Front window leak on a 38 panel

Frank The Plumber

Well-known member
Do these vehicles with opening front windows ever really stay dry from this rubber gasket or are there some cheats and tricks to help them out? If there was a fish smiley I would use it. Also if you add wipers or pull your wiper unit, caulk it in.
 
The windscreens are adjustable, if you look at the hinges you will notice they are slotted. By adjusting for height and/or to pull the windscreen closer to or further away from the recess you may be able to fix that leak.
 
They leaked when they were new. You can slow down the leaking, but if you get caught out in a real goat floater, you're going to take on water. There are things you can do. Check your windshield regulator to make sure you don't have broken teeth on the gears that would keep it from pulling it tightly shut. Those gears are pot metal and will break if you try to over-tighten. Take a dollar bill and close the windshield shut on it and see if you can pull it out. Do that all around to locate any spots where the windshield is not pulled up tight to the body. Anywhere it pulls out easily, you're going to have a leak. The windshield hinges are adjustable up and down, also you can shim under them, to seat the windshield frame better in the opening. Check the little drain holes at the bottom corners of the windshield opening, run a piece of stiff wire through them to make sure that they are open and that the drain hoses coming off the bottom of them and running to the outside are in place.
 
I don't believe that they leaked when new. The drain holes in each corner of the windshield opening should have rubber hoses on them that run from the drain hole down between the kick panel and the cowl. The bottom of the cowl above the running board should have drain holes also. Most get full of mud and other stuff and get stopped up. If the windshield rubber is new and the unit is adjusted correctly and nothing is warped or bent it should not leak.
 
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