Brand New Windshield - Still Leaking

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G

GremlinMobile

Joined
Mar 13, 2024
Threads
18
Messages
168
Location
NY
Had the windshield professionally installed by a company. They warned me that the last time the windshield was installed, screws were used, which reamed out the rivet holes, which is a no-no. They also pointed out some rust on the metal that the glass mounts to. They ended up using screws to mount the new one, apparently because rivets wouldn't fit into the larger holes anymore. Well, I had the same leak at the passenger side footwell as before.. I called the guy back and he explained that it's probably because those screws aren't water tight and water gets in through there. I told him to seal that whole area where the side molding is with black sealant. He ran a large bead along the whole side. Well, we had rain overnight and this morning I still saw a few drops of water on one of the electrical connectors at the footwell.

If it's true that the river/screw holes used to conduct water, then they are now definitely sealed off, because he filled that whole cavity with sealant. As such, how else can this water be getting in? I snaked my sunroof drain several times and it can't be the problem. My roof rack bolts looked shiny and new when I pulled them, and I re-siliconed them when I put them back in. What other source of water could there be? Even if the metal lip was rusty, the glass was sealed with sealant, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can't understand where this water is coming from...
 
Did he seal off all rivets/bolts
 
nissanh said:
Did he seal off all rivets/bolts
Click to expand...
Whether he did anything before installing the screws, I don't know. But when I asked him to come back, he laid down a thick bead of sealant in that whole channel that completely covered the screws. My point is, if rainwater sliding down and to the side of the windshield falls against that channel, and now that channel is entirely sealed with that silicone/sealant, then where else can the water be entering? I'm suspicious of the cowl area. All the water goes down along that sealed channel and ends up at the bottom of the windshield/top of hood area. Could that be an ingress point?
 
Had the guy come back again to take another look. He argues that they installed the windshield correctly, and especially since I made him lay down a thick bead of urethane along the A-pillar, there's no way water is getting through there.

None of the ceiling or A-pillar on the inside is wet. Water appears to drip down and land on top of the gray plastic connector. I asked him if the cowl seal can be the problem and he argued that even that cowl seal isn't supposed to do anything crazy. It's more like a cushion for the hood. He pointed out that the cowl is perforated and is meant to allow water to get in. He suggested that perhaps there is something in the vicinity of the AHC motor around the firewall that is taking on water that slides down the windshield and is supposed to drain in that corner area.

I'm at a loss.. I guess I'll duct tape the sunroof around the perimeter to rule that out for now. Wait for a rain and see if it changes anything. If not, then I'll take a water hose like a crazy person and start shooting water in places until I can replicate the drip...
 
Were the screws removed, coated in sealant, then replaced before he "filled the cavity" with sealant? If not, what you might have happening is only the screw heads sealed, but nothing down the shank. If you have water running down between the trim and the A pillar, it could effectively be leaking in behind the area that's sealed. Especially if those screw holes are a bit sloppy, it could wick right around the threads. Triple check your sunroof drains, if you pour water in the sunroof tray, does it drain out quickly through both front corners?
 
dbfw said:
Were the screws removed, coated in sealant, then replaced before he "filled the cavity" with sealant? If not, what you might have happening is only the screw heads sealed, but nothing down the shank. If you have water running down between the trim and the A pillar, it could effectively be leaking in behind the area that's sealed. Especially if those screw holes are a bit sloppy, it could wick right around the threads. Triple check your sunroof drains, if you pour water in the sunroof tray, does it drain out quickly through both front corners?
Click to expand...
Hmm interesting point. I wasn't there to see how they addressed the screws. Why would I have water running between the trim and the A-pillar though? If I did, then I'd have to seal that up, otherwise that rust will only get worse. So while I agree the screws should have been sealed inside and out, at this point, I need to stop whatever water can be getting to them, if that's even the problem. I'm still leaning towards something happening around and past the cowl area... I've snaked the sunroof drain and poured water down it. Perhaps I can do it again with a snake until the snake exist the drain tube and touches the ground.
 
Were either of the forward sunroof drain hoses kinked or pinched? I've seen it many times from the factory, mostly the drivers side though do to the way they routed the hose to the inside of the harness vs the passenger side. It'll still allow a certain amount of water to flow through but eventually becomes overwhelmed and the hose backs up and you get a leak through the weep hole on the sunroof slider/pivot arm.

Mine never leaked, even with the kink in the hose for years. The for no apparent reason it decided to start leaking into the interior. Not sure why since nothing physically changed, unless it somehow got kinked just a little bit more through movement?

I finally decided to add a section of tubing and re-routed to avoid any more kinks between the headliner and the windshield frame.
 
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