Ok, I did all 3 rear windows this weekend. Not a lot of fun, the "special" tool I bought was worthless and I wound up using a small screwdrive and lots of soap and water at about 1/8" steps to get the retainers in. I bet I spent 4 hours doing the 3 windows So now the windshield fun starts I've read the shop manual about 5 times and looked at all of the old threads. The question I have is on sealant. The shop manual says run a bead around the pinch weld before you install the glass/rubber. None of the treads mention this and I can't figure out how to run the bead without making a real mess when I lay the glass/rubber up to the window opening I'm a little pig headed and want to do this myself so any help/ideas would be really appreciated. Hope to do it this weekend!
Steve, First, DO NOT PUT THE SEALANT ON THE PINCH WELD OR RUBBER FIRST. I did this and it made one royal mess. Second, what year truck is yours? Mine is a '55.1 with a one piece windshield and after four installers and five attempts (including me and my son and three separate "professional" glass guys) it STILL is not in the truck. Check my thread titled "windshield woes" for input, especially from coilover as he has probably the most experience. His shop is unbelievable and the work he puts out absolutely incredible. He tells a story of his last one piece AD windshield as a near nightmare. I have found what I believe is the right guy for the job, but I have to either deliver the truck to a heated shop to get it done or wait until spring as it is too cold to have him come to my house right now. Apparently new gaskets need warm temperatures and are really tough to work with, but who wants to use a 50 year-old gasket on a restored truck? So, I decided to focus on brake system, wiring harness and bed installation prior to having the front glass put in. That should take me to spring and if it doesn't, at least I'll be able to drive the truck home after towing it to the heated shop without the front glass in place. My advise is to have a pro do it and suck up a little on the pride of doing it all yourself. My son and I were covered with black sealant and exhausted after trying to get it in for over four hours. Ripped the new gasket too when pulling the cord out of the channel on a corner. So now it's going to cost me another $60.00 for another Steele Rubber Co. gasket as well. Plain and simple, it s*cked. If you thought the rear windows were tough, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Other guys may have done it and it may have been easy for them. Maybe the split windshields are easier to install, but my single piece has been nothing but trouble. Other guys with single piece windshields also complain that it was tough and when finally installed, it didn't fit right and leaked. All I can say is good luck on it and I hope yours goes easier than mine. Andy
I have installed 2 split windshields with the stainless trim, and so far, both leak around the corners, as do most all that I have seen, but, I think I have figured it out. Install the stainless in the rubber first. it has an "l" channel that fits in the rubber behind the glass, and is an unholy beeotch to get in once the glass is in. Next, run a SMALL bead of sealant around the glass channel and insert the glass. Lay a blanket across the cowl, and set the assembly on this. Run a thin but strong cord in the channel to go on the pinch mold, using vaseline to help lube it. Have someone to help position the thing on the pinchmolding, bottom first. now have that person to keep enough pressure to hold it in place, but not bind up the cord. woek one side at a time, hold both ends of the cord so that you don't pull it out. Pull from the bottom center towards the door, working the weatherstripping over the pinch. Keep a small flathead screwdriver handy to help influence the rubber in the corners. Lots of swearing is usually involved, so no volunteers from church. Once you work one side in, repeat on the other side. Now, you need a handy little nozzle from the glass man that is a right angle tube to squirt the urethane under the outside edge of the seal, all the way around. This nozzle fits the caulk gun type tube of urethane seal. Now, before the urethane sets, use a punch or other long slender tool to locate the holes for the center stainless through the interior center strip. Tighten these down, let the urethane cure, and pray. If you have the common problem of the rubber wanting to stick out in the corners, try a heat gun to get it nice and pliable, shoot the urethane into the corner, then tape it down until it cools and the urethane dries. I have had to use some weight against the tape sometimes to get it to stay. The steele rubber, while a quality product, is a bit expensive, and my experience is that their rubber is much stiffer than most.
52 windshield Guys, thanks for all of the tips! I'll definitly do the sealant last now Andy, my truck is a 52 so hopefully I will have an easier time. Hope your not freezing on the Island, my wife is up in Farmingdale this week and calling every night saying how cold it is. Barring it turning real cold in Houston, I'll probably take a shot at the windshield this weekend. I don't have the chrome trim so that should make it a little less complicated. (I hope!)
