leakage along the top of my windshield

Hi,
I have a 2003 Tundra Access Cab extended SR5 Pickup 4D, and I am having a leakage on the top of my windshield (attached image).
I didn't realized there was a leak until it rained. I see there is some rust up there. Is this relative easy to DIY?
If I want to do it myself, can someone give me instructions/guide on how to do it? How do I remove that rubber piece on top
and how to install a new one in, and can I buy that new rubber piece from the Toyota dealer?
Thanks in advance.

 

If your windshield was replaced at some point this might be a rust from lousy window cut job, you might have to pull windshield to fix that

 

The outer rubber piece is just cosmetic it doesn't seal the windshield. The proper way to repair your leak is to pull the windshield, clean,primer and paint all the rusted areas and then seal the windshield back in place again with the proper sealant. I would also plan on replacing the windshield because they crack on removal the majority of the time.

 

Couple of things:

1) I just had my windshield replaced for the first time since new in 2002.

2) Installer said he was worried when he saw my ticket on his work order because many of our Tundras have this problem per his words.

3) My truck body is rust free, but I did a few things to get ahead of the potential problems. Check out my build page for ideas to solutions.

For you I’d recco:

1) Use hose and blast out debris caught in between strip and body.

2) Use Ospho to treat rust.

3) Tape and caulk off roof strips and top shield strip using Liquid Nails Fuze per picture below.

4) Let dry and tape off again and paint black. Or, leave it unpainted as it will match your 1D6 like my truck.

 

Visit my build page for more pics.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/the...vestment-‘build’-a-chronological-story.46816/

 

Thanks so much for your great simple solutions; no need for removing/installing new strips and easy fix for rust. Just curious why you recommended not to caulk the area you said "Do not caulk". I don't think that area has a leakage problem.
PS I have never replaced the windshield.
Thanks.

 

If you have water leaking into the cab the bond between the windshield and cab is compromised. Also rust could be forming in the windshield seal area that could deteriorate the metal to where it could cause problems down the road. Putting caulk on the outside without pulling the windshield is an inferior repair in my opinion. Proper windshield installation is also important to vehicle structural integrity in the event of a collision.

 

Simple answer: That ‘T’ where the roof trim terminates into the windshield trim has a notch cut into the cab metal (probably the leak genesis). The trim dives in there and can be pulled out of said slot. Do not fill it with caulk. Practice using popsicle sticks by lifting up the trims to see under and what I am talking about. Years of mulch/etc are probably blocking the channel. The ‘Do Not Caulk’ area is the run off zone.

Your goal is to tape off and caulk a thin bead and NOT push caulk under the windshield rubber. Reason being if you ever do need to replace the shield, then it can be removed easily.

Or buy a new windshield (see below response).

 

In the perfect world, you are correct but XYz windshield company isn’t going to wait around for you to do what needs to be done properly after they pull old glass out and BEFORE they put the new one in... in this case. Think Ospho, dry times, paint, drytimes, etc. bondo?

We can’t see under the trim, so it might be worse? What happens if it is Bondo bad, then the XYz guy says too bad so sad. Warranty void. And you are still stuck with leak. Slippery slope here.

If you pull any trim off before XYz comes out you warranty is void, as well. Rock and hard place which is why I suggested the ‘fix’ in post #4. Caulking the outside of the window trim will not compromise the integrity of said window.

As is the case with America, there is no one coming to our rescue. We can only do this ourselves.

 

You have some good points.

What I have done in restoration is remove the windshield myself, clean off all the old sealant, sandblast to white metal, repair as needed (welding often required), then prep and paint myself. Once the windshield frame is in virgin painted condition, call out the windshield installer for a pre-arranged install. If they balk at warranty, then I would keep searching glass companies. If it leaks afterwards, it'll be because the installer didn't get a enough adhesive sealant bead in the right places. Most DIYers can not manage this work; they will have to trust a bodyshop to have any rust correction done ($$$).

