Windshield gasket blues: Precision supplies Steele and possibly Soff Seal

[Redleg]

This is not the thread i wanted to open up first thing in the morning!!!

I HAVE to get my windshield replaced before February for inspection. Since i dont have the trim, hopefully it goes pretty smooth.

Will have to see if there is a safelite around here......

[Classic Heartbeat]

Be sure and use a Precision gasket. We have them in the rubber and weatherstrip section of our website. WES

I've talked to WES a couple of times about my problems and he explained a few things to me. Get LMC to do that.yea right.I know where my parts will come from now. yae wes ,i'm about 2400 miles from you but you will talk to your customers.thanks jason

Thanks, Jason. I have been down the road of poor parts too many times to sell them. I try to sort through them, and sell the best quality. I personaly do most of our R&D. We have 2 trucks in our shop, just sent one out for paint, and have 2 more waiting to come in. This is how I weed out bad parts. Helping you guys through your difficulties is just a part of our customer service. WES

[67L30WGN]

I had the windshield replaced on my '72 Cheyenne Super 10 (with trim) a couple of months ago using a Steele gasket. The glass shop injected sealant all the way around under the exposed lip on the outside of the glass as well as in the track that fits to the pinch weld. When installed, the gasket fit perfectly to the body, and I mean absolutely perfectly - no puckering, no stretching. And there were no leaks. Now there are leaks all along the bottom. The water is getting in around the glass, not the body.

I brought the truck back to the glass shop today and they figured out the sealant under the lip was no longer stuck to the Steele gasket, but was still stuck to the windshield. He suggested smearing a thin line of sealant around the gasket on the outside claiming I will barely see it. I'm not thrilled with that idea, as it seems half-assed and not stock, but more importantly, I'm still wondering why the sealant let go of the rubber and what should/could have been done differently? Did the rubber have some kind of coating on it? Is it too late to use a different sealant under the rubber if it can be cleaned properly with the glass in place? What should it be cleaned with? I hate to start over with such a nice fit.

[Indyuke]

Originally Posted by 67L30WGN

I had the windshield replaced on my '72 Cheyenne Super 10 (with trim) a couple of months ago using a Steele gasket. The glass shop injected sealant all the way around under the exposed lip on the outside of the glass as well as in the track that fits to the pinch weld. When installed, the gasket fit perfectly to the body, and I mean absolutely perfectly - no puckering, no stretching. And there were no leaks. Now there are leaks all along the bottom. The water is getting in around the glass, not the body.

I brought the truck back to the glass shop today and they figured out the sealant under the lip was no longer stuck to the Steele gasket, but was still stuck to the windshield. He suggested smearing a thin line of sealant around the gasket on the outside claiming I will barely see it. I'm not thrilled with that idea, as it seems half-assed and not stock, but more importantly, I'm still wondering why the sealant let go of the rubber and what should/could have been done differently? Did the rubber have some kind of coating on it? Is it too late to use a different sealant under the rubber if it can be cleaned properly with the glass in place? What should it be cleaned with? I hate to start over with such a nice fit.

I used a precision gasket with an OEM windshield, and here in rainy washington it started leaking around the the window as well. So I put a thin bead of the highest quality clear sealant around the perimeter of the gasket... both edges. You can't tell it's there unless you look really close because I kept the bead about the width of a pen nub. No leaks.

[67L30WGN]

That's encouraging. Thanks. Still wondering about the details as this is clearly not how leaks were intended to be stopped.

[Indyuke]

I was under the impression that leaks were expected by GM. They designed drain holes in the corners of the dash where it meets the bottom edge of the windshield.

[special-K]

GM used a white sealant on the bottom and up the sides 6-8" and black butyl at the top outside on the flange. That's why original windshields didn't leak. The drain holes are for water that gets in the cowl area.

[RobbySuburban]

I had mine replaced last summer with a Precision seal with no problems. Most installs nowadays are urethane glue ins so it's important to get an experience tech who knows how to do these older style jobs.

[litew8]

Keith, did you ever get anymore info about this? I should try it.

Originally Posted by lolife99

I talked to the guy that owns and restored this truck at Kansas Goodguys.
He says he always tried to use the original windshield gasket, that comes in the truck.
(no matter how hard they are)

He told me he always breaks the front windshield to salvage the rubber.
(Most rear glass he can get out without damaging the glass or rubber)

He said that he then put the original rubber gasket in a 5 gallon bucket of water,... with a mixture of dishwashing detergent and Tide laundry detergent.
He then puts a lid on the bucket and leaves it for 1-2 weeks.

He said when you take it out of the bucket,... it's like brand new.
Super soft and pliable.
I'd never heard of this techique.
(He told me he also restores alot of old corvettes).

Anyone else know about this?

