Day 1: So one of the benefits of my insurance is they cover windshield replacement 100% when it gets damaged while you are driving. I had a rock hit it and caused a 1 inch crack. By the time I got home it had walked 17 inches across the windshield so I knew there was no fixing it and the call to the insurance went out. They processed the claim info and had the glass company scheduled to replace it at my house the next day.

Day 2: The glass company guy shows up and looks at the crack and agrees it needs to be replaced. He sets up his tools and starts working on getting the seal loose. The first time he stops is a min later and he asks if I put any of the silicone across the top of the windshield seal. I tell him it had silicone when I bought it and a few years ago I had a leak problem so I replaced the silicone and had no more problems. He says there should not have been a leak if the windshield was installed properly. I agree and he continues getting the seal loose. He stops again 5 min later and said he is finding some rust and asks what I want to do. He explains that if it is only a little he can clean it up and prime it then install the windshield and I will need to touch up the rest of the paint later. I tell him to take it out and we will decide based on how bad the rust is.
2 min later I almost had a heart attack!!

To pause for a min, I have a 2001 Excursion that I bought in 2006. It had 82,000 miles when I bought it and is now at 137,000. I live in Florida over an hour from the coast and take the Excursion to the midwest almost every winter in December to see the family. I wash my baby after a snow or beach trip and even waxed the whole thing(once). I know how bad salt is on a vehicle( I grew up in snow country) so I keep it clean.
Here is what I found.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534466/http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534466/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/53700883@N06/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/7121615447/http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/7121615447/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/53700883@N06/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534570/http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534570/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/53700883@N06/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/7121615657/http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/7121615657/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/53700883@N06/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534816/http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6975534816/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/53700883@N06/, on Flickr

I called the my insurance rep who said she didn't know what to do so I should call the claims hotline. I hung up and paused to calm down. I then started calling body shops until I found one that said they could get to it next week and they have indoor storage for the Ex until they can work on it. I called the claims line and they said they didn't know if it was something they would cover until the adjuster looked at it. I explained it was going to the body shop today and they WOULD cover the tow to the shop and the windshield replacement at the least. He agreed and gave me the adjuster cell number to contact her directly. I hung up and called the body shop to send the wrecker to pick up my baby.
I spoke to the adjuster an hour later, after she got the info from the claims line, and explained what was going on. She said it would probably not be something they cover because it is not the result of an accident or other covered incident. I argued that I no longer have a driving vehicle and that was due to the windshield replacement claim finding the rust and not being able to do the replacement. I explained that the glass guy showed where my windshield had been replaced before and installed incorrectly. I asked her if she could try to see if there is anything of the repair they can cover beyond the tow and glass and she agrees to push it as much as she can. She wants pictures and an estimate from the body shop as soon as they can.

Day 3: I stop at the body shop to give them the insurance claim info and adjuster's email and phone number so they can send her the estimate. They took the info and said they would send her the estimate as soon as they find parts?
The owner explained that to repair the rust properly the need to cut out the entire windshield frame and the roof section to the middle of the front door opening. I said t was good that the superduty trucks are the same as the Ex is from the front doors forward. He said they will call as soon as they find parts and can put an estimate together.

Oh, I asked the body guys if it was possible to modify the frame to allow for a flush mount / no gasket windshield and they said it would be way too much work and no way to see if it would be any better.

Sooo, anyone else had any rust issues like this before? Anyone with advice on how to work with or fight my insurance company? Anything to make me feel better?

 

Wow! Thats pretty bad! It seems over the top to cut and replace the whole roofline, I dont see why they dont cut out the rust they can and dura-glass or bondo the body-line.. My work truck is a 2007 E350 box truck and has the same thing that ford refuses to warranty. Believe me I hate looking at that.. the truck IS still under warranty with 55,000 miles on it! I would push the issue on the insurance company and see exactly what they will cover.. Good Luck! and keep us posted!

 

I have a small leak sometimes on the passenger's side come through sometimes when the rain is just right when you are driving. Doesn't seem to do it when it is parked and it is raining. I've noticed a small rust bubble starting under the paint at the top of the passenger side pillar right next to the windshield.

Seeing yours....now I'm terrified and guess I need to get it in to have the windshield pulled and looked at!

I hope they can get you fixed up without costing a fortune.

 

That rust damage is really bad and I would cry for a week if it was mine , But I fail to see how the insurance company would have any liabilty on this , It is no different than our rusty rear wheel wells , Fords problem or owner neglect yes insurance company no. Good luck I hope they can get it fixed without to much problem..

 

The saga continues.
I talked to the insurance adjuster today who agreed that it was all caused be an improperly installed windshield. The problem is that the windshield was replaced sometime before I bought it and my insurance company was not the one who handled the claim. She said if they had it would have been covered 100%. She also said they have not been able to find out when or where it was replaced before I bought it.
So I guess I get to out of pocket the repairs on this. I got the estimate from the body shop and I'm wondering what is in the water over there. They quoted replacing the ENTIRE ROOF and JUST REPAIRING the windshield pillars!! The estimate is over $4300 and $1800 of that is for a new roof panel!!
I am not replacing the entire roof because there is rust on the front 2 or 3 inches. Even with my basic body working skills I would just section in a windshield frame from a donor vehicle. I am going to talk to them today and see if they are comfortable doing a section and repair instead of the entire roof. If they can't or won't I'll be checking into other shops.
I really wish a few of my fellow FTE guys who do body work were closer and I had the time and space to do this myself (with supervision).

 

wholy poop batman .. i think we need to get a group buy and send you some lube .. cause outch that looks like it hurts .. .. if it was me .. i would just blow up my truck with some c-4

 

Then it would be insurances' problem

 

Well I got the Ex back from the body shop on Friday. My wallet is @$2k lighter so I hope no one else has to go through this problem. The body shop guys did great work. I told them to leave my Safari rack off and I hauled it home on the trailer so I can modify it while it is off the Ex. I will post up pics in a bit as the camera is charging right now. Side benefit is the guy that did the windshield install thinks they have a rear window glass to fit my 79 Bronco in stock. He said it has been there for years and IF it fits mine he will sell it to me for $50.

 

Pics of the completed repair.
<a href="http://s1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/bigzirb/?action=view&amp;current=2012-05-21182957.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/bigzirb/2012-05-21182957.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/bigzirb/?action=view&amp;current=2012-05-21182931.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r564/bigzirb/2012-05-21182931.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

That sure is a lot of open roof up there. Can't wait to get my Safari Rack modified and reinstalled.

Thanks for all the support here guys.

 

Sure looks clean with those roof rails off! Glad everything worked out, even if it was kinda expensive!

 

I know I'm bringing back an old thread, I just wanted to say mine is going under the knife next monday for the same thing. Mine would drip on me while it was raining. I just hope these guys do a good job so I don't have to deal with this rust anymore.

 

I had a rust repair thread running a couple weeks ago. My roof is ok, but my left rear rocker panel was rusted through!

 

Is yours as bad as the OP's ??

 

Bringing back an old thread is how the new guys see the things that happened before they found FTE.
Post up some pics once they get the glass out of yours and you can see how bad it is.

 

Anyone know if I pull that seal off around the windshield of to take a look under it, does it just push back on?