Hey auto glass guys....

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JR

JR

Pissed off senior member.
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I just replaced the windshield gasket in my 56 Olds with one from steel rubber products and it worked great except in the bottom corners. The leaks are at the bottom corners of the gasket/glass. When I push on the gasket water squirts out from between the glass and gasket.
Is this just a new gasket that still needs to find its place or should I seal it up with some weather strip cement?

The spot is right above the area where the fender edge meets the door edge in the first photo.

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When I had a new windshield put in the wife's Ramcharger, the place ended coming back twice, once with new glass and eventually had to run a bead of sealer around it to stop the leak. I think the older a car is, the more "tweaked" it is. Gaskets will shrink, but I think that takes years.
 
Rubber set glass usually leaks in this situation. Aftermarket glass and rubber...Use a soft product from 3M called glazing and bedding compound just for this purpose. It won't harden and is easy to clean up. NEVER use silicone or urethanes in this application.
 
Did you not put sealant in the bead where the glass sits ? If the glass edge sits in water the plastic in it will rot and turn to a white fog.
 
RedFish said:
Did you not put sealant in the bead where the glass sits ? If the glass edge sits in water the plastic in it will rot and turn to a white fog.
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No I didn't I read up about swapping the gaskets and most guys said that you wouldn't need to so I figured what the hell :angry7: I might just pull the glass again and redo it. The glass is the stock glass and it isn't the greatest (thats why I wasn't mad when I overflexed it and it got a crack on the passenger side) I just don't want to spend $600 on a new windshield right now.
I did install the 3m black strip caulking between the gasket and body, the leak is between the glass and gasket though.
 
Im by no means a glass expert but have done enough to have found that bedding compound (even just a little) and a heat gun make it come out a lot better, quicker, and easier. At this point you should still be able to heat-tape, heat-tape, heat-tape until its set and molded in there without any annoying whistling or dripping leaks.
 
RedFish said:
If the glass edge sits in water the plastic in it will rot and turn to a white fog.
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Thanks, Redfish, I always wondered what caused that. I knew it was the plastic film discoloring, but never knew what caused it to go all white. Learn something new every day, if you're not careful!
 
Hey J.R., dont pull the glass. The 3M stuff is a butyl type stuff. Just take and pull back the outer lip of the gasket and feed the caulk into the lip between the glass and the gasket and let it settle in. After it has dried then take a razor blade and trim it to your liking. Keep us posted. Almost forgot. Prior to starting, take a vacumn and suck all the water out that you can, then caulk it.
Small Block
 
Thanks Bill! :cheers: We are supposed to have some sun and dry weather this weekend so I will do it then!
 
I stopped by the local auto body supply house today on my way home from work and got some 3M glazing and bedding compound for $12.00 and put it between the glass and gasket, now I just need it to rain so I can see if it worked.
I just took the bottom and side trim off and peeled the gasket back, blew out any water with the air hose then ran a bead of the glazing and bedding compound in there, waited about 15 mins and went around with a razor blade to clean it up.
 
GMachineDartGT said:
NEVER use silicone or urethanes in this application.
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I don't doubt your knowledge or experience, but having successfully sealed long-frustrating windshield water leaks in a '64 Dart by removing the glass and gasket and using windshield urethane between the gasket and the body all around, I'd like to know why it was not a good idea.
 
slantsixdan said:
I don't doubt your knowledge or experience, but having successfully sealed long-frustrating windshield water leaks in a '64 Dart by removing the glass and gasket and using windshield urethane between the gasket and the body all around, I'd like to know why it was not a good idea.
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Dan,

I won't speak for GMachineDartGT but I experienced the same problem with urethane. Don't know why, but it did not work. Here's my trial and tribulations with "professional installer #1"...first try was new gaskets, no sealer; leaked bad. Second try, added urethane, leaked worse (I swear). Third try, I went to "professional installer #2" who had lots of experience with old cars, he used the "soft product from 3M", ZERO leaks. Was it the installer or was it the sealer?
 
slantsixdan said:
I don't doubt your knowledge or experience, but having successfully sealed long-frustrating windshield water leaks in a '64 Dart by removing the glass and gasket and using windshield urethane between the gasket and the body all around, I'd like to know why it was not a good idea.
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I'm interested as well.


So far the 3M glazing and bedding worked great I just had to clean the excess that oozed out from the gasket after it settled for a few days.
 
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I have good experience with glass. Having worked for a large OE manufacturer and being trained in adhesives, I recommended the 3M product. As with anything automotive, there are many ways to do things. However, one key issue with rubber set glass like ours is being able to remove it at some later date, like glass replacement for instance. Todays urethanes have a very high tensile strength.It is designed to retain glue in style glass in the event of an accident. Lots of times you will see air bags blow the glass out when improperly installed...
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Anyway, our rubberset glass was in no way weatherproof like todays cars, and I've found the aformentioned 3M product to fit the bill nicely. If urethane is used, you can guarantee ruining the gasket if you ever have to change the glass again. Also, any car that has a nicely painted glass channel will also be ruined on removal due to the cutting/scraping necessary to remove the glass. For E body cars its equally as no no as many urethane installations wind up with the glass to far in the channel with poor fitting moldings.
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Just my .02!
 
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