Gap Along Body at Windshield Seal

[Broadwaydan]

I need some input or suggestions for how to deal with this problem. I just attempted to get the windshield in place so I could mark and cut the holes for the support arm fasteners. I was able to get the support arms down and into place, however I have a very large gap between the body of the car and the bottom rubber seal on the windshield. The outer bottom corners of the windshield touch the body and the seal is completely flat, but from there the gap starts to grow and the seal does not touch at all along the majority (90%) of the windshield. At the center of the windshield the gap is probably a good 3/8 to 1/2 inch. It varies a bit as I change the windshield angle, but never gets close to making a seal. Plus, if I move the windshield too far forward (which I would not do permanently because the angle is way too large) to lessen the gap, then the seal comes too close or covers part of the openings for the wipers. I have shortened the support arms to ensure there is not any interference at the fastening points, but don't see this at a problem since the bottom outer edge of the windshield and seal fit tightly to the body. Has anybody else dealt with this problem and how did you handle this?

I also noticed that the pre-cut slot openings in the body for the support arms are not in the same position on the driver and passenger sides. One side is 3 3/8 inch from the door opening to the rear of the support arm and the other side is 3 3/4 inch - 3/8 inch farther from the door opening. About how far is the rear of the windshield support arm from the door opening on your cars?

I expected to have some inconsistency in the seal along the bottom, but not huge gaps along most of it. I will do a bit of searching on the forum, but in the meantime any input you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

[edwardb]

Two quick responses: (1) Do you have the bulb seal on the firewall and how is the body fit on the firewall/bulb seal? (2) It's quite normal to adjust the pre-cut slots in the body to get a good fit. Don't assume the locations are exact or where they may need to be to fit properly.

There's always the possibility the windshield isn't right. But haven't heard of that kind of problem.

[Ray]

Old school fix from an earlier forum was to split a bicycle inner tube open and use it as a gasket between the body and the windshield. Just be sure buy the tube that doesn't have the green slime tire sealant inside (don't ask!)

Ray

[Broadwaydan]

Ed and Ray - thanks for the quick responses. After some quick looks at the forum for information, I decided to take the support arms off and put the windshield across the body. It fit great. While doing this I also looked at the sides of the windshield relative to the slots for the arms. Lo and behold the windshield was more than a quarter inch wider than the slots! I knew it was a tight fit, but did not realize it was that far off, and did not think it would cause any significant issues. Apparently it squeezed the arms enough to actually bow the windshield. I removed it and did some grinding on the slots to widen them out and even them side to side, and got a much better fit. I did some additional grinding and got a seal all the way across! It also fit up nicely now with the wiper openings. I will probably do one more minor grinding to try and get a tighter seal and then will be ready to set the angle and mark for the fastener holes!

Moral of this story - be sure there is not any significant contact between the body and the windshield support arms or you run the risk of not having a good fit!!

[edwardb]

Glad it was something that relatively simple.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Dan,
Be SURE, ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE, that you are not pulling the arms together when you bolt them to the chassis. Add washers or shims between the arms and chassis so that they fit snugly while the windshield remains in a relaxed state. When you tighten the mounting bolts you want them to only secure it, not apply pressure which bows the glass as you experienced. Myself and many others hold the opinion that failing to do so is one of the biggest causes of the "cracked windshield syndrome".

Good luck!

Jeff

[CraigS]

In addition to what Jeff said, I noticed on a mkIV that, if you were looking down from a top view, the arms may not be parallel with the surface they bolt to. So, while tightening the bolts, there can be a left or right pull as well as a twist. Either of these will cause problems later.

[Broadwaydan]

Jeff and Craig - thanks for the additional comments. Both of those points are ones I noticed from other posts I searched through, and figured I would have to really check to see if washers are needed and/or if I would need to bend the arms or add tapered shim to deal with twisting or gaps at the arm/chassis fastening points. Thanks for reinforcing that!!!

[MPTech]

When you open the holes in the body, make sure there is a slight gap all the way around the windshield legs, so they are not binding on the body. The gap will be covered with the bezels when you are done.

[CraigS]

Agreed, you need 1/8 inch gap from post to body all the way around. I discovered this on a irritating noise finding mission. Found that the body moves a little over sharp bumps and, if it's is in contact w/ the w/s posts you hear noises.