Windshield Gasket question (1 Viewer)

[jasonomni]

OK I had mine done about a month ago by Autoglass. they sealed all the way around between the gasket and the metal frame.
My question is... Are they supposed to use sealer inside the gasket where the glass sits in?
This is where mine leaks.... it goes under the lip on the outside and comes back up between the glass and seal on the inside.

 

[Darwood]

OK I had mine done about a month ago by Autoglass. they sealed all the way around between the gasket and the metal frame.
My question is... Are they supposed to use sealer inside the gasket where the glass sits in?
This is where mine leaks.... it goes under the lip on the outside and comes back up between the glass and seal on the inside.

Most undoubtedly yes. Urethane must go between the glass and gasket or it will leak as you have observed.

 

[Beowulf]

I took a long tour of a autoplant once ...

Was this a Japanese manufacturer?
If yes, was this a USA plant or where?

-B-

 

[jasonomni]

Thanks for the info. The tech at autoglass does not want to come out and take care of the problem. So I have faxed him a copy of this discussion along with a letter from my lawyer

 

[gray]

Most undoubtedly yes. Urethane must go between the glass and gasket or it will leak as you have observed.

X2;
that is exactly what happened to me (SAFELITE);
they used NO adhesive at all.

The adhesive serves a dual purpose; one is to prevent leaks, but the most important purpose is to keep the windshield in place in the event of an accident.

For roll-over testing, the windshield strength is part of the calculation. It also prevents things from leaving the vehicle, like your baby sitting in the passenger seat, and it prevents things from entering your vehicle, like a brick, etc.

Sometime ago there was a mega lawsuit due to improper installation
of windshields; forget which company was involved.

Bottomline; all the chains are guilty; there is no quality control
other that the owner standing and watching them do the work.

When was the last time you heard of a company tearing out
a windshield (after an installation) to see if the installer did it correctly??

Knowledge is power.

Stick with a local installer who lives in your town and has been
doing it for all the dealerships for sometime.


g

 

[Cattledog]

I too would DEMAND oem gasket and glass.

Then watch the installer like a hawk. The 80 glass is a PIA! I am currently fighting with the portland glass installer in my area. I went out of my way to drop off the lexus Factory manual instructions and even told them it was a PIA to install. I even asked if they had done a cruiser or lx befor they said yes.

Well they still screwed it up. They scrached and ruined the hell out of the entire hood, the cowel, the passenger quarter panel, headliner and dash. On top of that they did not glue the seal correctly... The non oem gasket sucks and sits about a 1/4 taller than the oem gasket.

Best of luck, next time I will install it myself.

 

[cruiserdan]

Even when they are glued in like they are supposed to be they can leak.

When I had the new windshield set in mine afer the refinish in June I watched the guy apply the sealer to the inside of the weatherstrip.


It still leaked.......

 

[MoGas]

Even when they are glued in like they are supposed to be they can leak.

When I had the new windshield set in mine afer the refinish in June I watched the guy apply the sealer to the inside of the weatherstrip.


It still leaked.......

Are the gasket p/ns the same through 80 production?

 

[cruiserdan]

Are the gasket p/ns the same through 80 production?

There are, IIRC, three different part numbers that all superceed to 56121-60100.

 

[gray]

Was this a Japanese manufacturer?
If yes, was this a USA plant or where?

-B-

Actually, been through both;
Toyota in Kentucky and Ford in Michigan.

The beating on the window frame/door took place before
it went through the paint booth, as I recall. It was a bit surprising at first, thinking that all the parts would be perfectly in line from the get go.
I recall walking past a line of unpainted door skins that were marked
with little circles; ie: fix, repair, scrap, etc.

They apparently repaired a lot of stuff before it went onto
the body.

Installation of windshields was extremely efficient; a machine
ran around the edge of the windshield putting the adhesive exactly
where it should go, then two workmen using a mechanical arm
with big suction cups put the windshields into place.

The Toyota plant was kinda neat, with the Japanese managers
all wearing little hats that reminded me of the type you see in
WW II movies; same general shape, just different colors.
BONZAI !!!

G

 

[gray]

I too would DEMAND oem gasket and glass.

Then watch the installer like a hawk. The 80 glass is a PIA! I am currently fighting with the portland glass installer in my area. I went out of my way to drop off the lexus Factory manual instructions and even told them it was a PIA to install. I even asked if they had done a cruiser or lx befor they said yes.

Well they still screwed it up. They scrached and ruined the hell out of the entire hood, the cowel, the passenger quarter panel, headliner and dash. On top of that they did not glue the seal correctly... The non oem gasket sucks and sits about a 1/4 taller than the oem gasket.

Best of luck, next time I will install it myself.

Take photos with a time stamp, and then contact the headquarters of the chain if the installer works for one.

If your insurance company paid for it, tell them about the mess.

g

 

[gotmud]

Pretty timely topic. -Just had the w/s replaced in my '94 yesterday....installer is coming back tomorrow to lay down a bead of adhesive. To their credit, the last glass they installed on an older LC was 4 years ago. The owner knew better, but his tech was caught off guard.

 

[Darwood]

Even when they are glued in like they are supposed to be they can leak.

When I had the new windshield set in mine afer the refinish in June I watched the guy apply the sealer to the inside of the weatherstrip.


It still leaked.......

Not fun. When I installed my windshield I used way too much urethan.

 

[Darwood]

X2;
that is exactly what happened to me (SAFELITE);
they used NO adhesive at all.

The adhesive serves a dual purpose; one is to prevent leaks, but the most important purpose is to keep the windshield in place in the event of an accident.

