PDA

View Full Version : front wind screen leaking



jurdy93
22nd December 2011, 09:06 PM
can anyone tell me how to stop the window leaking at the bottom of my wind screen.
i fixed the top but no luck on the bottom.

Silver
22nd December 2011, 09:15 PM
Jurdy, the pic shows a GQ, assume that is the one with the leak.

They have a different kind of screen sealing rubber - it has drains at the bottom, and does not rely on mastic etc to seal, just the rubber.

The one on mine was old, and the joints in the corner had opened up, leaving gaps. I had chips etc in the screen as well, so I got new screen and rubber for $300.

The bloke who fitted it explained the info about how they seal, and said that if ever they don't seal that way, they fill up the whole seal with mastic. I've done that on other cars, but not the GQ so will leave to the experts to advise.

The other thing is that water apparently coming from the screen can come from other places, eg holes in the firewall, and holes in the fittings that take that screws, that in turn hold that grille under the windscreen wipers on. A search on here should help with causes and solutions.

Good luck and let us know how you go!!

jurdy93
22nd December 2011, 09:23 PM
what piss me off mate is i have its in getting it re sprayed and the roped the window.
it never leaked once untill they F#*king roped it.
but the bloke says they never touched it. (bull shit)
so thanx for the help anyway mate
anyone eles got any idears?
money is a little short close to xmas

Silver
22nd December 2011, 09:38 PM
Roped means removed with a rope under the rubber, then replaced? Or just lifted the rubber and spaced it out from the metalwork?

Don't know then - maybe the rubber and screen will settle back over time if it is not too stiff and old.

Otherwise I think you'll be learning the fine art of applying mastic - tarry stuff in a tube like silicone, stick the no22le under the rubber, squirt it in all the way around the rubber between the rubber and the body, moving the no22le along, and clean up the excess with kero and a rag. Used to do it on nice warm days to help the black mastic flow better.

Now, that was how it was done 20 years ago, and things have probably improved since then. In saying that, silicone like Silastic was around then, and for some reason people didn't use it. I think the idea was that it didn't remain flexible enough and while it may or may not have stuck to the rubber, the joint eventually failed.

Wait on a bit and see what else is advised, and good luck!

I can see why you are really cranky about what happened; you might want to disguise the old 'F bomb' there a bit mate, or use another version - the shift key and all those symbols across the top of the keyboard work for me most times.

jurdy93
22nd December 2011, 09:52 PM
sorry ill try and remeber that for future use

Silver
22nd December 2011, 11:54 PM
went looking to see what 'roping' meant in relation to windscreens - found this fascinating [well it was for me :-)] site
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=car%20windscreen%20paint%20preparation&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thebugshop.org%2Fbsfqpnt.htm&ei=XSHzTonQFtCImQXwqpC6Ag&usg=AFQjCNG_su-34gZuvHOaK5N2ScT1CpGdRA

It seems that roping is inserting coated 3mm cord just under the edge of the screen rubber to allow the new paint to sneak in.

Jurdy93, if they went to the trouble to do that (even though they say they didn't) maybe they removed that grille under the wipers. Or maybe the fasteners have just got sick of doing their job after 20 years in the Aussie sun! That grille is held down by fasteners that go into blind plastic fittings pushed into holes in the metalwork. If the end of those blind fittings pops out or cracks, a leak is the result. I'd be tempted to get the hose out and trickle some water around that grille area, and not on the screen, and see what happens. You will find quite a few threads on leaks in screens, firewalls and plenum chambers on here - good luck and once again, let us know how you go!

Nothing worse than stinky wet carpet and rusty footwells :-(

clayton
28th December 2011, 03:16 PM
hey mate i also had problems with leaking windscreen rubbers. can u see any holes in the windscreen? i found that in the lower left hand corner of my screen the rubber was very slightly lifted (cheers to the aussie sun for that haha) if you cant physically see it what i did for testing for further gaps was to blow ciggarette smoke along the rubber from the exterior and had someone on the inside watching to see if any gets in. if you're not a smoker either take it up or go to bunnings and you can get little cans of bee smoker (has a little nozzle that sprays harmless smoke out) and do the same thing. to actually plug the whole once you find it you can get from mitre ten windscreen silicon which is probably what silver was talking about. worked a treat for me no longer have to put up with water praying in my face when doing 100 in the rain :)
hope it helps