Just read this
Well after 3 weeks of messing with my windshield on my 70 Duster I can honestly say it was the W/S from He!!!! After searching on this forum, working with a 23 year vetern Windshield installer, and talking with different vendors, I felt I needed to post some straight honest opinions and answers here for future self installers.
First of all, go to NAPA and purchase the $16.00 windshield trim removal tool. While you are there, also get a tube of BUTYL windshield sealant that fits in your caulking gun. Do NOT buy any UREATHANE or let another installer talk you into using it, you will be sorry down the road!
Next purchase a good quality windshield gasket. There are lots of vendors out there and different gaskets. I took a chance and purchased mine from Dante's Mopar parts. This happened to be a PRECISION brand gasket. You will also need to purchase a new locking strip which is separate from the gasket, purchase one of these also. (About $10-$12)
Now Dante also sells the front Windshield clips. In that package there are five clips that are a little taller than the rest. Find those 5 tall ones and purchase 18 more just like them, you won't be sorry. You need 23 of those tall clips.
To remove the old gasket from the windshield, once you have the stainless steel trim removed with you NAPA tool, just cut around the windshield, then remove the old locking strip, you should be able to push from the inside at the top and remove the glass then peel away the old gasket.
If your old gasket is not that old and in good shape, take window cleaner and spray around gasket and glass, remove the locking strip. Have a friend pry back on the top driverside corner gasket with his fingers, while you easily push out on the glass in that same corner from the inside. You can also use a couple of plastic pry sticks to stick in between the glass and gasket as you work your way across the top. Do the same on the other top corner and slowy go down the sides. At this point you should be able to lift the glass out of the windshield channel.
Inspect and clean the channel all around the windshield opening. Paint if necessary. Now install your new clips. Take your tube of BUTYL and place a small 1/4 inch bead along the dash where the gasket lies. A little heavier in the corners and 1/4 inch along the sides and top on the metal windshield frame. Now place your gasket in the cut groove of the windshield frame and lay along the dash groove. Your sealant may ooze out, but not too bad.
Now lay the bottom of the windshield close to the bottom passenger side corner. Take plenty of windex and spray along the gasket and glass. Slide it into the corner and along the bottom. When you get to the other side, use your plastic pry to work the gasket up around the glass. Work up the side toward the top. When you get to the top corner slowly work the gasket and take the palm of your hand and tap the glass into the gasket as you are working the gasket around it. Eventually it will fall in place. Place your locking strip in place starting at the bottom center and working around the windshield. I used a small 1/4" socket on an extension and pushed it in place after first squirting silicone on the strip and into the groove.
Place your top, side and corner pieces of stainless back into the clips and push down. Before snapping the side pieces into place you will need to install the bottom piece into each corner, Now in my case, the gasket also had a piece of rubber that stuck out on the bottom portion of the gasket. I had to take a razor blade and cut this off in order for my bottom piece to fit.
Now how did I learn all this in 3 weeks?? After discovering a 3 year old leak in the bottom corner of the windshield, glass tech first filled the area between the glass and gasket with ureathane. Still leaked. Came back week later and filled area under gasket between body and gasket, (Where the clips are). Still leaked. Spent following week removing stainless which was very hard, removed glass and gasket and spent many hours cleaning up ureathane mess in window channel. Found that gasket had slit in bottom channel where the glass sits that caused the leak.
Next installed new clip set that was sent to me. 18 regular clips, 5 tall ones. (by the way, all my old clips were the same as the tall ones in new package). Next installed gasket without any sealant of any kind since I read this was the way the factory did it. LEAKED! Removed windshield again. Placed 5/16" Butyl tape alond windshield dash only. Installed windshield. LEAKED not at the bottom of the dash but along the sides. Squirted Butyl from the caulking tube along the sides between the glass and frame. Tested. NO LEAK!
But !! The 5/16" Butyl apparently was to thick along the bottom and I could not get the bottom stainless steel trim to push in enough! Also I then found out the clips were not tall enough and upper trim would not catch either.
Removed windshield once again. Replaced all small clips with my older tall ones. Removed butyl tape along dash and squirted about a 1/4" along bottom and sides once again. Replaced windshield, locking strip, and stainless. No water LEAK and everything finally fit!
Hope you have better luck than I did, and hope this bit of information helps you also.
A340
