Time for a new windshield

My original windshield had a nice chip right in the drivers viewing area, and the edges were getting pretty cloudy.  It really was time to replace it.  So, last Spring I bought a new windshield and seal at a show in Lansing Michigan.  I have been putting off doing the swap because I was half afraid of what I might find lurking under the seal.  They have been known to harbor some pretty scary rust holes.

Well, Last Saturday I decided to dig in; partly because I don’t like procrastinating, but mostly because my son will be heading back to college in a few weeks and I really needed his help to do the switch.  I started by cutting the old seal with a Stanley knife.  I did this from the outside.  I laid the blade as flat as the knife would let me, and just cut gently outward.  This removed the outer portion of the old seal and left the glass sitting nicely on top of the old seal that was still hooked over the sheet metal flange.  It was very easy to do.  I had the old seal cut out and the window lying on the table in the garage in less than 5 minutes!

The reveal?  It looked excellent under there!  There were a few minor surface rust spots under the seal, but it looked excellent for a 42 year old bus.  I started the cleanup using a damp cloth and Westly’s bleach white.  That took 90% of the crud off.  I followed up with a bit of mineral spirits on a cloth.  This pretty much did the rest.  I put a cylindrical wire clean-up brush in my drill motor and used that to remove the small surface rust.  I them painted the entire seal channel with the same paint I used to paint the top.  I did this with a small brush by hand.  It took about an hour to clean and paint (two coats) the entire channel.  While I was in there, I also had an opportunity to repaint the top of the dash that I got a little overspray on when I painted the interior.  Looks much better now.  I let it sit overnight to dry.

I started the install by sliding the seal on the edge of the glass with the seam centered on the top.   I inserted a length of parachute cord (Literally.  I got it from the military supply down the street!)  into the sheet metal grove part of the rubber seal.  I made two complete loops with the cord.  This not only gave me a second chance in case the flip didn’t work the first time, it opened the grove a bit wider as well.  I then set the whole thing out in the sun for about 30 mins.  As it turned out, it takes so long to get the thing installed, the pre-heat had little effect.

The first attempt didn’t work.  We started on the bottom and every time we tried to work the seal inside, the glass would push up in the hole.  This was difficult to counter because it meant we would have to pull down on the glass to keep it in the correct spot.  The top of that windshield is pretty high up there for us to reach, that meant that it was at a really awkward angle to apply pressure.

On the second attempt, we started on the top.  This allowed us to keep the glass pushed up into the hole easily by pushing in from the bottom.  This worked much better.  We found that there was no need to hit the glass at all.  It could be moved around by pushing with palms and sliding and pulling and scootching.  The new seal I bought has about a millimeter more coverage than the OE part (probably due to shrinkage from 40+ years) This covered up my paint edge perfectly.  It sealed up nice and tight, no leaks.  This is not a difficult job, it was just a fairly physical job.  It takes a bunch of pushing and pulling and hopping in and out, even with a helper.  You will find muscles that you have not used in a while and you will work up a sweat.  I don’t think I would try this job without a helper.  Doing this solo would be really tough.
The new glass is excellent.  So clean and clear, it looks like there is nothing in front of you.  Very cool.