I would not use Bondo on a windshield pinchweld. Bondo adheres very well to clean rust-free surfaces (white metal), but I would not trust it on the typical rusty pinchweld under a windshield. Bondo would be strictly for comestics anyway...the butyl sealant will fill all rust pits and imperfections between the glass and pinchweld. Using Bondo on the body adjacent to the glass would be fine provided all the rust has been sand-blasted off and the area properly painted with professional quality stuff, e.g. starting with epoxy primer.

 

Ain’t nobody got time for this! Seriously, that is a lot of work and a proper fix but one would need a covered storage area and mucho time and planning. If I was going your route I’d plan on a full restoration and paint job of the entire truck due to the extensive nature of work.

Lets see what Pilgrim says.

 

LOL...Yeah, no argument there, it was during restoration and a repaint of my old Gen1 4Runner. I painted the windshield pinchweld with the rest of the body.

Frankly, rust in that location will be somewhat like prostate cancer...it progresses slowly. Treatment of prostate cancer in old guys is often just "watchful waiting"; they will die of other reasons before the cancer gets them. The average owner with this leakage problem will need to have the windshield replaced to fix the leak and just ignore the rust. Or, they can resort to bodyshop help, which will be expensive.

For perfectionists like you and me, the rust would drive us crazy. We can try to smear stuff on the outside to stop the leak, but there is a void channel right through the sealant. It might work...sometimes...if you're very lucky. Realistically, if the windshield is simply replaced, the truck will likely be dead of other causes before it leaks again or rusts through. Assumes the rust above the windshield doesn't bother you, but you can still try to derust and touchup the paint.

 

I don't have the experience to do a proper fix; I plan to syringe with needle some Ospho into the small gaps in the windhield trim hoping to get at some of the rust under the trim. When I'm forced to fix it properly, I'll have it fixed then. Do you recommend just to simply clean the rust area from dust and then apply the Ospho? Or should I sand it a little bit with sandpaper too before applying the Ospho? Thank you.

 

I would sand it down after knocking the bubbles off with a light scraping. Hope the bubbles aren’t pockets leading to holes in the cab. Apply the Ospho to neutralize the rust into iron phosphate. Caulk a thin bead using blue tape and Fuze. You are welcome.

 

Not enough product to perform caulking both sides of both top trims plus the top windshield rubber. Tube of Fuze is about $7. Plus, the windshield guy that did mine uses Urethane on the glass (like Fuze). He said he sees ‘Silicone’ jobs all the time and they cause more problems.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1aehHXCi4E

 

I used that on some new headlights and I was less than impressed. It seemed like less viscous clear silicone you get from homeless depot and it seemed to stick worse than the home supply stuff.

The guy that's done my last couple windshields would probably be willing to remove a windshield and then come back later to install a new one. Find some company that isn't a chain and talk the guy up. Most people are flexible if you can explain your situation.

 

Professional hand model, I have the same issue and want to try your repair method. Why do you recommend putting FUSE anywhere other than the rust spot?

 

Not gonna get a reply, Pro hand model is banned I believe, I have no idea why

I’m having the same problem myself, bad enough that I tarp my truck when it rains — I’m thinking of pulling the headliner and then having the windshield removed — fix damage and have windshield replaced

no visible rust for me from the outside but leaks bad through the sunglass holder, and grab handles on A pillar when driving after a rain — doesn’t seem to leak while driving in the rain

 

Did you check the seals along the sids and top of window? Especially the one horizontally along the top of the windshield, making sure it goes end-to-end?

 

are you talking about the rubber “trim” surrounding the windshield? Thats just cosmetic, a trim rubber to give it a finished look

Windshields are sealed during installation with the caulk they use — I believe its a polyethylene caulk — it doesn’t stick very well unless properly prepped — most likely a bad window install just took some time to show itself

My windshield has been replaced by previous owner, I have the receipt from when it was done

 

Tell that to this guy.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/‘01-windshield-seal-leak.75776/

I dunno about you, but I've had dozens of cars in my lifetime. I've had more than one with windshield leaks nd speak from direct experience on this one.

Is the black sealant most glass guys use supposed to be good enough to 100% seal the window?

