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I knew this was coming at some point. My car is parked under an awning but outside. Only 60k miles on the car, and not seeing any winter here in Miami. I was washing today and noticed bumps under the seal on one side. The other side is not showing anything yet. I'm hoping I caught this quick enough to do some micro surgery without pulling the windshield. Any thoughts?
Pull the windshield. Not difficult to have done. Buy a new seal and after paintwork is done, tops it back in.
The water btw, migrates in from the top and settles at the bottom of the channel. So there really isn't a good way to prevent this, short of replacing the window with a blued in 993 window and the accompanying 993 seal.
I just had this work done on mine and I agree, pull the glass and seal and make sure you catch all of it. My bodyshop found rust further down in the channel that wasn’t showing around the seal. My car also hadn’t seen salt but washing these cars with water and exposure to rain is equally as bad since it’s a poor design that retains moisture. If there’s any other touch up work needed now would be a good time.
I know there's another new windscreen DIY topic started, but I had the same issue long time back that required a glass-out full repair and new scuttle section welded in. The key advice I had from the guy that spends his days fitting classic Porsche windscreens, is only ever buy OPC windscreen seals/rubbers and never buy from other suppliers - they never fit perfectly which then allows water ingress back into the scuttle area. Years down the line you are back where you started.. The only other good advice I was given from a 964 specialist was do what you can to find a windscreen fitter with classic experience and not the regular company your insurers insist you use.
I went through this several years ago with my 911SC. Once the windshield was removed there was a lot more rust underneath (they say rust is like an iceberg, most of it is hidden below the surface). My local Porsche dealer did all the work, welding in new sheet metal, paint, glass, seal and trim. Turned out very well. They have also restored other classics there so they had the knowledge, so look around for a shop that does. Best of luck - it's worth spending the $ to fix it
So timely subject. I highly and I don't mean that lightly be sure you buy a new seal from Porsche and have it in your hands before you do anything.
I am now on my third rear and second front from Porsche parts department all of which I rejected due to poor quality. I went to pick up one rear I have been waiting for for months the other day and when I pulled it out of the bag it came apart at the seam. I installed another a few months back and it had poor seam and they ground the seam so it looked awful unlike the ones installed back in the 90's which had perfect seams and no grinding marks.
The other issues is they all seem to be coming through about 3/8" or so too short so when fitting they are already curling before install and once installed don't lay flat as they should.
QC on Classic parts is not much better than most aftermarket parts these days it is really quite sad but I find I have to reject most parts once or twice these days before getting a good one and the price is outrageous.
Unfortunately we can get into a list of parts to be wary of:
Fuel pumps
Master cylinders
rubber seals
alternators
fan bearings
Windshields
Rear windshield
most rubber seals.
valves
are just a few of what might be inferior quality parts coming out of Porsche classic dept.
Sadly this was the best seal I got. At least it doesn't pull apart when trying to install. When I did install this rear seal it would not sit properly and i had to glue it so it would look proper. If I didn't water would get in and sit which is what you want to avoid. I have similar issues with the front seals as well.
A track car so I don't care so much but as you can see upper right is not sitting properly due to short length of the seal.
I have installed many windshield's both front and rear and only recently this has become a problem. I had to crazy glue the seal in place and this is pushed over glued both underside and top justto close the 1/8" gap it left. The worst seals are the sunroof. If you need to replace yours the new ones are not usable as supplied. You have to dissect them and glue them together properly before installing otherwise they will sit high and look awful.
I have also had issues with QC on the windshield and rear windscreen. I have one rear window that has a decent sized imperfection low on the glass. i did not notice or expect it until it was installed and of course they won't take it back since it was already installed. So check all parts from Porsche before installing.
You car is such a nice one- I agree- pull the glass and get it done right. I have a 964 tip in the paint shop now with the same concern. It has only 46000km on the clock and the garage window was broken with a baseball spraying some glass shards on the right side. My approach in this case was to use the best local resource for repair with the goal to get as close as possible to a factory repair. We pulled the glass. Even if doing so leads to a bit of a slippery slope (if more rust is discovered than expects- often the case...) it will be a longer lasting repair and a testament to how well the car has been taken car of. And as always with the tin worm- best to get rid of it early.
I’m in the same boat! I know I posted this somewhere else but can’t find it now so for everyone’s benefit: please share experience with replacement front windscreens? Mine is deeply etched from 105k of real world driving and this is going to be the right time to replace the glass (along with the seal).
Does this problem occur on cars with the original seals that are intact and in seemingly good condition?
Is this a good reason to NOT wash the car frequently?