Duster windshield removal/replacement

[Cliff Ramsdell]

I ran into the same issue finding the 3M 08509 and stumbled across this CRL Black Windshield and Body Sealant | CRL

Has the same properties of the 3M material so we’ll see how it goes.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

[Kern Dog]

Honestly, you should not need any sealants on a gasketed windshield. The rubber gasket itself is the seal.
Sealants are for flush mount windshields.

The rubber is the seal, if using any goo then something is wrong. As above potentially pitted metal or reused seal. Worse case there is a rust hole somewhere

I know that this is an old thread but....
Have either of you two ever read the windshield installation procedure as outlined in the service manuals? Sealant is clearly called for in both the "fence" channel and the groove the glass fits into.
Read here:

 

[Professor Fate]

I know that this is an old thread but....
Have either of you two ever read the windshield installation procedure as outlined in the service manuals? Sealant is clearly called for in both the "fence" channel and the groove the glass fits into.
Read here:

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Yes, of course I've read it.
But I defer to my friend who has been a professional automotive glass installer for 45 years. There's drain channels in the frame area that easily get plugged with sealer causing drainage issues, and the "rubber" that has been used to make the seal for the last forty years is different than the "natural rubber" seals that were originally used.
Use whatever you like, I'll go with experience every time.

 

[Kern Dog]

Hey, I'm learning here....So many guys tell others to Follow the FSM/Factory Service Manual and sometimes when you do, you get conflicts like these. If it were widely known that these windshield gaskets were made with different materials than the originals, that changes things.

 

[Ozyduster]

Hey, I'm learning here....So many guys tell others to Follow the FSM/Factory Service Manual and sometimes when you do, you get conflicts like these. If it were widely known that these windshield gaskets were made with different materials than the originals, that changes things.

When removing my window rubber it had no sealer on it and the few cars i have built with new rubber seals have never used any sealer when glazing guys have installed. As other guy said have to be careful as you can block two drain holes and then water cant get out

 

[Kern Dog]

The new cars were supposed to have sealer and the service manual calls for it.
When a glass installer 50 years later installs a windshield and skips the sealant, how do I know whether he is a lazy hack or an informed guy that somehow knows that the reproduction gasket is somehow able to seal with no sealant?
We all have stories of how some alignment guy, tire guy, glass installer or whatever does a piss poor job.

 

[sam69sat]

Maybe a difference between A and B bodies. I dont' recall seeing that drain hole in my b bodies and the consensus is to use sealant on B body windshields with gaskets.

 

[Cliff Ramsdell]

Well I can state for a fact that just a gasket will NOT seal it from leaks.

My car had the glass installed after restoration, no bedding. On the road home from Carlisle 2023 we hit rail the last 100 plus miles and the water was pouring in from the lower corners, front was worse than the rear.

So, use bedding as stated in the FSM and drive with confidence that a water leak will not ambush your weekend drive.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

[Mtrhead]

When that water comes in mold starts forming on the carpet and we've all smelled that nasty damp dog smell from headliner padding

 

[75slant6]

Legend!! Just looked at my pics after sand blasting and its now empty. Basically just fill that hole with a polyurathane sealant. Would have never has know this!!!

@Ozyduster do you have pictures of the holes you filled?

The small square drain hole must be left open to drain the windshield channel into the cowl. Otherwise the windshield channel will overflow and seap over the top. It is the side opening just in front of the pinch weld that needs to be sealed without closing the drain hole off. The drain must function. The opening on the side where I try and put the straw in must be sealed

@Oldmanmopar do you still have that video available? The link is dead.

 

[1MeanA]

Just thought I would add to this....I just installed front and rear glass. It was one of the easier jobs on this restoration. I couldn't find the 3M liquid butyl between gasket and body so I used CRL7708 instead. Its messy stuff. I used urethane on the bottom of the front windshield.

 

[CFD244]

Just thought I would add to this....I just installed front and rear glass. It was one of the easier jobs on this restoration. I couldn't find the 3M liquid butyl between gasket and body so I used CRL7708 instead. Its messy stuff. I used urethane on the bottom of the front windshield.

I think that's the stuff I used. I used it to bed and around the fence chanel....And in the glass groove......No urethane. I am already worrying about the first rain storm. I wish the glass was installed before the interior went in.

 

[1MeanA]

I didn’t put anything between the glass and gasket. I might water test it but the car will never see the rain.

 

[CFD244]

I think that's the stuff I used. I used it to bed and around the fence chanel....And in the glass groove......No urethane. I am already worrying about the first rain storm. I wish the glass was installed before the interior went in.

Mine neither.......I'm scared to wash it.

 

[Cliff Ramsdell]

So, a 2025 update. The weather on this years Carlisle trip was a mix of stupidly hot and humid with some rain mixed in. Saturday afternoon a rain worked its way in and by 4:00 pm we were under a down pour.

Out of town and a 30 minute ride to our place it poured hard with standing puddles on the road and dodging traffic. The resealed glass preformed 100%. Not a drop of rain in the car except from the side windows that were cracked for some breathing air while the defroster struggled to clear the windshield.

We had some more rain on the 350 plus mile ride home to Connecticut on Sunday also and when we arrived and unpacked found no water in the car or the trunk like we were greeted with back in 2023.

So, take it for what its worth, Factory specs out a sealant, if your driving your car and could be trapped in the rain, seal the gaskets as called out in the FSM. I know people state that the car will never see rain or even washing with a hose (which also leaked badly for us) but the modern reproduction gaskets don't fit like the OEM so a little extra insurance is great so we can enjoy our cars.

Cliff Ramsdell