superloaf

Been chasing a leaky car and one leak has finally been traced to a leaking windshield seal. Apparently the water leaks in from the bottom, somehow defying gravity as it has to travel up to get inside. Or so this is what appears to be happening and what I've read has happened to others with mysterious passenger footwell water pooling. I've seen a bunch of threads/videos on windshield replacement so I understand the way our windshields are sealed and installed but I have not seen any info on DIY resealing. Obviously, the proper way to fix this is a new windshield but I can't do that now so I would like to find some information on resealing the windshield without removing it. It seems by removing the pressed-in rubber seal around the top and sides of the windshield, it would be possible to cure any leaks around this area by adding some sealant but what about the bottom? Is there a better way than just adding sealant at the very bottom edge of the windshield and OEM sealant? That seems like it would be hit or miss. And not sure about messing with the Allen head bolts at the bottom. I've heard these are eccentric bolts that press the windshield up during installation. It could be that the windshield or eccentric bolts shift and allow the windshield to move down over time and allow leaks past the sealant in which case readjusting them now might close off some leaks (again, quite hit or miss with a definite leaning towards "miss!")

So, has anyone delved into any of this or know of any posts/videos about this? I would love to hear some advice about any of this before I attempt to do anything. (And before it rains again....)

Car is an 86 951

Zirconocene

I've never had to deal with this, but you might investigate Capt. Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. It's designed to wick into small leak pathways and set up as a waterproof barrier to entry.

Good luck

superloaf

Hmmm, interesting! Uses capillary action which sounds good for my problem as I'm pretty sure that the water is coming in from the bottom of the windshield. Here's a pic:




My seal is probably leaking from other areas too but this bottom part is going to be tough to seal so Captain Tolley might be just what is needed.
Thanks for the info. There were also many other sealants on Amazon for any bigger leaks/cracks as Captain Tolley is mainly used for cracks no bigger than 1mm.

931guru

You can identify exactly where the windshield leak is occurring by using compressed air (in a blowguy) and soapy water (outside the edge of the windshield). Where it bubbles is the leak. I have used Permatex 81730 Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer to seal leaks successfully.

superloaf

Thanks for the tip. Were you able to seal any leaks at the lower edge of the windshield successfully? It's tough to get in there and it's tough to see exactly where to put the sealant on the outside. There is some clearance from the inside but it's tight so I'm sure that will be difficult without trouble.

931guru

Apply the sealant on the inside of the windshield, it will flow to the leak and seal it.

Gage

The leak is possibly (even likely) from the cowl area concealed by the fender. Requires removal of the fender to reseal.

superloaf

Today's rainy weather makes it so much easier to spot leaks! The windshield is only leaking from the lower portion on the passenger side. Here's a pic but admittedly it's not easy to tell the wet part from the shiny sealant but in reality, it is very clear. You can also see where the rubber seal or whatever's under the window appears to be twisted slightly. Not sure if this is the cause or part of the sealing failure, but it definitely isn't helping things.

I'm going to try the Captain Tolley's and then further seal it with some urethane sealant. I read in another thread to never use silicone as it will contaminate the area and the proper sealant will never be able to stick for any future repairs or new windshields.


I'll probably end up going from both sides depending on how well the Captain flows through the leak. The sealant will travel up due to capillary action, the same way all the water gets in. Kind of amazing how well capillary action works as quite a lot of water is getting in through here, way more than you would think from anything short of a large leak. It is easier to see the leak from inside but of course that's the end of the leak so I'd like to seal the front end as well.




Not saying you're wrong as this car has several leaks so far. Car has spent its whole life in SoCal until a move out to TN in 2017 so it's not happy with the new weather or move. Or maybe that's just me! Can you describe the leak and cowl area further? I've taken off the driver's fender a couple times but can't remember where water could get into the interior. I do remember the sealant under there hiding a couple of the rear mounting bolts. Or do you mean more towards the top? I think I have pics somewhere with the fender off but it's been awhile.

djmjr77

I am currently in the middle of replacing my windshield and took the dash out to re-vinyl it. If the leak is bad enough removing the dash would give a ton of access to seal anything on the bottom edge. It's some work, but may be worth it depending on the situation. Attaching some pics so you can see what access you would get. Good luck!

superloaf

That does not look fun! My leak isn't that bad yet and hopefully it doesn't progress once I get it resealed. Tell us more about removing your windshield. And where did you find a new one and how much? Are you going to install the new one yourself?

My leak is right where your first photo shows. The felt on my car is all wet and that's how I first knew where the leak was. You can reach up under the dash and around the plastic vent duct to feel that felt and also see it if you get down under there. That is once you remove the glove compartment. Great pic to see before you go hunting around for leaks. I wanted to mention this before and show it but it's tough to describe and impossible to photograph with the dash in place.
That pic will help others in the future!

superloaf

Capt. Tolley is working well! Still in its infancy on my car but it seems to have cured the windshield leaks. I've also used it around all the lens panels of the taillights since mine were leaking a lot of water and filling up a couple of the bulb chambers. Capt does get in the crevices; it's fun to watch when using it on glass or plastic where you can see the white liquid creep in. I also tried it on my rear hatch and although it did help in parts, much of the rear hatch has crevices that are just too large. I still need to seal up parts of my hatch and also the lower spoiler/gasket trim/plastic part that's mostly on the rearmost and lowest part of the hatch. I'll probably try some 3M windshield sealant for these areas. And I think my sunroof just needs new seals; it still leaks slightly but I think/hope with new seals, it will be enough to keep excessive water from overflowing into the car.

So, I'm well into sorting out all the leaks on this car which were a lot. Californian car that now is in TN so it's not happy with thunderstorms and regular rainfall. But it's running great despite having dumped months of leaking water into the DME & KLR, leaving the car dead when I got back here last summer. I managed to bring the ECUs back to life with distilled water and some DeOxit products but it was mostly plain ole distilled water that did it. The DeOxit was more for protection. Not saying this will work for everyone but it is possible to save a dead ECU by washing it! I never would have guessed washing electrical parts would turn out well but turns out it's the electrolytes in water that do the damage.

Many. many thanks to Zirconocene for the Capt. Tolley referral. This product reminds me of The Bish which is a similar product made for gluing fabrics and leather. I'm guessing Capt Tolley and The Bish would have been great friends. Or competitive enemies. Life's funny like that but if you need to glue troublesome tears in fabrics, The Bish is your guy!