Windshield Rust - General Questions (2004 LX) (1 Viewer)

[JlinLX]

Hi, everyone. I have some rust where my windshield meets my roof that I'm planning to repair this week. I found an independent glass shop near my house to handle the glass removal (and installation later on if everything goes as planned). I'm planning to install the side moulding myself since this can be a pain (I currently have screws rather than rivets securing the mouldings).
I've ordered some of the larger OEM rivets (PN 9026905034), but the more that I think about it, rivet nuts seem like a better solution since they can be installed without the moulding or glass in place. I wouldn't have the risk of cracking the new windshield or need any special rivet gun since the holes would be more accessible.
Has anyone actually had success with rivet nuts?
I was able to find an old thread or two about this, but none with any updates about long-term water sealing success/failure.

 

[Rhetoric]

Hi, everyone. I have some rust where my windshield meets my roof that I'm planning to repair this week. I found an independent glass shop near my house to handle the glass removal (and installation later on if everything goes as planned). I'm planning to install the side moulding myself since this can be a pain (I currently have screws rather than rivets securing the mouldings).
I've ordered some of the larger OEM rivets (PN 9026905034), but the more that I think about it, rivet nuts seem like a better solution since they can be installed without the moulding or glass in place. I wouldn't have the risk of cracking the new windshield or need any special rivet gun since the holes would be more accessible.
Has anyone actually had success with rivet nuts?
I was able to find an old thread or two about this, but none with any updates about long-term water sealing success/failure.

If you are repairing rust already, just repair the holes from the screws and use the correct or oversized rivets. Riv nuts seem overly complicated and would still likely leak in the long term.

Your glass installer may be familiar with the rivets and even have the gun. Mine was. Otherwise, the "special" rivet gun is usually just a cheap gun with a spacer to align things.

Buy enough rivets to budget for some mistakes.

 

[juicemode]

I am about to embark on the same journey in the next week or so as the weather here in CO warms up. My rivet holes are not enlarged but I fear my rust is worse than most. After glass is removed my plan is mechanical removal of all rust to bare metal then USC all metal fill any holes, sand smooth, then Mastercoat rust sealer, then not quite sure. No one within 300miles will touch this so I am on my own.

I am not considering rivnuts as I think they will leak.,

 

[Bungle]

I did mine when I bought it, and new OEM seals and rivets were sourced at the cost of 11ty million pounds sterling and the screen cracked when it was removed so I got a new one of those as well.

All the rust dug out and replaced with metal and it's the best bit of paint on the whole car

I am about to embark on the same journey in the next week or so as the weather here in CO warms up. My rivet holes are not enlarged but I fear my rust is worse than most. After glass is removed my plan is mechanical removal of all rust to bare metal then USC all metal fill any holes, sand smooth, then Mastercoat rust sealer, then not quite sure. No one within 300miles will touch this so I am on my own.

I am not considering rivnuts as I think they will leak.,

 

[LXfromTX]

I am about to embark on the same journey in the next week or so as the weather here in CO warms up. My rivet holes are not enlarged but I fear my rust is worse than most. After glass is removed my plan is mechanical removal of all rust to bare metal then USC all metal fill any holes, sand smooth, then Mastercoat rust sealer, then not quite sure. No one within 300miles will touch this so I am on my own.

I am not considering rivnuts as I think they will leak.,

I was just looking my windshield over today. It definitely needs work. I see it's been worked on in the past. I've got a 99 LX and I need to finish the research for the parts needed and get them ordered. Here's what I saw on a previous very long thread:
75533-60031 Aluminum trim
75534-60021 Aluminum trim
75543-60020 Moulding (rivet covers)
75531-60030 Top gasket
90269-04053 factory rivets (3.2mm)
I'd still like to see a schematic breakout of the windshield. I see a top gasket listed but expected there to be gaskets for all sides...

