Has anyone out there ever replaced their top of the windshield weatherstripping? I have an '86 convertible and the rubber that goes between the top and the windshield is bad. I ordered new from Mid-America and before I tackle it, I thought I'd ask. I know that it also goes down the sides of the windshield also. Any help??

 

I did it a couple of months ago on my '86.
it is a lot of work to get the old weatherstrip out and the channel clean. once done the new one goes in about 10 minutes.
I used a good scraper and screwdriver to get all the old glued in rubber out.

good afternoon job. I did both the windshield and the back targa top weatherstrip change in about 4 hours with some help from a friend.

the special tools helped. I got them from Ecklers but I'm sure elsewhere also.

made the car quieter at highway speeds.

John

 

Did you just "pull" out the old rubber or is there some fasteners hidden? And what special tools? Did you glue the new back in and what glue did you use?

 

on the ends there are some either plastic pins or screws that need to be saved just at the ends of the strip. It pays to get a couple of spares before starting. I used black calk from Ecklers to seal the new rubber in. like the old one it just needs a bead about 1/4 inch or less. but is is real sticky so I dry fitted it first then calked.

thes trip contains a metal backbone inbedded in it and it rarely comes out in one piece. kinda like a controlled rip it out and then clean up the channel thats left so the new strip fits tight.

the special tool was like a forked nail puller for removing the plastic push pins. A right angled awl for cleaning down into the small grooves. I wound up using a made up scrapper ground to match the width of the channel for the weather strip so I cound use it to remove the residual rubber previously glued in.

by far the hardest part of the job is to remove all the old material. just take your time there is no magic to it just be through. the new stuff goes in fast.

 

I have yet to do the weather stripping in my own 89' corvette but have recently about 2 months ago helped my friend with an 89' corvette do his. I went online and bought a tack puller that would fit around the clips underside to pull them out and I bought a linoleum carver to get out all the old weatherstripping that did not come off when you initially try to pull it out.

Here is a picture of a linoleum carver just in case you don't know what it is.



Has an assortment of tips to fit smaller or larger areas. Was at a store and saw that and thought it would be a useful tool and it was. Just be sure you don't cut into the car.

 

I just did this on my 93 vert.

I used Wilcox's header piece (its made in USA from corvette rubber). I was very impressed by the quality/fit of this replacement. It cost me app. $100.

Ive heard horror stories from others about the made-in-thailand? foreign weatherstrip pieces that lasted less than 3 months. Or even were cracked and stuff already when they opened them in the box.

So if wilcox has a cheaper option, avoid it.

The OEM piece does have a metal backbone in it. Though the replacement piece I have fits and appears to function fine without it.

I did not find the weatherstrip tools necessary. They would have been a waste of money. A screwdriver worked fine for removing what little weatherstrip/glue was remaining in the channels.

I put towels across the seats to prevent little pieces of weatherstrip from getting all over the interior of the car.

The weatherstrip came out in mostly a big piece with only very little scraping required.

I also did not find it necessary to glue in the weatherstrip and I confirmed here that other CF members did not glue theirs in either. Its just going to make it harder to remove.

As for plastic fasteners. Yes, there were plastic push pins in the lower side of each side (I think 3 of them per side) and one plastic pin (per side) in the upper corner of the weatherstrip on the windshield frame.

It was a very simple job and took about 1.5 hours of my time. The job was weirdly simply considering what I have read about here on others experience. I almost suspect maybe the 93's they used less glue? or something. Also, the glue was only in the very center (widest point) of the channel. The small sections of channel did not have any glue on them.

I did use some touch up paint to repaint the channels where I had scraped off some paint when scraping out the weatherstrip. However I am **** like that and its totally un-necessary as that part is covered up by the weatherstrip and not visible anyways.

 

Good to hear...this is my first project when spring rolls around for my 93. I got all wilcox pieces, but have been putting it on the back burner because of some of the horror stories I hear on here...

 

I recently had my '89 coupe windshield replaced by...the lowest bidder. I had other things to do at the time and didn't really check it out for 6 mos. or so. Sure enough, when it rained, it leaked. There was also a lot more wind noise. I had another new "gasket", so I tried it. That was easy, since the windshield guy didn't use any adhesives.

It leaked as just as bad. I determined the problem to be the design of both units. They are harder at the top and bottom of the door glass sealing area than in the middle...and sort of concave in the middle. The glass hits the top before sealing in the middle. I was unable to adjust the glass and get a seal. Removing a little material from the top and bottom helped.

Finally, I went to the hardware store and got some 1/4 in. closed-cell weatherstripping and cut off 8-10 in. lengths. I filled the gap in the middle with them, 1 on each side. Now there is barely a dribble during a storm (that is coming from the top and running down the inner trim pc. maybe), minimal wind noise, and you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it. It will do fine until I find a properly made rubber gasket. I did notice the garage door weatherstrip they had was very soft...hmmmm....

I hope this helps somebody this winter...

 

what brand weatherstrip did you use?

If you got it from wilcox, what model was it? USA stuff or Thailand?

To be honest with you, I havent had my car out in the rain yet since its wintertime in ohio now. It looks like it seals great (equal compression along the entire length of the window glass)