So Kirby, when you had your XJS, how did you deal with the rear window seal?
Oddly enough, I never had a problem with it. Both the front and rear windshields remained unmolested while I owned the car. I did have to remove the rear quarter windows once, but that was in the process of removing those side vents to modify them to actually work. The rubber seals were fine, everything reassembled just fine and didnāt leak.
I did have a leak at the A pillar, which I found was due to someone filling the pillar with some goop of some sort, blocking the drainage scheme. Cleaned it all out, sealed up a hole between the inside and the outside, put the SS trim piece back on, and replaced a water diverter inside the door jam, and everything was good.
Hmmm, i guess i could test mine while the tank is out. Maybe mine is fine too. But at what point do I know it starts leaking once the tank is in?
If it didnāt sound like a difficult job, Iād just do it for preventative measures. Anybody out there have any advice?
And I thought you could bond anything. Where thereās a gap, thereās room for bonding material. Of course, not sure how to get chrome trim onā¦
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Iām wondering the same thing about mineājust had some heavy rain the other day and I left the car in it for a bit to see what happened. No water or dampness appeared on the shelf where the gas tank sits (itās still out) so Iām wondering if maybe the rear window seal isnāt a big problem. I would hate to get the brand new tank wet right away if it is somehow leaky.
get a hose and spray the windowā¦thatās what Iāll do this weekend for a proper test.
Also, double check your tube that drains the trunk lip/rail. Mine was clogged. (it starts near battery, and goes out into wheel well) Possibly water could have been leaking from there on mine?
Yes I did notice that line. there are actually two of them on my car one each side of the boot lid. The one on the left has a Y connection (the other IN of it comes from the fuel door overfill line). That side (in particular the Y) was badly clogged on my car. And I think it had a loose connection too evenāthat meant over flow fuel would drain and get stuck and eventually dribble INTO the trunk! Getting that one unclogged is key assuming your car also has it.
nope, mine only has the one. Also, got the 1/2" 225psi gates fuel line. WOW, that hose is stiff. Iām putting mine over the house heating vents so I can straighten out the bend in it.
rick I use, place hose in a tub with sooper hot water, let stand till pliable. Reshape hose to your liking. Hold the hose in position with some available objects, leaving it in the tub. Then place tub in sink with could water running for a about 15 minutes. The hose should now retain that position.
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So i ran a hose to let water pool up on the rear window trim, first minute looked ok. But soon there was water dripping into trunk via passenger side lower corner of trim. This would explain tank rust. Not sure what to do next. I could remove window to see if thereās enough gap to have it bonded, but then I couldnāt reuse chrome trim. Or I could try doing rubber seal myself. Friend said I could then use a needle applicator to apply sealant within gaps to help seal better. Anybody have some experience dealing with XJS coupe rear window? Thanks.
Greg,
I could have written that. As a matter of fact, I didā¦ sort of. See
http://www.efsowell.us/ed/jag/body/windowseals/
The first part was the glass tech doing the seal replacement (thatās him in the photos, not me!). The second part was afterwards, when he finished and I did the hose test. The fact of the matter is the body work at the factory wasnāt all that great, so the opening doesnāt really match the glass/frame assembly. I filled the gap around the seal, which glass techs are trained to NOT do because thatās not necessary, which is, unfortunately, not true.
Ed
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There is also a flow type sealer made by C R Laurence that you can pump into the gap between the outside of the seal and the body that you can try. The pump is sold separately from the sealer.
My ā88 had that gap filled with a butyl sealer, apparently from the factory, as Ed did on his.
Hmmm, thanks for the info. I think I may try to find a glass professional who deals with vintage cars, as this is out of my ability, and hidden leaks/rust is something I donāt want to deal with, especially after seeing what it did to my gas tank. Anybody by chance know of someone in Seattle area?
Eventually I also need to get windshield done. By 1988, were they bonded, I hope?
Thanks.
No they are weatherstrip set until facelift in the early 90s
The guy who did my windsreen said they were the same technology as used in VWs of similar vintage. Should be easy to find one.
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Slow but sure - sanded/wire wheeled out as much rust as I could, applied rust killer overnight, used por15 in the bad spots, primed, and painted.
Now to let the paint cure, then next weekend new tank goes in
Greg, have you done anything else with your rear window yet? Following your posts has been very informative as I work on the same stuff. Youāve edged ahead of me in getting your new tank all done! I was traveling around Thanksgiving alas and had no time to work on car then.
Nope, Iām just gonna either garage it or tarp it until spring. My plan is to find an expert at old rubber seal windows.
My engine is still idling rough, running rich, and all over the place at idle, and hard to start. Gonna put my time and money into getting the fuel injectors prof cleaned and rebuilt this winter.
Niceāsounds like a good plan.
I donāt have garage space available. Wish I did have but what can you doā¦ Trouble is that all the covers/carports that you can put in the driveway either look bad or donāt really cover/protect the car all that well. Then again, DC winters are rarely that bad so itās not the end of the worldā¦
Any closed-cell rubber sponge will do. Pref. āCLASS 0ā. Rubbing it with red grease prior tank installation will also isolate it from any moisture.
Donāt use open-cell foam as these accumulate water.
Four years later? Lol
I ended up using my wifeās old yoga mat.