 

[LXfromTX]

Hi, everyone. I have some rust where my windshield meets my roof that I'm planning to repair this week. I found an independent glass shop near my house to handle the glass removal (and installation later on if everything goes as planned). I'm planning to install the side moulding myself since this can be a pain (I currently have screws rather than rivets securing the mouldings).
I've ordered some of the larger OEM rivets (PN 9026905034), but the more that I think about it, rivet nuts seem like a better solution since they can be installed without the moulding or glass in place. I wouldn't have the risk of cracking the new windshield or need any special rivet gun since the holes would be more accessible.
Has anyone actually had success with rivet nuts?
I was able to find an old thread or two about this, but none with any updates about long-term water sealing success/failure.

Wouldn't rivet nuts be too tall? I think you could probably make them watertight by coating with some kind of liquid steel during installation. But what if you have a problem and need to remove them? Can you just drill them out like you would an AL rivet. I plan to use Toyota rivets if possible but if you do decide to use rivet nuts I hope you'll provide pictures and let us know how that turns out. Perhaps you'll start the SOP when screws have been used in the past and repairs are needed.

 

[LXfromTX]

My roof above the windshield (thin line) will need some rust repair as well so some type of paint repair will be needed. About five years ago I used AutomotiveTouchup.com and they provided me with a spray can each of basecoat and clearcoat. It was a great match for the factory paint. Any other recommendations? I don't have paint gear so it'll probably have to be rattle cans.

 

[AARONTLC]

I had my windshield replaced in October. I had the windshield removed and then I taped a drop cloth under the headliner so no debris would fall inside the cruiser while I scraped and wire brushed the entire mounting surface. I then used ospho which is a rust converter on all mounting surfaces that were bare metal or had previous pitting. It works amazing! It will start sizzling and smells like someone busted ass but it will turn any rust to a white light powder. Then you just POR15 a couple times and you will be ready for windshield install.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Hi, everyone. I have some rust where my windshield meets my roof that I'm planning to repair this week. I found an independent glass shop near my house to handle the glass removal (and installation later on if everything goes as planned). I'm planning to install the side moulding myself since this can be a pain (I currently have screws rather than rivets securing the mouldings).
I've ordered some of the larger OEM rivets (PN 9026905034), but the more that I think about it, rivet nuts seem like a better solution since they can be installed without the moulding or glass in place. I wouldn't have the risk of cracking the new windshield or need any special rivet gun since the holes would be more accessible.
Has anyone actually had success with rivet nuts?
I was able to find an old thread or two about this, but none with any updates about long-term water sealing success/failure.

A couple thoughts:

1. The holes need to be sealed. Riv nuts are not meant to seal from what I know. This would be a hard stop in my book.
2. If you can already see rust, you're screwed. Prepare for disaster.
3. Your target here is a *perfect* seal. The trim mounting on the 100 is not normal. They have internal cabin space sealed off by an external plastic-coated rivet that holds on the trim. when properly installed it works very well. With screws, it never works - because that's not how screws work. It also damages the hole that the plastic rivet seals so well so future attempts are unlikely to succeed unless you weld and re-drill those holes.

I had a tiny spec of visible rust on mine and it needed a ton of body work before it was adhesive ready.

100 windshields are a major PITA. Good luck!

 

[JlinLX]

I got a big box of parts delivered from Partsouq yesterday evening so I got started with the disassembly. I removed the wiper arms, lower trim, & moulding on both sides of the windshield. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the metal where the mouldings mount to the body, I was expecting much worse. It looks like the holes haven't been enlarged so the oversized rivets that I bought don't quite fit in the holes. This will give me a little leeway to re-drill if they're too mangled from the screws, or to get the actual 100-series OEM rivets. I do have two smaller holes drilled on each side that I'll have to patch.
I did find some riv nuts designed to seal out water and debris (Flange-Sealing Closed-End Rivet Nuts), but I'm not sure that they'll be a good solution since they'll mount directly to the body rather than clamping to the moulding. This may cause a gap between the moulding and the body. It may not leak, but it could cause wind noise. I'd rather not experiment with this so I'll likely just use some OEM rivets.
Here are some photos so far, I'll update once I have the windshield removed.

 

[juicemode]

Nice. Yours looks much cleaner than mine. I also don’t yet have the glass out but mine also has rust in the upper driver corner.

