May have found a FIX..Wiper cowl rubber seal
 

Some, most....are plagued with the rubber seal pulling up from the wiper cowl. Can't get replacement rubber, have to buy a complete cowl..

Being I'm stuck in work today I decided to pull the car in and "Tinker" with it. As i was cleaning engine bay I glanced over and saw this :


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So I thought to myself...there's GOT TO BE A WAY...Then it dawned on me !

We have this stuff here in work...industrial strength CA Glue :


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Added a drop, pushed rubber down to edge of cowl and held it for a couple of minutes....then repeat process working my way from left to right.


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All cleaned up !


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Washed the beast cause it was dirty !


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It held up in the wash....I'll keep an eye on this and report back from time to time to let everyone know if it's holding up !

BTW: Sorry for the huge pictures....don't have a program here on work P/C to reduce size. If there is I sure as hell don't know about it !

Great info! I used gorilla glue and took mine apart, removed that old tape, cleaned up both seal and cowl, then glued them together. They have held up for 2 years so far. Hope it lasts for a while longer and will remember your method for next time.

Thanks for posting this fix. It's sure to help a lot of owners out.

You can download a free program called irfanview. A small program which lets you resize pics and many other functions.

Used a few dabs last month for the same problem. So far, so good.

Nice fix! :thumbs: I wish this would work for mine, but the rubber has shrunk so much, it's now about an inch shorter than the cowl :( Still looking for a replacement...

I would love to but..........I.T. blocks all downloads and the only way to install is if you have Administrative rights, which includes a login name and password. :toetap:

IT bastards!

:smash:

A little tip for work with super glue.
You can make those super glue welds much stronger with baking soda - NOT JOKING.
After you do that initial attachment take a coffee stirrer (or similar) and scoop a small amount of baking soda.
Drop the bk-soda in the space to be strengthened, or on either side of the initial weld.
Put a small amount of super glue on the soda. The soda will quickly soak up the glue like a sponge.
You end up with a very tough and strong bond that is like a crust. Can be sanded, filed, cut and shaped.
This is one of my favorite tricks for plastic repair.
Hope that helps someone here.

been using this trick for years....I build, repair and customize guitars and when I get a worn slot on the string nut I build up the slot with CA and baking soda and re-cut it to it's proper depth. Works like a dream ! :thumbs:

I have used this stuff for repairing worn out or broken mounting holes on various pieces of my dash and center console...great stuff !
Works on the same principal as crazy glue and baking soda :cheers:


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Good Tip!!


I was looking at the same part on my car, a couple of days ago, and the rubber has been pulling away for a while. I was thinking of using RTV.

So you have probably seen the Stewart McDonald video on YouTube about this. Or are you the one who posted it?
Anyway, is there any difference between the powder in that kit vs. baking soda?

I read about that trick in Dan Erlewines first edition of Guitar Player Repair Guide many years ago....long before the video came out and yes I saw the video as well.

To be honest I think the Q Bond powder is nothing more then colored baking soda but I could be wrong. It does seem to harden up much quicker then baking soda so it might be different. Maybe something added to the powder to react better with the CA Glue ?...I dunno :shrug:

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I ran into the same problem with the seal having shrunk. I just couldn't get any adhesive to hold it. After staring at it for a bit I came up with a solution. I bought an 18 foot roll of door edge trim for $9 at Walmart.

Basically I tore off the original seal and placed this seal in it's place. It looks great and I couldn't be happier with a $9 fix. The pictures don't do it justice. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Auto-Driv...Black/36065978

Sometimes one can look at the MSDS sheet and get more insight into the ingredients. I haven't tried that for this product, but it might be helpful.

If you look closely at the stock set up, the rubber strip has a leg that is supposed to lock onto the channel on the cowl. Then there is a strip of adhesive tape that is placed over both to lock them together. What happens over time is that tape disintegrates, and eventually the rubber strip pops off.

So I removed my rubber strip and cleaned it good. I also removed the wiper arms and the cowl. I then cleaned the cowl good, reinstalled the rubber strip, then bought some black 1/4" pinstripe to lock them together, just how it was done stock. Worked great.

Then I took some time to wipe down the entire cowl with Armadillo and water, and make it look like new again. Reinstalled, and it came out perfect.

Imho, the problem with superglue and the like is, it's messy and very hard to get a clean result. And, there is a chance you could damage the part(s) as well, making it harder next time around.

I have got to try that.
But where can I get some non-messy Armadillo? :rofl:

Actually, it's easiest to find a fresh road kill. :D

Seriously, I should have been clearer. The stuff is Armor-Dillo TS-1, which is GM spec'd for all of the plastic cladding on the original Avalanche that was constantly fading. It comes in little plastic packs and you just wipe the object quickly, then follow that up with a water wet rag and it makes it look like new. Great stuff.