[DeadheadNM]

VICTORY!!!!!!

With OEM 71-72 windshield trim and a new matching Precision gasket the install was completed IN UNDER ONE HOUR with no difficulty.

My recommendation: Use OEM windshield trim and DO NOT waste $$$ on repro trim.

[litew8]

What do you mean by this? "new matching Precision gasket"

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by litew8

What do you mean by this? "new matching Precision gasket"

Means we cut the existing Precision gasket to spare possible windshield damage and replaced that gasket with a new Precision gasket correct for 71-72 trim. There are two possible gaskets for use with windshield trim: one for the shallow 71-72 trim style and a second for the deep 70 and earlier trim style.

[shawno72]

...

[ortegamotor]

yeah i replaced my on a 69 with a 72 shield, and trim. but the gasket was for a earlier truck. the trim would not stay in. then i figured out the i was using the wrong trim so i pulled an earlier trim set up out of storage and installed it on the wind , then installed the window with the help of my friend a rope cord , and some soapy water. we had it installed in 10 min. My advice just go with the earlier style trim it has a bigger lip on it so it seems to stay in the gasket better then the 71-72.

Good luck.

[michael bustamante]

deadhead, i was just going to tell you i have 67-70 trim sittin in my garage if you needed it but you got it installed.....good for you!!!

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by michael bustamante

deadhead, i was just going to tell you i have 67-70 trim sittin in my garage if you needed it but you got it installed.....good for you!!!

Thanks Mike! If you need similar work go see Sean at Lomas Auto Glass..he went the extra mile for me where other glass guys flaked. Pete

[litew8]

Okay, still at a loss - why do you mention OEM? Precision isn't the OEM.

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Means we cut the existing Precision gasket to spare possible windshield damage and replaced that gasket with a new Precision gasket correct for 71-72 trim. There are two possible gaskets for use with windshield trim: one for the shallow 71-72 trim style and a second for the deep 70 and earlier trim style.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by litew8

Okay, still at a loss - why do you mention OEM? Precision isn't the OEM.

No prob - The trim I used this time is OEM (used General Motors) but the gasket is new from Precision correct for the trim style (year), which in this case was 71-72 (rather than the 70 and earlier).

Reproduction trim is, in my experience, a total waste of money so go with good used OEM windshield trim when you can but be sure to get the gasket that fits whatever year trim you use.

[litew8]

Ah, I wasn't reading it right. Thanks. I have my OEM chrome trim still, and learned, as others have mentioned, 71-72 chrome trim is smaller than earlier models - requiring a specific windshield gasket.

[Precision Parts]

The Precision weatherstrip seals have been in the auto glass market for years, almost 2 decades in fact and the only issues I've dealt with in regards to customers are #1, the customer trying to use aftermarket trim and #2, ordering the wrong seal for the trim they have, shallow versus deep set trim.

[litew8]

Great to hear, thanks for joining the discussion. Nice to hear the positive comments since I have both windshield and door Precision gaskets yet to install.

[Precision Parts]

Originally Posted by litew8

Great to hear, thanks for joining the discussion. Nice to hear the positive comments since I have both windshield and door Precision gaskets yet to install.

No Problem. Nice job on the truck... and the shop!

-d

[litew8]

Thanks d, more pics just added.

[D.PASSMORE]

Originally Posted by Precision Parts

The Precision weatherstrip seals have been in the auto glass market for years, almost 2 decades in fact and the only issues I've dealt with in regards to customers are #1, the customer trying to use aftermarket trim and #2, ordering the wrong seal for the trim they have, shallow versus deep set trim.

Mr Precision, Glad you could join us in this endeavor to find the best WS gasket for our 67-72 trucks. Most of us hobbiest/truck builders find the Precision gaskets to be superior than the competition (besides OE). Saying that we are still experiencing a lot of difficulty installing your WS gasket with deluxe trim. Over the years, I seen a few installed without much imperfection, but the majority of the time, the trim pops out or upper ends are crinkled at the inside top corners (main issue). Not much fun having water drip like crazy while driving thru a Florida thunder storm. Another, is water behind the gasket and rust forming after a period of time. Not sure how your company conducts research, but if you look on these boards, you will realize there is a problem with a lot of folks and shops having the same issue. In your companies technical opinion, could you explain what could cause these issues and suggest a solution.

Thank You

[DeadheadNM]

On a different but related note: I'd like to advocate for better vent window seals. The aftermarket vent seals I installed (unsure of brand) began to crack in less than 6 months. It's a lot of work to redo the vent windows just to have the rubber breakdown that fast. The factory seals get stiff but don't seem to crack. If Precision can manufacture vent seals from a rubber compound similar to the windshield gasket maybe that would solve the problem and win a lot of customers. Thanks, Pete