1990 Volvo DL, 150K miles (still a baby)

The windshield has leaked since purchasing the car 6 years ago. I’ve had the windshield replaced by Portland Glass, but I never addressed the real problem - rust in the upper and lower left hand corners of the body where the windshield gasket meets the body of the car. Of course this leak plays havoc with the fuse box and invariably I get a bulb warning light on due to the wet wires or a poor connection. Once the car dries out, the bulb warning light *usually* goes away.

Today I took it back in to see if they could do anything. They put a bit more utherene on the upper left corner where one could see the gasket had separated from the body. But this is just a band-aid. Bottom line is I need to have the windshield removed and get some body work done to clean up this rust.

The person at Portland Glass noted there are 3 drains holes on the body of the car along and under the bottom of the windshield gasket. He also noted that the windshield gasket is not rigid, that water is meant to seep behind it, run down along the sides and drain out the bottom drain or weep holes. He expected these were clogged, thus the water pooled which eventually led to rust and my problems. He felt it was a poor design on Volvo’s part.

Regardless, I am headed for some body work at my local body shop to fix the problem.

The drain holes are important; the water has to get out somehow. So when I get the body work done, I want to make sure they not only get rid of the rust, but also leave drain holes.

Does all this make sense? What specific directions should I given to the body shop? And I know there are special clips used for the Volvo for the windshield. What type are they? Anything else I should be aware of or tell the body shop?

I only want to do this once, and not have it reoccur 5 years down the line.

thanks

 

Man, you have a 20 year old car, how much longer do you plan to keep it??? That sound right however I do not have one myself. Drain holes are important, especially to check once in a while. Try to keep them cleared out.

 

I think 90 still came from the factory w/ the metal trim clipped to the windshield, right? I'm thinking it was 91 that got the much improved windshield. The runner seal is built into thewindhield and you don't use the clips at all. You definitely want the new style glass...not only is it easier to install but it seals better too.
The old style does indeed have at least 2 drain holes...they just run into the same place the louvers do and get clogged very easily...here's why...


Crap builds up under that metal trim and is perfect for rust. Hell, I'm surprised my GT didn't have termites in there! Tell the glass shop you car is a 93...some of the guys just can't understand a windshield that can possibly fit from 1993 all the way back to the 67 140.

 

RE: Drain holes are important, especially to check once in a while. Try to keep them cleared out.

How do I locate and check them?

RE: how much longer do you plan to keep it?

At least another 10 years. With almost no other rust on the body, and 150K, and only 5K per year, why not ) Love these cars

 

I took the car to the body shop today for a work estimate. The windshield will be removed in mid-January, the rust issue resolved and the windshield reinstalled.

I have the old style windshield with the clips and the metal trim in the center of the rubber gasket around the windshield. I'm not sure what theses clips look like. To cut down on the cost, if the windshield is not damaged on removal, I will have it reinstalled.

Can it be reinstalled without the clips as per the 1993 windshield that has the runner seal built into the windshield?

Not know what either type of windshield looks like, I do not know if this is possible or makes sense. Any pictures would help me understand this.

thanks