Windscreen seal change.... Oh dear.....

Greetings all,

As you may know I recently picked up a twin for Winston. All in all a reasonable motor. But........

Had some rain recently and found a paddle pool in the driver's side foot well. Bugger!!!
The windscreen seal was well and truely munted, all dry and cracked and peeling away from the glass and body. Damn, need a new one and know from reading the forum that it is not a pleasureable job.

Then I had an epiphone (Sp?) :idea: and remembered that I had picked up a couple of, as yet unknown, seals that I picked up in a job lot a while back. Checked them out and Stone The Crows they are front and rear for the P6. Result!!! :D

Gave myself 2 days and used every hour of it!! :shock: Stripped out the old screen and seal, cleaned the old Sealastik off the body, cleaned the glass and then the swearing started. :evil:

The manual states: "fit screen to aperture with an inwards and upwards motion". Bo!!ocks I say. I struggled on my own until it was dark and then some but it would not fit into place. Stopped work, got mentally drunk and lay in bed wondering if this was a mistake doing it on my own. :(

Started fresh the next day and it just seemed to hit the mark on its own. Managed to get everything in place and then face the dreaded corner problems.

What happened next must have been devine intervention as eventually the corners began to sit almost perfectly. The chrome went on with only a minimum off verbal and physical abuse and the job's a goodun. :D Well pleased and proud as punch with my efforts. 8)

I suspect that the seals may be original as the profile was super clean and identical to the originals. Still sealed in old plastic bags with faded BL stickers.

Let's just hope that this is the source of the unwanted water feature. :?: :?:


RT.
 

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Re: Windscreen seal change.... One man. One job. One outcome???

Good job there R.T once I found the corner on your pic :LOL:
 
Re: Windscreen seal change.... One man. One job. One outcome???

OMG :shock: My office is not big enough for the picture :LOL:

Result :D

Graeme
 
Re: Windscreen seal change.... Proper pics this time!!

Well done rover-tragic - you should feel justly proud. :D (Why don`t we have an applause smilie ???)

A swine of a job at the best of times but worth eliminating a wet floor and all the consequences !
 
Re: Windscreen seal change.... Proper pics this time!!

Sombre Salutations All,
Because I am not allowed to swear on the forum please extrapolate on the following:

Excrement!! :evil: Copulation!! :evil: What sailors do!! :evil: Posterior!! :evil:

The bloody car is still leaking. Not as much water this time, but still there.

Can anyone suggest another likely cause for the pooling of water in the footwell? Will I have to take the screen out again??

Any advice gratefully accepted.

RT.
 
It could be coming in around the seal on the heater. I get a few drips in my car in both front footwells when it is stationary and on an upwards hill. I am sure this is where it is coming from. Mine never leaks when it is raining though, just when I wash it and get a bit overexcited with the hosepipe!
 
This topic regularly comes up on here!

I have replaced windscreens & seals many times & can not, despite others' protestations, see how the seal actually 'seals' the rain out :? . Unless your seal is almost non-existent, it won't be the cause of the water ingress. If you study how water travels from the front of the roof to the ground (pour some on with the seal out!) the seal is only an absolute backstop really & only there to hold the screen in place.

Rot holes in the door frame-facing part of the A-pillars will almost certainly be the problem, where the rivets hold the trim on :( .
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.

Rot holes in the door frame-facing part of the A-pillars will almost certainly be the problem, where the rivets hold the trim on .

I looked at the A pillars when the screen was out. The area around the rivets (now replaced with SS screws) was sound as a pound with no obvious rot.
Further investigation was needed so I wipped off the dash pad and the instrument binnacle. I also removed the "vent" strip :?: :?: that sits against the inside of the screen. Not sure what it is called but it's rubber/plastic in construction and obviously directs the vents for defrost. This piece was badly cracked and detiriorated.

There was some rot uncovered, namely along the top of the dash/bulk head and also at the very base of the A pillars where they meet the dash. I am not convinced that either section of Tin-worm is allowing water into the cabin though.

I cleaned everything up and removed any built up dust/dirt/insects/hair/mud/rust etc. I put it all back together and used flat piece of rubber to replace the vent strip temporarily.

We had some more rain recently and the leak seems to have lessened to the point of just dampness. I am not sure what I have done, maybe just a clean out of 40 years worth of detritus but it seems to of helped :!: :?: :!: :?:

Until things change this leaves me with one question.... Are the plastic/rubber vent strips available as a replacement part :?:


RT.
 
Sorry, no they're not! And they are one of the most vulnerable bits of plastic in the car, as they are in directy sunlight all the time. Only solution is to find a breaker that has been garaged all its life :cry:

The good news though, is that my observation is that the screen seals seem to "settle in" over a period of a couple of weeks after fitting. And wth yours being the real McCoy Rover ones, you have a better than average chance of them doing the job perfectly.

Did you renew the screen to base unit seals? Especially the one at the base of the screen? The latter should have a channel that directs water to either side of the heater. (note that the front decker panel is there only to look good. Water runs straight under it on its way through to the rain channels either side of the inner wings.

There are two likely areas of corrosion that could be delivering water into the footwells. First is on the apron below the screen and behind the heater unit. Only way to discover it is to take the heater out. But then, you wanted to renew the rubber seals on the flaps before winter, didn't you! The second is on the base unit in the area below the screen pillars / A posts and forward along the area where the bonnet hinges sit and down from there to just under the front wings. This area can also deliver water into the sills. You've verified the screen pillars themselves, otherwise that is the most likely area of all.

None of that is brilliant news really is it. I suppose the next step is to spend an evening curled up in one of the footwells whilst the lawn sprinkler does it's worst all over the front of the roof and screen!

Chris
 
chrisyork said:
None of that is brilliant news really is it. I suppose the next step is to spend an evening curled up in one of the footwells whilst the lawn sprinkler does it's worst all over the front of the roof and screen!

Chris


Or , using the gardenhose, try watering in different areas. Water poured in at the air intake in front of the widscreen will determine if the heater drains are plugged or missing
 
Mine leaks slightly into the drivers footwell, and I think its coming in where the throttle linkage goes through the firewall. The grommets missing on mine. Only leaks when I wash the car though, not when it rains.
 
I get a wet drivers side footwell when it rains. Sometime worse than others. So wet I've taken the carpets out. I know I need to replace all the door to window seals. I'll check all the bits round the screen. I've replaced the front lower seal. The posts on here have been very useful, if a little depressing about all the places water can get in.
 
Mine leaks slightly into the drivers footwell, and I think its coming in where the throttle linkage goes through the firewall. The grommets missing on mine. Only leaks when I wash the car though, not when it rains.

Replaced this exact grommet recently for this reason. Haven't washed the car yet but it certainly has reduced the engine noise:D
 
In addition to the grommet where the throttle linkage goes through the bulkhead, take a look at the hole where the choke cable and petrol reserve cable go through. There should also be a rubber grommet there. Mine perished, and I think that is where rainwater makes its way into the cabin to pool on my rubber floor mat, if I park my car facing up a very slight incline!
The smoke notion is a good one! Now I just have to find someone who can lend me a smoke machine!
 
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