Help -- Windshield Install

[Jim Breazeale]

The corners often have putty in them to allow the seal to seat properly. The factory used putty in every car, just about.

Regards

Jim

[Frank Beck]

What's the part number of the OEM seal that you used?

[edmayo]

I do appreciate everyone's advice. I'm leaving for an overdue vacation and will re attack the issue when I return. Ed, how are your guys on windshields, you're probably the closest expert to Wichita.

We do them all the time, but I seriously doubt you need to come all this way for that easy a job. From the picture I don't think the trim was fitted to the windshield frame of the car, the corners will need to be reshaped. If they can do the targa glass, the front is a comparative piece of cake. When the corners are closer, then they can be lightly reshaped with a correctly shaped wood block. I did a tech session on this very subject at Parade, I'll try find and post a few pictures.

[gkahrs]

I'll have to check with the body shop in Wichita in regards to the seal part number.

[gkahrs]

I checked w/ the body shop. The seal is the part number list above. He does mention that the repop trim is very soft and doesn't hold it's form well at all.
Do I need OEM trim?

[Frank Beck]

I checked w/ the body shop. The seal is the part number list above. He does mention that the repop trim is very soft and doesn't hold it's form well at all.
Do I need OEM trim?

You're sure it wasn't a 911 541 225 00? That is what the application calls for and that seal has a narrower outer lip than the 03 version (now sold as 04).

I have a difficult time believing the moulding is "too soft". It's supposed to be malleable so you can gently shape it. Not too much though or else you'll get superficial fractures in the anodized surface.

[304065]

The problem is the POS reproduction trim we get these days. I can see you have the same stuff, with the chalky looking anodizing. Take a look sometime at an ORIGINAL piece of anodized windshield trim-- even if it's scratched up (most are) you will see how much smoother the finish is.

Using this modern trim, the windshield won't fit unless you work the corners. We used a block of wood and a mallet to literally bend the trim, to give it some camber in the corners, so the seal would fit properly. This took a LONG time to do.

And in shaping the trim it's almost impossible to avoid "Superficial Fractures in the Anodized Surface" as the Gentleman from the Valley of the Sun recites from experience.

I think once you get it right the trim should be taken out, sent to Shaun, stripped, sanded, re-anodized and then re-installed, if you want it to be PERFECT.

[dporsche74]

just get new trim for the dealer... its like 100 bucks for both sides..lol..

[edmayo]

Here are some pictures from my Parade presentation. Yes, the trim is SOFT, most people ruin it taking it out of the old rubber, and new trim usually arrives slightly tweaked due to handling. It MUST be shaped to the windshield frame of the car as this photo shows. If you are CLOSE after installation you can then use a shaped wooden block to to help close up the corners. I suspect your trim if laid in the windshield frame won't fit closely enough.