Yes. But if the outer surrounding rubber/plastic seals go bad, or the roof rack channel rubbers go bat and allow water to get to the spot where windshield meets body, it'll eventually rot things if water is allowed to pool. But there are sources OTHER than the actual windshield which will cause the exact leak you describe

So yes. Check your seals and surrounds first, it's easier than pulling your headliner. Even if you find the intrusion from the inside, you ALWAYS seal from the outside first, if you seal on the inside, water will just puddle at the seal and exacerbate the problem.

I've also had cracks in seam sealer at the upper door opening corners and along the roof rack mounts allow water intrusion that channels to the A-pillar, B-pillar and/or windshield. Something else you should check. I was able to diagnose this easily and cheap on my previous truck, and you can too:

I took some clear packing tape, and I taped across the entire top windshield seal, basically taping from the roof to the windshield so no water could enter that specific seal EXCEPT through the roof rail provisions.

When the leak continued after that, I added clear packing tape over the entire roof rail provision from front to back, so all water had no choice but to go to the door seams. The leak continued. So I taped the door seams, starting with the driver side.

Well, I got lucky - the driver side seam sealer had the tiniest crack at the upper corner where the roof met the b-pillar. Leaking stopped the day I taped over it, and it made me look closer. That was the source, and it was making water come out into the A-pillar and all along the windshield at both visors.

I patched it up. when the windshield guy came over to replace the windshield, he found some corrosion along the top, but that wasn't the source of the leak. Whole point for this long ass monologue: It's not always the windshield. Feel free to tape shit up in an orderly fashion, from lowest point to highest, and wait for leaking to stop in its "known" condition where you see leaks.

 

Problem is... can’t see a thing with the headliner in place

I have absolutely no intention of sealing up the leak from the inside.

with headliner out, I can determine exactly what is leaking and see if any rust/water damage then determine if it’s fixable without pulling the windshield or if it must come out

I’ll insulate the roof and run some wires for switches while in there

 

On my last truck ... Even after removing the headliner, I couldn't see the "windshield" leak. I pulled the headliner, and found the leak was randomly dripping from multiple places along the roof at the top of the windshield, naturally making me think it was 100% the windshield. Boy was I wrong, and man it cost me several C-notes and hours because of pigheaded I am.

Even with it out, seeing the leak, for the life of me I still couldn't see where the water was coming from because of the structural components of the roof, same ones our Tundra has to protect you in event of rollover. I have videos of it, I'm pretty sure - Just "somewhere" up there.

That's when I decided I had to track down where along the roof it was coming from, and the only way to confirm where it was coming from was to seal each seam, one by one, until it stopped leaking.

This is why I used clear package tape across the entire top of the windshield, totally covering the top seal of the windshield, from A-pillar to A-pillar, covering the top rubbers and seals. If no water can get to the windshield seal ... it can't possibly leak, right?

After doing that, even with the tape covering the gap between roof and windshield, creating a waterproof barrier, water was still getting in. This let me know 100% it was absolutely NOT just the windshield or its seal.

It took me about 90 minutes to pull my headliner and I cracked a bunch of interior plastics I had to fix later in the process. Yet a 2 minute test with clear packing tape proved my assumption was wrong and would've saved me a shitload of extra work + damage.

When the leak persisted, I started taping other joints along the roof and eventually found the real source - a hairline crack in seam sealer from the factory, along the B-pillar. Somewhere I *never* would've looked. Save yourself my pain:

- Check the rubbers along the top of the windshield for complete seal, end-to-end, with no cracks or breaks
- Check the rubbers over the roof rack rails where they meet the windshield rubbers to ensure they're properly tucked, it's a common intrusion point
- Use clear packing tape along the outer seams, starting with the full top of windshield, see if it stops, if not, tape over the roof rack rail valleys

If it's still leaking at that point, you know, 100%, your problem is not your windshield, you need to be looking somewhere else. If it does stop the leak, you know 100% whether the core problem is a fix to your roof rails or your windshield seals. Replace the windshield after fixing the actual leak.

