Body/Trim: Please recommend a windscreen sealant

[Velorum]

The leaking windscreen on my 240 whilst not being of serious concern at the moment is something of an irritation. There is a slight leak on both sides and I was driving the torrential rain on the M25 today I notice a drip from the top on the passenger side.

I first noticed the problem a couple of months ago so took off the rubber trim to see what was going on re the existing sealant. I noticed what looked like a couple of areas where water might be getting in. I had some flexible mastic type stuff meant for guttering in the garage and applied a layer of that all the way round before putting the trim back on. This definitely improved things - however its still not watertight.

I reckon that the cheap and cheerful stuff I used isn't up to the job and either hasn't set properly or has shrunk. That will teach me to be so lazy.

What I had in mind was cleaning all the old stuff off and resealing with something good.

Any recommendations?

Cheers
Ian

[coaster22]

I used a butyl based sealant from Wickes to do mine, front passenger screen in the bottom corner. Mine is an 83 car with the pry off chrome trim. Silicone sealant is useless in my opinion.

[Velorum]

Originally Posted by coaster22

I used a butyl based sealant from Wickes to do mine, front passenger screen in the bottom corner. Mine is an 83 car with the pry off chrome trim. Silicone sealant is useless in my opinion.

Thanks

Ive just had a look and the stuff I used is Unibond flexible roof gutter sealant which is said to be a butyl & mineral filler mix

http://www.diy.com/departments/unibo...150815065637:s

[Derek UK]

This is a pretty quick job for a windscreen fitting place. They will have the proper sealant along with a pressurised gun. Having the proper gun will get the sealant into places you'll never reach with a hand tool. What they can do in half an hour is much better than you will do very messily in an afternoon.

Or... For DIY try Arbomast. Good stuff. http://www.rejel.com/rejel-store/windscreen-sealer.aspx

[Velorum]

Thanks Derek

That makes perfect sense

Time to stop wasting time and energy with DIY - Ive just Googled local companies and one called 'Old School Windscreen Services' who look like they might be able to get it sorted

[coaster22]

You may find ,...as I did very small drain holes in the bottom corners , both sides of the screen in the metal screen surround right in the bottom corners ,...they are there , I presume to help drain water away as it gathers mostly in these corners. They seem to drain into the scuttle area and away down the -A pillar drains.Might be worth noting so that any use of a pressure gun to apply sealant doesn't block these. I think I did post some pictures when I did the job. Have a quick check of your fuses as well as the water tends to drip down to these from the passenger side. Cheers.

[Velorum]

Originally Posted by coaster22

You may find ,...as I did very small drain holes in the bottom corners , both sides of the screen in the metal screen surround right in the bottom corners ,...they are there , I presume to help drain water away as it gathers mostly in these corners. They seem to drain into the scuttle area and away down the -A pillar drains.Might be worth noting so that any use of a pressure gun to apply sealant doesn't block these. I think I did post some pictures when I did the job. Have a quick check of your fuses as well as the water tends to drip down to these from the passenger side. Cheers.

I am perplexed as to the function of these holes

If they are to drain away water that finds itself under the outer windscreen trim then how could blocking them cause any problems other than the water sitting there - surely if the screen has been bonded into place then it cant find its way inside?

Am I missing some critical aspect of this?

[Volvorama]

I've noticed those little holes when Autoglazing did a 240 screen for me. They said the stuff about them being needed to drain water away and were careful not to block them. The scuttle is double skinned and serves to channel cold air into the footwell ducts and on into the sills to keep them dry.
For fixing screen leaks I've had some success with Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack cure. It's made for fixing boats and it works.

[coaster22]

Originally Posted by Velorum

I am perplexed as to the function of these holes

If they are to drain away water that finds itself under the outer windscreen trim then how could blocking them cause any problems other than the water sitting there - surely if the screen has been bonded into place then it cant find its way inside?

Am I missing some critical aspect of this?

Don't think it's critical ! But there is a fair sized channel where water can rest if the tiny drain hole is blocked, I suppose this can eventually lead to rust. Volvo must have put it there for a reason. I did find that sealing with the Butyl based sealer, in my case totally cured the leak, wasn't messy, applied with a lolly stick and cleaned up with white spirit. It took about an hour all in, biggest problem was the trim removal without breaking windscreen clips. Pic of original post but photo won't help much to show the drain hole. Hope you sort it.

[Clifford Pope]

For dealing with tiny leaks caused by capillary action then Seak n' Seal works well, if used when the whole area is bone dry (ie not now!)

It seems to be some kind of dilute varnish, which flows down the cracks that the water would have found out, but then dries and goes sticky and blocks its own channel.
I have successfully bodged another car with a perished and porous traditional rubber seal by diluting ordinary varnish with white spirit and painting it around the whole seal, letting it flow in copiously while wiping off the surplus from the paintwork.

On a 240 I have also successfully sealed a specific leak from the inside with black gutter sealant, pushing it into the gap between frame and glass with the flat end of a pencil.