Hi all
Its the season in doing alot of work on my 86 xj
During my adventures i realized the driver side footwell was getting quite wet.
I sort of knew immediatly this was due to some small rust formation around my windshield
Sadly on further inspection the leak is happening both driver side and passenger side and on both sides in the rearview.
I was already planning on replacing the seals and repainting the car this summer so that has just pushed that project along.
Ive gone ahead and ordered the seals from moss motors so they should be here soon but i have a few questions reguarding it all.

Firstly how different is replacing these seals on a series 3 as opposed to a series 2 i ask because “living with a classic” on youtube has a great in depth video on the process but he does it on a series 2.

Secondly how much rust warrants a welding repair. I have never welded and with a delicate area such as this i dont feel inclined to let this be where i start trying to (although i am interested) i know i will not know the extent of the damage until i remove the screen but from what i can tell from the outside it seems to be mostly surface rust there are a few small rust bubbles on the back and front so i know there will be at the very least minor divots in the metal. Is this something i can simply sand as flush as possible repaint and reseal? Or does any amount of rust require a welding repair.

Im fairly confident in my ability to replace the seals on my own (hell if i can drop and repair the IRS at home how hard could this be…right?) although ive read a few threads that strongly reccomend having a shop do it to ensure proper seating. I am weary of this option though as nearly every shop ive taken this car to (even for minor issues) has misdiagnosed, further damaged, and over charged for anything they do in reguards to this car (hence why ive taken on nearly all of the repairs for the duration ive owned this car)

Lastly ive read that water behind these seals is inevitable due to their design, on a few threads people reccomend regularly using “rust check” to flush out and displace any water behind the seals and protect the metal. Is there any kind of sealant i could use whilst installing the seals to prevent this from occuring in the future or is that a fools errand. On the note of sealants is there any sealant required whilst installing these seals? and if so what kind?

Thanks all
Best wishes

 

It seems you don't know that front and rear screens are glued in with bonding agent. This is normally a job for a windscreen replacement shop. The seals you will see on the SNG Barratt website are finishers that fit onto the flange of the windscreen aperture. but have no role in securing the windscreen.

It is likely the corrosion you have seen will require some welding to restore the integrity of the windscreen aperture, although you may be lucky. The XJ Series 3 was the first Jaguar model to use glued-in windscreens and was quite troublesome.

 

hey fraser
thanks for the reply
i learned about the glue recently and have found a shop i trust willing to both install the windscreen and repair any rust.
they let me know that if i removed it on my own it would bring the cost down a fair amount.
how difficult is DIY removal? ive heard varying things with some people saying they did a removal on 4 different cars alone and others saying it requires specialized tools.
do let me know your opinion on the matter.
thanks again

 

I don’t know how common it is, but after getting my car painted years ago, and getting glass reinstalled I had a leak up front, I was sure they had screwed up the glass installation but I was wrong, the gaskets under the wiper arms were the culprit! Worth checking while you are getting it sorted

 

As I recall for my front screen, (1980 XJ6 Series 3), it is possible to cut the glue sealant from the inside with a Stanley knife. This can damage the paint on the windscreen aperture where the sealant is located, and also the so-called fitting seal mentioned earlier. However, this avoids any damage to the chrome, (actually stainless steel), trim finishers which can then be recovered for reuse. Once the screen is out, the aperture must the be totally cleaned of all remaining fixing adhesive, and the inevitable rust damage dealt with. Once the screen is fixed back in with fresh sealant, the chrome fittings must be pushed on into the sealant before it goes off. All of this process is most certainly not a five-minute job !

I remember driving the car with the windscreen removed, and it was amazingly not bad a fairly low speeds, because the car filled up with air under very slight pressure from the forward movement which then stopped a gale coming in.

I have never done a rear screen but I would think the process is similar, although I haven't seen many reports of rust damage on the rear screen, but no doubt somebody has and will hopefully post here on their experience.

 

My wife and I cut the mastic with a piece of stainless steel wire I have the the shop, she on the inside and me on the outside. We were able to slice through by both of us pulling together. A little tough pulling, but definitely possible for a somewhat savvy DIY'er.

Windscreen is out, but you can see some of the traditional rust that may need fixing.

Dave

 

The bottom corners left and right are where the rusting gets so bad, new metal is needed.