I have searched and still not sure.

The rear window glass goes inside the cab. Classic Haulers says the same on the windshield, but aren't you taking the chance of the ws being pushed in by the air coming over the hood at speed?

Also, it looks like if I put the ws inside, the seal will block the defrost vents.

Can anyone confirm?

Also, the new seal has two grooves on one side and one on the other. I assume the single (larger) is for the windshield. I figured one of the others (on the outside) is (obviously) to go over the flange. What is the second groove on that side for (my guess is that it goes over the far outer windshield opening where there is a recess step where it transitions from the windshield opening to the outer body)?

Thanks,

Dave

 

The windshield goes in from EDIT: OUTSIDE Are you familiar with the "rope trick"? It's in the manual, works great. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post10561539

I just got a new windshield, and the tech who helped me install it said sealant wasn't really necessary, but keep in mind it hardly ever rains here....

Is the second groove you're seeing on the face of the outside? 5 Star cabs, certain years, had a chrome strip that pressed into a groove. My rubber seal only has one outer and one inner groove.

 

Dave, I assume you are talking about your 1950 F1, so the following applies to your truck.

The back glass does go in from the inside, and using some sort of cording (I prefer a flexible electrical wire as the soft plastic insulation slides very easy when lubricated), the rubber lip is pulled over the body flange from the outside.

The windshield is exactly opposite. To remove the windshield, on the outside of the glass, you need to locate the 4 metal tabs at the top and bottom of the window, and directly under the seal. When you look closely at the old seal, you can see the bumps in the rubber where the tabs are. Bend those tabs outward to permit the window and seal to be pushed out toward the hood. After cleaning the opening, you install the windshield from the outside, pulling your installation cord from the inside of the cab to roll the sealing lip over the flange.

Pimple Simple.

There are indeed 3 grooves in the seal. The deepest is the windshield groove. The next deepest is the groove that goes to the inside, and over the flange. The last groove is a water trap, and goes toward the outside.

If your flange is clean, and smooth, you may not need sealer. However, it is a good idea to use it anyway, at least in the groove where the glass resides. I replaced the backglass in my '49, and it leaks, of all places, between the glass and rubber. Need to reseal before the snow flies.

 

P.S.: Don't forget to bend the tabs back after the windshield is in. I have read of fellows just breaking off the tabs, or of the tabs themselves coming off from corrosion. They are a sort of safety catch to help prevent the windshield from popping out in certain circumstances. I haven't heard of any windshields without the tabs coming out, and in later production vehicles, the tabs were dispensed with entirely. I put a lot of windshields into Dodge trucks back in the 1980s at a dealership, and there weren't any tabs, it being felt that in a crash, it was preferable to have the windshield fly off anyway.

My feeling is that they are not really necessary. Use of a sealer also helps to hold the glass too.

 

LOL, I can't believe I said "inside". You SIT inside the cab and pull the cord from the inside, but yes, JD is right, it comes in from the outside.

Are 48-50 different than 51-52? Or is this 3rd groove hidden when the windshield is installed? I sure don't see one, and don't remember one.

 

Thanks for the help. Here is a pic of the seal (LMC). As I said, the larger groove is the single, and two smaller grooves on the opposite side of the seal.



Thanks again. Will try to talk my son into helping me after I get done with the honey-do project (glad she likes the horses).

 

Around here nobody uses sealant if installing with new rubber .

 

I know, BUT sometimes they do leak. As I said, I used to install windshields pretty frequently when I worked at a Dodge dealership, and back then, I never used sealant either. However, when these trucks were new, they sealed them. I tried to install my backglass without sealant, and it leaks around the glass. I ws meticulous about having a clean smooth body flange, correct glass size (had it cut locally), and the rubber came from Carpenter's.

Still leaked, around the glass to rubber joint. When I pull the backglass tomorrow, I intend to ONLY apply sealant to the glass groove. Another thing is the sealant itself. Most of the crap sold today either eats paint, or hardens to about the consistency of concrete. In the day, they used butyl rubber sealant which never really hardens, and it can be cleaned from the rubber, even years after installation. Can't do that with most of the other stuff out there.

As for the windshield seal, if you look closely at the rubber, you will notice that the face of the seal that is exposed to the outside has a center depression (this face is almost twice as wide as the inside face). This depression gives the appearance of two parallel beads that run along the rubber face, and around the windshield. The inside of the rubber seal has no such ornamentation. The top edge of the front of the seal has the larger groove for the glass, the bottom edge, which rests upon the body (cowl sheet metal), has the water catch just inside it (unless you are standing on your head on the hood, then it is the reverse).

My suggestion is to take your new glass, and put the seal on it (without the seal goo). Once you do, you will immediately see how it works.

 

Here's an excellent step-by-step explanation of a windshield installation done by old_dan.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tallation.html

 

Thanks JRJoe, couldn't remember where the thread was. In photo 5, you can clearly see the "beads" I was referring to on the outside face of the seal. That 3rd groove is around the outside of the seal when installed, and helps to prevent water from migrating to the steel body flange.

 

Thanks for the help.

I had already read Dan's thread, but wasn't noticing the fine details in the pics.

Thanks again,

Dave

 

And that is why I didn't say anything Ross, I knew it had to be typographical, misunderstood, or something else. If anyone knows about the finer points of these old trucks, you have to be included in that group.

The only reason I am familiar with the other "groove", is because I have my new seal for the windshield (uninstalled), and have studied the construction of the truck and seal closely before I "jump" and pull the old glass. The seal design is fresh in my mind.

As for the backglass, let it be known that, at least with the Carpenter seal, it is not an "exact" reproduction. I am positive that the rear window had never been pulled in my truck until a couple months ago. The glass was etched "Ford Safety Glass", and the old sealant was in place. The new seal fits well, but lacks three small rubber "bumps" that run concentrically around the seal to assure a water tight joint. The new seal did not have these.

Does it matter? Probably not. The ridges were on the body-to-seal joint, and that sucker ain't what leaks.

 

This is a timely thread with some good experienced comments and a great link to a write up on replacing the seals. I can pick off the dry rubber by hand on my truck from the outside and I have the seal for the front, just need the rear one and enough courage go at at it!!!

This forum is such a great resource for those of us diving into history with these tough old trucks.

 

Nothing could be easier than replacing the glass on these trucks, IF you are using clean, new rubber. Literally a 5-minute job. I had a tech help me on my windshield, he was there to replace the windshield on my other truck. The clerk at the shop had guessed on the phone they would need 2 techs for an hour to install the windshield and estimated $150. I said, no, can't be. When the tech came out, he took one look at it, said "let's do it" and slam-bang-thank you ma'am, we did it in less than 5 minutes, no charge (because he was already there for the other one).