For roll-over testing, the windshield strength is part of the calculation. It also prevents things from leaving the vehicle, like your baby sitting in the passenger seat, and it prevents things from entering your vehicle, like a brick, etc.

Sometime ago there was a mega lawsuit due to improper installation
of windshields; forget which company was involved.

Bottomline; all the chains are guilty; there is no quality control
other that the owner standing and watching them do the work.

When was the last time you heard of a company tearing out
a windshield (after an installation) to see if the installer did it correctly??

Knowledge is power.

Stick with a local installer who lives in your town and has been
doing it for all the dealerships for sometime.


g

Or you can do it yourself. It's really not that hard to do. Just messy.

 

[gray]

True, but if you break the windshield, you ate it.
On the other hand, you know you done it right.

The OEM windshield that Safelite used to replace the POS PPG glass
ended up cracking a few months later; a stress crack that started under the gasket and went
up about a foot; apparently if it is in too tight, it will crack;
go figure; sounds like voodoo to me.

My insurance company will foot the bill and has authorized the local Toyota installer to do it
all over again, with OEM glass.

g

 

[Brian Macgyver]

I am sorry if I have to be forceful and boorish on this, but I have experience. I bought my truck after it was rolled over and the windshield frame was crushed. My windshield was installed (by me and my brother) after much straightening and study of the subject. We had to install the glass and rubber with the cowl section and windshield wipers removed. It fits best without those parts. The lower part of the rubber has two grooves, one for the window seal, and the other for the cowl panel to fit in. Little or no adhesive is required for the glass to seal. We used no glue to seal the glass, even after a rollover. The seal fit well with just a bit of grease. The cowl must be removed to get the proper fit for the windshield molding. If the installer will not remove the cowl, he is trying to cut corners and is not doing a quality job. The cowl, incidentally, is the panel between the hood and the windshield, the one with the wipers sticking out of it, and with louvers for air intake. It can be removed with a row of screws at the rear edge of the hood opening. The wipers must be removed to take out the cowl. If the glass installer will not remove this panel, he is doing a sloppy job.
The question above is whether the molding should be above or under the cowl panel. The answer is both. If the wiper arms and the whole cowl panel are not removed, the windshield is not installed properly. Leakage under the cowl will not show, but will let water into the electrical areas of the dashboard. This is not good. If the installer won't do it, insist on it! If the glass installer does not remove the wipers and the cowl panel, do not let him get away with it!

 

[MoGas]

Little or no adhesive is required for the glass to seal.........

Possibly, but the FSM for '93 shows that adhesive shall be applied on the glass and pinch weld. I think it is primarily for structural integrity with leak prevention as an added benefit.

When Diamond replaced mine, after the cowl and glass were removed, he ran a shop vac in the cowl to get the pine needles out. I thought that was nice.

 

[gray]

I am sorry if I have to be forceful and boorish on this, but I have experience. I bought my truck after it was rolled over and the windshield frame was crushed. My windshield was installed (by me and my brother) after much straightening and study of the subject. We had to install the glass and rubber with the cowl section and windshield wipers removed. It fits best without those parts. The lower part of the rubber has two grooves, one for the window seal, and the other for the cowl panel to fit in. Little or no adhesive is required for the glass to seal. We used no glue to seal the glass, even after a rollover. The seal fit well with just a bit of grease. The cowl must be removed to get the proper fit for the windshield molding. If the installer will not remove the cowl, he is trying to cut corners and is not doing a quality job. The cowl, incidentally, is the panel between the hood and the windshield, the one with the wipers sticking out of it, and with louvers for air intake. It can be removed with a row of screws at the rear edge of the hood opening. The wipers must be removed to take out the cowl. If the glass installer will not remove this panel, he is doing a sloppy job.
The question above is whether the molding should be above or under the cowl panel. The answer is both. If the wiper arms and the whole cowl panel are not removed, the windshield is not installed properly. Leakage under the cowl will not show, but will let water into the electrical areas of the dashboard. This is not good. If the installer won't do it, insist on it! If the glass installer does not remove the wipers and the cowl panel, do not let him get away with it!

Agree the cowl and wipers must be removed to install it properly.

The FSM does call for adhesive in the same gasket groove the glass sits in as well as the part of the gasket that slips down over the metal lip around the windshield frame.

I wondered about that; ie: due to heating and cooling/contraction etc, does the glass need to be able to move inside the gasket to prevent stress cracks??

On the other hand, if no sealant/adhesive is used, it will leak.

The FSM also calls for priming of the metal frame that was scratched by the installer when he cut out the old gasket with a specific primer
(don't recall the name) for this purpose, not any old primer.

What I don't understand is why my windshield cracked spontaneously after being replaced the second time;
I watched their "master" installler put it in; he appeared
to do it by the book. I also gave him a copy of the Toyota
FSM pages for windshield replacement, and he followed them.

Only thing I can figure (why mine got a stress crack) is either
he somehow did not get it in correctly or, the body/windshield frame was never straight from the factory ie: my vehicle has never been in roll over or major accident. On the other hand, my OEM windshield
had about a dozen major chips and dings in it that did not cause
a crack.

Go figure.

 

[Cattledog]

Take photos with a time stamp, and then contact the headquarters of the chain if the installer works for one.

If your insurance company paid for it, tell them about the mess.

g

Took before and after photos....

The glass company didn't step up and the insurance company is now in on the claim. Adjuster is coming out on monday...

On the bright side the insurance gave the thumbs up to having the lexus dealer replace the windshield. Hope they do it right.

 

[cruiserdan]

On the bright side the insurance gave the thumbs up to having the lexus dealer replace the windshield. Hope they do it right.

Oh,

They will sublet it, guaranteed.