Front and rear windscreen rubber seals

[Justy]

I just replaced my front and rear windscreen rubber seals and I thought I would share my experience because when researching into this job, there was a lot of incorrect information on the net and I had to dig deep to find the correct way to do this.

Firstly, there are two seals to the windscreens: there is one under the glass that holds the glass in place and one that is a top weather-proofing seal that needs to be replaced if the rubber has aged and hardened. The top seal slots into the bottom seal with a hook type friction fit. There is advice on the net that the old seal needs adhesive to be stuck back on and this is incorrect. There is also feedback that the window needs to be removed, which only is needed if the bottom seal is broken. As long as the top seal is doing it's job, the bottom seal should be fine.

The seals I bought from Design911 and were not too expensive or hard to find. When I removed the old seals, I spent some time removing crud under the slot of the rear screen bottom seal: water and crud was collecting there and could have eventually eaten through and caused hidden corrosion. As for fitting the new seals, I needed some silicon lubricant and it was a simple press fit. A simple job that took a few minutes to do.

 

[Winny911]

Sounds interesting I need to do this as mine are lifting in the corners. Got any pictures?

 

[911-C2]

My rear window seal has shrunk. Would you have p/n and any pics?

 

[P0tential]

Following as my rear screen seal is coming apart at the rubber and the black coating on the metal part is peeling. I assume to change the metal surround the screen needs to come off?

 

[Justy]

The part no. would depend on which model you have but in the link it's part number 2 for the front windscreen and number 9 for the rear. It's a bad diagram as it looks like both parts sit behind the windscreen but do not.

https://www.design911.com/pages/diagramsBrowser.aspx?categoryID=8&diagramID=2702

As for pics, I did not take pics during the replacement, so I only have pics of the finished fit. I'll downsize the pics and upload.

As for the metal bit: I think you are referring to the channel that the top piece will slot into. Yes, that is part of the bottom seal, I would not touch that in fear of damaging it. If the channel is intact, the top seal should friction fit into it.

I waited until the end of a hot summer's day before removing the old seal so the rubber was soft and hence reduced the possibility of ruining the channel of the bottom seal.

If you go to 7 mins 20 secs in this Friends Green YT vid, you can see the top seal being removed from the bottom seal. The important point is that it's a press friction fit with no adhesive.
https://youtu.be/ZCR8bak8SIo

Another important point is you have to use silicon lubricant, it will not go in without a fight if you don't use that. Do not follow the advice on the net of using Vaseline or any mineral oil which will degrade the rubber.

When fitting the seals, it will look like the length of the seal is too long for what is required but you have to slide the seal back a bit as you press it in so it is not stretched when in place.

 

[The Baron3]

Brilliant advice, thanks for the posts, something I will definitely being doing when the weather warms up