 

[LXfromTX]

Looking at just the exterior above the windshield, yours is much worse than mine on the drivers side. But I do have a small bit of corrosion on the passenger side as well. I'll definitely be tracking your progress to see what I'm in for.

 

[Rhetoric]

Mine had 0 visible signs of rust until removal. Upon removal I had rust in the mounting area in the same-ish area where your rust is. My rust happened because the windshield was set too low with the adhesive and water pooled in this spot. Thankfully it was able to be repaired by my glass installer, who has done a hundred 100 series over the years.

In fact, I'm on my second windshield during my ownership. My $0 glass deductible paid for all the pieces right from Lexus, even the glass. Hoping for no dings for a while now...

Good luck!

 

[JlinLX]

It was a brisk ride home from the glass shop:

Certainly not as bad as I was expecting. I think I scared myself by reading all these threads with windshield rust horror stories.

After some time with a wire wheel:

Some of the metal is slightly pitted, but everything seems intact and solid without any pinholes or weak spots.

 

[AARONTLC]

Make SURE you clean the channels going up to the roof rack! These need to be sparkling clean so your special 3M tape will really stick. Harbor Freight sells a package of plastic chisels in their body tool section. Take a rust converter (I used OSPHO) and brush it on all bare metal surfaces and it will sizzle and turn any remaining rust rust black and will leave a light white dust. Will need to be sealed right after (POR15). Good job!

 

[HoustonFj80]

I used rivnuts on mine 4-5 years back when dealing with similar rust issues and previous botched window install that used oversized screws. I believe I used 4mm on all but one, which required a larger 5mm due to the hole size left behind. Used some 3m 5200 sealant on the rivnut before installing and a bit in the bolts.
So far no issues with water or wind noise and much simpler to install a replacement windshield in the future.

 

[CBB]

I used rivnuts on mine 4-5 years back when dealing with similar rust issues and previous botched window install that used oversized screws. I believe I used 4mm on all but one, which required a larger 5mm due to the hole size left behind. Used some 3m 5200 sealant on the rivnut before installing and a bit in the bolts.
So far no issues with water or wind noise and much simpler to install a replacement windshield in the future.

You don't have any pictures by chance, do you? My windshield could use replacing, and the rivnut idea has always been interesting to me.

 

[LXfromTX]

I used rivnuts on mine 4-5 years back when dealing with similar rust issues and previous botched window install that used oversized screws. I believe I used 4mm on all but one, which required a larger 5mm due to the hole size left behind. Used some 3m 5200 sealant on the rivnut before installing and a bit in the bolts.
So far no issues with water or wind noise and much simpler to install a replacement windshield in the future.

So you installed the rivnuts directly into the A-Pillar sheetmetal? How much of a flange sits above the sheetmetal? Did you then drill out the trim hole to go around the rivnut flange so you could bolt the trim down tight to the A-Pillar sheetmetal with no gap?

 

[HoustonFj80]

Pictures in the thread below. Basically I drilled the right size hole in the original locations, touched up the paint, then coated the OD of the rivnut with 3M 5200 and swaged it onto the A-pillar. Put a small amount of butyl between the rivnut and windshield trim and thread sealant on the bolts. Use a low profile flange head bolt and it keeps the rubber trim piece from bulging out.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Pics in this thread:

Couldn't take it any longer, it was time to take a look under my windshield trim

Post #193 of this thread should help. Just scored a 2007 LC I can't find post #193. I only see 19 posts before mine.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[LXfromTX]

Pictures in the thread below. Basically I drilled the right size hole in the original locations, touched up the paint, then coated the OD of the rivnut with 3M 5200 and swaged it onto the A-pillar. Put a small amount of butyl between the rivnut and windshield trim and thread sealant on the bolts. Use a low profile flange head bolt and it keeps the rubber trim piece from bulging out.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

Pics in this thread:

Couldn't take it any longer, it was time to take a look under my windshield trim

Post #193 of this thread should help. Just scored a 2007 LC I can't find post #193. I only see 19 posts before mine.

forum.ih8mud.com

Thank you much for that information. I've recorded the parts info for future reference.