First: I did my best to search these forums and found a few good threads that help me get some general knowledge on the windshields. I understand the two basic ways they can be attached - set in a gasket, or glued/bonded on with urethane. I understand the gasket option is older and hard to find. I haven't really found much that helps my specific situation though, so I'm hoping people can help me determine how to proceed here.
My van is a '92 g20 and the windshield is pulling away from the lower corner. As far as I can tell It is the glued in/bonded style(not set in a gasket). Glass guys are giving me various answers and don't sound totally confident. Over the phone it sounds like half of them assume it is the gasket style and that they don't know where to source that gasket. The other half feel as though it needs to be pulled, the pinch weld needs to be examined for rust and treated, then the glass needs to be properly re-bonded. I agree with the second option, but from who I've talked to they still are under the impression I need a new outer "moulding/weatherstrip/trim.." that they don't know where to find.
When inspecting it, I see remnants of some types of edge strips or something on the outside of the glass, and inside I see what just looks like a decorative protective rubber piece over the pinch welded edge of the opening.
My question is what type of weather strip, or trim, or whatever you want to call it is supposed to fit on top to fill the empty space around the edge of the glass after it's bonded in? Currently there is nothing there... Am I correct in assuming it would be strictly cosmetic? Assuming the urethane bonder is supposed to be done to a certain standard and as a result be a water-tight seal.
I just recently got the van, so I don't know too much about what may have happened previously with the windshield.
Attached are pics of the current windshield so maybe people with more familiarity can see something and offer suggestions on how to proceed and what parts I need to source.
Welcome to the site ... Your answer will be along shortly. Catfish will have the best as he just went thru this ....
Again Welcome .....
SUNSHINE VANS-VAN DIEGO ADRENALIN BY THE GALLON & CHASIN RACIN ONE FOR THE DIRT & ONE FOR THE STREETS '93 CHEVY G30 454 4X4 SPORTVAN EXT 146" WB '92 CHEVY G30 454 BEAUVILLE EXT 146" WB
Your van has the bonded/urethaned in style as you suspected, and is supposed to have a plastic trim piece like what's on the inside of your van, on the outside too. Not only is it cosmetic, but it protects the edge of that laminated glass from impacts and delamination.
My van has a bonded windshield like yours and has the ugliest windshield trim of any vehicle I've ever seen (it ages poorly and has a seam in the center at the top and bottom). I'm considering the rubber gasket and windshield swap in the near future. It's possible that the previous owner of your van got tired of looking at his crappy trim and pulled/cut it off. LOL
Last edited by Rusty_Pancelode; June 15th 2017 4:05 pm.
haha thanks to both of you. I went to a pick-it-yourself junkyard today and examined the other chevy vans there. Saw two with the gasket style windshield, and there were 3 others with the bonded in style with the crappy sun-baked plastic trim around em. I dug out the trim from two of those just to have it and so I could examine it and give it to the glass guys. I like to wrap my head around this type of stuff myself and then I can go in to dealign with others informed. Looks like when doing the bonded in style, the glass guys like to go heavy on the urethane and squash this trim in there while it's soft.
My van is really in pretty damn good shape for it's age, I don't suspect that pinch weld edge looks terribly rusty. I hope I can get a glass guy to come out to the body shop, pull the glass and then we can clean up the edge as needed and he can bond it in properly and I'll give him this moulding to slap in there when he re-bonds it. I may one day go back to that junkyard with some glass suctions ad try to pull the glass from one of the gasket style vans and snag the gasket too just to have it.
Last question: If the glass guy doesn't like the look of this edge trim does anyone know what I should search for online or where to find a new piece?