleaner blow bubbles under the molding,where the leak is.

KR

 

thank you so much for these replies,

my intention is to do this from the outside by just taking off the outside trim around the front windshield and sealing it all the way around top left right bottom, i am in WA at the moment so its not as cold as AK and there is an inside place to do this just have to get it really dry. thats why i was wondering what kind of silicone to use.. i believe there are certain kind that can even be applied on wet surfaces.

as far as i know the windshield is factory standard but cant tell for sure since im probably the 5th or 6th owner. another thing is the windshield has a small crack on the passanger side not bothering the drivers side and i fear if i take the windshield out it will only crack further, its not that i dont want to do it right but money is limited but still dont want to do a half job.

the suggestion of the roofrack mounts is a very good idea i didnt think of that and will have a closer look at this, if this is the case i think that would make it a lot easier to fix. this jeep doesnt have airbags i see what you are trying to say here the pressure could of damaged the seal and pushed the windshield outwards and create a leak somehow.

i find compared to my 88xj in AK the frame seems a lot stronger than the 94xj not sure how to say this but the 94xj in WA seems way more sensitive when parking on a small bump with either 1 or 2 wheels the doors have trouble opening or closing. this made me think there is so much flexibility the windshield just came lose cause of this ?

marc

 

i have to do that foamy glass spray / soapy water, that would tell me more and take it from there.

 

Absolutely... What you want to do is get it inside a garage and bring the whole thing up to room temperature, especially the glass if possible. Then use a blow drier to heat the gasket on the outside to make it more pliable as you work along the gasket applying the sealer.

Then use a couple small wedges to hold it open so that you can fill the channel down in there with silicone and start on one side and work your way up, over, and down the other side as you apply it. As the trim goes back down in place it will squish it into everything and should do a good job of both adhering to the rubber and glass and filling the void. I have to do this to mine pretty soon and I am going to use a clear home construction silicone and a caulking gun. But I realized that trying to remove the glass is very risky and it's going to crack. So this is the next best thing.

Main thing is warming it up so that it is easier to fold the trim lip out. But if you try to heat it with the glass cold it WILL crack it, need to get the whole windshield glass evenly warmed up first.

 

That soap is going to keep your sealer from adhering to everything and completely defeat the purpose of trying to seal it...

 

Use foaming glass cleaner, not soapy water. Sprayway glass cleaner will work well. Mark the leaking area by putting blue tape on the glass, then dry the area inside and out with the compressed air. Make sure it is totally dry before applying the sealant. I would use Dow U-418, not silicone, but you do what you want.

Do you have the rubber molding or the chrome metal trim around the windshield?
You said you want to remove the trim around the glass, but chances are that the rubber will be stuck to the windshield adhesive and will distort or rip if you try to remove it. If it is the metal style, no worries then.
Bugout's idea of warming the molding is a great one. It will help for sure.

 

Out here in the desert we try to schedule this type of fix in the summer when it is 100 degrees or more. Even 50 year old gaskets get soft as new and no added heat is necessary.

 

I have similar issue to my 89 and I'm also located in Washington where rain fall is plentiful. That said you may need to wait awhile to do the seal up option. I would suggest just calling your local glass shop and quote out cost of a mobile shop doing it. I'm going to do the same and I found a place in Everett who will do it for just over $200. That's pending that once windshield is removed I don't have rust issues underneath that will prevent windshield from sealing properly.

I know money is tight and same here but honestly I dont want to risk my existing glass to crack and even though mines a trail rig only I feel its better to just let the professionals do this. I had a 1965 Malibu which bad window channel rust I repaired, mind you I suck at welding but I got the job done and had a mobile service reinstall with brand new windshield for under $300 and that was in California with no leaks.

 

Spray foam, a sharp knife and some sand paper to smooth it, and you could have left the rest including the windshield intact.

There is more than one way to skin a cat if it's not a show car. lol

 

Bugout,
I've seen a lot of things in my years of replacing glass, but never spray foam!

 

He had a rust hole around the metal frame from what I gather. lol Yep... spray foam and go... You would be surprised how big of a hole you can fill up with spray foam, smooth over with bondo, and paint. lol

like I say, if it's not a show car.