Found a leak! But how to fix?

[dave's not here]

Until the day comes you're ready to repair the sheet metal, (by a shop) properly, and repaint the repaired metal, your goal may simply be to minimize leaking into the interior, and not worsening the problem with exposure to rain. If garaging is an option, this will help. But some hot and humid climates are prone to spontaneous rain storms when out shopping and cruising.

The spray on stuff is an option. Another is the foil-backed butyl tape used to seal HVAC ducts in buildings and sold at most hardware stores. That stuff is super sticky and never hardens and holds up well to the environment and exposure to water.

De-rust the area as best you can, prior to repairing and treating.

Considering the crumbly nature of rusted metal, caulking would not be my first choice. Just like the other options above, you want those rusty crumbles gone, before applying any kind of sealant.

Lastly, as others have suggested, I don't believe this is a common failure, so finding the cause of the rust may rank high on your TODO list.

Observing how the rust seems to follow the curve of the upper cowl, it does not appear to be caused by runoff from the roof or windshield. My guess is the cowl area inside is filling with standing water, and rusting from within. If this is true, that's the leak you want to find and repair.

very insightful - thank you.

 

[dave's not here]

I have a 67 Jeep Gladiator pick up. It had a water leak in a similar area. Though it was inaccesable from the outside like yours is. It had to be accessed inside thru the floor vents in the A pillar. Reached up thru the bent and used a pick to pull away the flakey maerial. Then with a small wire brush and scrubbed it as good as I could. Used #m seam sealer to fill the hole . Its been that way 3 years. Set outside never garaged. No leaks.
Doug

good work sir - and thanks!

 

[dave's not here]

AHA!!!!!

Thank you each and all for helping/ Antenna and drains and wiper seals passed the test. For now

The windshield leaks at the bottom on both corners. Hopefully when it gets pulled the channel is still serviceable.

On to the heating ducts in a new thread!

 

[dave's not here]

GOOD NEWS/ BAD NEWS.

After doing all you can without removing the windshield, it has been determined by one wrench and one glass installer that the car is good
- no apparent rust or holes - vents and drains and heater core in good shape. Got all the heater ducting & its going in next week. But the BAD news is that the
windshield gasket is for sh*t...cracked and dry rotted all over. Plenty of two door , sedan, and convertible gaskets available, but as far as i i cant tell there is NO
reproduction part/part number for a a 4door or wagon gasket.

One route was offered by the good folks at Steele Rubber -they'll run me as much of the two door profile gasket as I want - and we could
cut it to size as needed. The installer doesn't like that idea for some reason - maybe i'll go to another.

Is Flex seal still the way to go if the gasket is that bad in the first place? Just pull the trim, scrape the dry rot and spray away? This is starting to sound like a dirty movie

Thanks and seasons greetings,

dave

 

[dadsbee]

@69bfan Richard, windshield gasket for a 4 door '68??

 

[69bfan]

Here is a copy of the post that I made over in another section concerning the windshield gaskets for the '66 to '70 B-Body applications.

For the '66 to '70 B-Body windshield applications, you have the four following applications.

1. '66 to '70 B-Body convertible, Precision WCRD 671
2. '66 to '67 B-Body two door hardtop, Precision WCRD 671B
3. '66 to '70 B-Body four door sedan and wagon, Precision WCRD 672
4. '66 to '67 B-Body two door sedan, Precision WCRD 672
5. '68 to '70 B-Body two door hardtop and sedan/coupe/post, Precision WCRD 715

We have been supplying various windshield and back window gaskets to the hobby for over 30 years and have sold thousands of them. Depending upon the application, one manufacturer may offer a superior product. You got to know the various applications and coverage to obtain the best results. For the Mopar applications, you basically have three different manufacturers producing product in bulk. That would be Clesters, Precision and Steele.

Precision has the market share and is an OEM vendor to the current automotive industry. Clesters and Steele are more geared to the restoration and specialty applications.

Through the years, we have been involved in the manufacturing of specialty one off gaskets. I personally would not suggest this route as it can get extremely expensive and for most of these windshield or back glass applications, you will need to make the corners. The bulk extrusion is not the problem. You have to get a precise tight fit for the gasket and it has to fit both the glass and the window channel.

Check with your glass installer, they will all have a preference. Pricing can vary substantially from vendor to vendor. Most of the weatherstrip vendors will carry the Precision brand. The Clesters and Steele has a much smaller group of vendors to choose from. Make sure to know which one that you are paying for.