Windscreen seal

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mat_fenwick
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Windscreen seal

Post by mat_fenwick »

I've still got an annoying leak into the front footwells, which I think is from the windscreen (I've cleared out the scuttle and that is pristine, no trace of rust). My previous attempts to seal the windscreen have improved things for a while so it must be that. I'm thinking of pulling out the rubber seal on a dry (ha!) day and sealing around the full edge properly - then replacing the rubber seal while the mastic is still wet. But does the rubber 'seal' just push into place? From a quick search it would appear so, but I don't want to bugger it up by ripping it off!
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Post by KevR »

I'll try it on my scrapper later today and let you know.
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Post by Gibbo2286 »

It does just pull out but you'll be lucky to get it out without breaking it.

I'd be surprised if your water is getting in through the windsreen seal though, more likely to be from the inner panel below the windscreen under the heater air intake.

For your windscreen you could try this, it used to be Comma Seek and Seal but no longer made by them, damned good stuff, works like blood creeps into a crack then congeals. Gibbo.

http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/Produ ... Am016.aspx
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Thanks for the replies chaps. That's what I thought Gibbo, but I had both the heaters and recirculation flaps out a few weeks ago - no signs of rust in the seams (although I gave them a good waxoiling to keep them that way). Are you meaning where the heater matrix assembly bolts to the bulkhead? This is screwed down firmly and is above the lowest point.

The windscreen has gone slightly cloudy in one corner (coinciding with the worst leak area), hence my thoughts that water was entering there. The leak seemed to be cured after an application of sealant, but came back and it seems the sealant hasn't bonded well (can be pulled out easily).

The water also appears when the car is not being driven, and is clear (not coolant). It is definitely running down the bulkhead, but further pinpointing would mean taking the dash out I think.

I have some of the creeping crack cure (somewhere!) but my worry is the volume I'd need to go all the way around the windscreen! Can't remember if the surface needs to be bone dry for it to work either?
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Post by citronut »

have you got the black plastic rain water diverter (for want of a better word ) in place under the scuttle and above the wiper motor and heater air intake grill,

if this is missing rain water can run straight in through the heater air intake,

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Post by RxBX »

Hi Mat,
What ever you do, DO-NOT attempt to pullout/remove the rubber trim/seal !

The rubber trim/seal is just that , it is Polyurethane adhesive which the windscreen is bonded in with which doe's the actual main sealing.

Having watched and helped in the fitting of a least four BX windscreens I can confirm that the rubber trim seal is fitted to the windscreen perimeter prior to the fixing into the windscreen aperture of the vehicle !

Once the Polyurethane adhesive has cured where sometimes the adhesive may or may not have oozed out on to under-side of the rubber trim/seal, thus in turn the trim/seal may have been bonded in some places and not others.

If you did try to remove the trim/seal you run the risk of possibly having to tear or cut it to actually remove it and therefore it would be very difficult to replace/bond the trim back neatly !

Also the O/E seal/trims tend to stretch and ends up being longer in the circumferential length, then the windscreen fitters just tend to cut the extra (Stretched) length out and then leaving a bit of a visible join, usually at the lower/middle position unless of course they have a new rubber seal/trim to hand .

:)

RxBX
Last edited by RxBX on Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

OK, was about to try it shortly but maybe not now!

Yes, I do have the rain diverter in place and correctly fitted. I'm convinced it can only be the windscreen - I wonder whether gaffa tape over the whole thing would prove or disprove my theory. I've got a nasty feeling that to do the job properly the screen will have to come out, my gut feeling is there must be corrosion in the screen pillars allowing water in. :(
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Post by KevR »

RxBX wrote:Hi Mat,
What ever you do, DO-NOT attempt to pullout/remove the rubber trim/seal !
Yep, that was what I discovered from the scrapper - the seal is fitted to the windscreen before it's bonded in, and the lower edge is trapped between the screen and the body once bonded.

Have you tried taking the A-pillar trim off to see if the water entry point is visible? Maybe the infill panel between dash and screen as well. You may find you can seal it from inside as well as outside - instead of normal mastic, try Sikaflex 11FC - marvellous stuff (they use it to stick boats together) but very permanent, so you need to clean up any smears or splurges immediately. WEar latex gloves too - it doesn't wash off clothes or people.
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Good idea! It's been a while since I had the dash out and I hadn't remembered/realised the infill panel is separate. Finding the source of the actual leak would be better than shooting in the dark so to speak.
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Post by Brian »

Hi Mat,
Two other knows problem areas:-

If you have not already done so, remove the two washer bottles and inspect the metal under.

Inspect the side seams in the foot wells, up to the bottom of the windscreen if possible, as sometimes the metal surfaces either side of the sealer rusts and the sealer looses it's bond.

Good luck
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Post by docchevron »

Sikaflex rules. It replaces everything in my tool box nearly!

New rubber trims are only a tenner so I wouldn't be too worried, but if it is leaking through the screen, which seems likely I'd be tempted to pull the screen out anyway, check the pillars, repair as required and bond the screen in properly to avoid it happeneing again.
Ok, easier said than done, but if you have a hot knife not too difficult to cut the screen out without destroying it.
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Brian wrote:If you have not already done so, remove the two washer bottles and inspect the metal under.
Already done that, and it's mint. I didn't know whether to be pleased that it was good, or disappointed I hadn't found the leak!
Brian wrote:Inspect the side seams in the foot wells, up to the bottom of the windscreen if possible
All the seams I can see up to bottom of dash level are good, and the problem also happens without driving anywhere so I don't think it's there, but will have a look cheers.

If I can establish it's the screen for certain, I'll probably bodge it for the winter, and get the screen out next year (I'm taking the van off the road at the end of the month, so the BX will be my only wheels for a bit). There is a tiny bubble on the passenger side (away from the worst of the leak!) which isn't going to get any better, and it would be good to ensure that the rest of the aperture is rust free (or not...) If I come into some money I may even buy a new windscreen!
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Post by docchevron »

£85 for a green tint screen last time I got one, not fitted though, had to do that myself!
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Post by mat_fenwick »

Really? That seems cheap! Fitting should be about £50ish so not the end of the world. A couple of years ago I paid near on £300 for the screen on the van, annoyingly not a year after a decent second hand replacement. If I take some time off work I might be able to get it done sooner than next year...
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Post by docchevron »

couple of years back now mind, but I cant imagine they've gone up, no great demand for them.
Fittings easy, it's removal thats a PITA
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