Say it is coming from the roof rails, for example. And you pay someone to replace the windshield, but you failed to diagnose the problem with the roof rack seals ... 1, 2 or 3 years from now you'll be right back in this spot again.

Look, I'm not telling you what to do. Just saying: There's a few places for water to get from outside the roof to inside. Don't be me and do a shitload of extra work, only to find you didn't need to, or "Fix it" without fixing the cause.

Just saying ... don't be me. 18 months I spent on my issue. Hours spent. $400 wasted on windshield and other crap. The actual cause and fix cost me $6 and 5 minutes, not including seam sealer cure time.

 

Best thing to do in my opinion is remove the glass or have a glass guy remove it, check the surround for rust, if no rust clean and paint it, have the windshield reinstalled with a new seal or new windshield altogether.

 

I don't disagree, but also realize this: There's a huge difference between treating the symptom and fixing the problem.

Something caused the leak to begin... if you don't diagnose that problem's cause, and opt just to treat the symptom, that symptom typically comes back eventually. Headliner pull is overkill to diagnose h-opp's problem, though, there's an easier way to isolate.

OP's problem was pretty clear, clearly rust at the seal. I think h-opp's problem is a little more ambiguous, no visible signs. Creative taping will tell him where to find the problem to fix before replacing the windshield.

Best case scenario: Windshield seal separated and there's no corrosion. Totally unrealistic for this to be it if the windshield was installed correctly, but the obvious fix is to replace the windshield. You'd probably never know w/o removing the windshield though, and if you're wrong, removing the windshield just killed diagnostic paths.

Typical scenario: Rust at windshield frame. If so, it's b/c water is getting to that seal and pooling - but why? If you replace the windshield w/o solving the "why", the condition will likely persist, eventually eat your rust-repaired area. Best fix is to find how water is making it there, fix, replace the windshield.

Oddball scenario: Something else on the roof assembly is allowing water to enter from another source. Cracked Seam sealer, a bad rubber seal channeling water into a structural element of the roof, or similar.

In all three scenarios, finding a way to consistently reproduce the leak, then using clear packing tape to methodically tape the body seams/seals, one by one, then reproducing the leak immediately after is ideal way to diagnose.

If you trace the problem to top of windshield, figure out how water is getting there and fix, then replace the windshield, repairing the damage.

 

Here's an example from my last truck.

Symptom: Leak along headliner.
Suspected: Windshield was leaking.
Actual cause: Cracked seam sealer at the B-pillar.

I totally gutted the ceiling trying to find this damn leak, saw where it was leaking from and *knew* it had to be the windshield. Paid to have windshield replaced thinking it was the cause, only to find it leaking at the next rainstorm, totally wasted money and definitely wasted my time removing the headliner, which also damaged trim and other stuff in the truck.

Video of the leak from when I gutted the headliner, visors, etc:
https://imgur.com/a/jXT9qg5

Frustrated, I started using clear packing tape to tape the windshield. Then the roof rack mounts. When I moved to taping the top of the door frames, here's the source of the problem, where the door met the B-pillar. Sadly, this is the only pic I have, from when I was throwing painters tape on it to sand down and re-seam-seal it, then touch-up paint it - after removing that top channel trim and chipping out the rubble, of course.

 

Yeah, my opinion was based on someone actually doing some sort of diagnostic, I thought that was a given.

 

@Shifty — what year and what truck are those pictures?

I have nothing on my truck that looks like that last picture — no moldings like that

2000 access cab is mine — has that roof channel/gutter/molding 6” or so away from the doors running front to back on both sides

My 1st symptom or drips are from the eyeglass holder, front center of truck roof in interior light assembly — water will drip from hinges while raining if hard enough — doesn’t seem to matter if I park nose down or up

I only get A pillar leaks when I’m driving, like water is pooled and moves with the turning of the truck, leaking out the pillar grab handles depending on which way I turn

no wet headliner ever — it does not make any sense to me why the headliner is dry — stick finger in the eyeglass holder hinge holes and the insulation/padding is wet

As I said, can’t see squat with the headliner in the way...