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My 89 Shorty has chrome trim around the windshield, I don't believe it belongs on the van, previous owner screwed it to the van, he drilled the windshield frame full of holes around the glass to attach the trim, yeah, no way Ford installed this. I have rain getting in the rear of my van, pooling in the floor, I just replaced the rear door gasket, then I had to adjust the hinges so it would close, still getting water in the rear floor, now I can only deduce the wonderful trim on the windshield is to blame or the sealer in the rain gutter, which is possible, I can't get up there to see it, I can't imagine the cost to remove and replace the seam sealer, the windshield is $400-$500 to replace, its glued in, even so will that fill in the holes the idiot drilled around the frame. Well those are the only 2 places I can think would leak, the roof has no holes in it, the doors are solid, no windows, doors close tight.
JWA would know more then me but I would think that the water in the back of the van would be from the gutter. Are the van walls and ceiling covered or open?
Does the windshield trim seem to have factory bends? My mom's 78 E100 windshield molding is starting to come loose on the drivers side. If I remember correctly, there are little posts that look like small short nail heads around the windshield. There are some molding clips that snap onto the little posts and then the molding snaps to the clips.
Ford part D1AZ-6542413-B
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I doubt you will find new moldings but the good news is is that according to the part numbers, 1977-1991 should fit.
The question is why did he screw the moldings on? Is the windshield frame rusted and he filed the area with sealant and screwed the molding in place over the sealant?
Good luck I know it can be frustrating finding these problems after buying a replacement van... It is so easy to overlook things on a quick walk around when buying one.. I missed the repaired gutter over the drivers door on my 85
The 89 windshield glues in, I don't know is it was supposed to have chrome trim, looks great with self drilling sheet metal screws every 6 to 8 inches, really irritated with such stupidity, the glass guy who came by ran sealer around the inside, dad wanted it temporarily fixed, I gotta get the guy to come back and replace it, he said it'll break on removal, so a new glass needs to be ordered. I am hoping the water running in the rear floor is not coming from the windshield, running to the back, but that would be worse, meaning the rain gutter, seam sealer is leaking, I gotta say, my 73 was in better shape body wise, no leaks and no rust holes, but the drivetrain on this has 70,000 miles, a fuel injected 300 I6 is far better than a 73 emissions gutted 302.
Do you know the thread clips required for the grill, I want to get the lag screws out and bolt it right, put these back where they belong, a wooden deck?
There is virtually no way water leaking in the rear is in any way related to clip-in windshield trim. Without seeing images of where the water pools and of the rain gutters along their length there's no way to give an accurate answer.
Water leaks need to be properly diagnosed----without knowing WHERE there's no way to suggest a fix.
Dads driveway is inclined, thats why I figured it was the windshield, he said its the back door, so I have to replace the other gasket. There are no trim clips holding the chrome on the windshield, someone has put sheet metal screws all around it, I haven't taken photos of it, it was leaking pretty bad earlier, removal of the plastic trim inside will be a nightmare, its sealed to the glass with the black sealer, this whole thing is a nightmare, how will the front be sealed, the outside of the windshield having near 30 1/8" holes drilled all around the frame from the screws. I do miss the days of windshield gaskets, they even looked good, didn't require replacement of glass to remove and replace a seal.
I think I learned something new about the parts catalog. I have been looking for the section in the catalog with nuts, bolts, washers, screws, and retainers of various kinds. I think,, that in the diagrams, the number beside the screws/fastener, is the actual part number. There may still be a section though that specifies more about the fastener.
So Maples01, here is what I found for the front grille... I was reading in the catalog and it states that some of the drawings are representative of all the different year models. in the case of the pic of the grille, it is showing a molding around the outer edges of the grille. My 88 does not have chrome the molding going around the grille.
From looking at my van there are 6 black flange head screws that attach the grille at the bottom and one near the center for a total of 7. I believe they are #8. The retainers that I think they are called SPRING NUTs should also be for #8 screws. They should also be available at most parts store in the help section.
This took a little while but that 's ok. I learned a bit about how to use the catalog and found some cool fastener links..
Do you think the PO was trying to achieve the (not sure what it's called) look where everything is bolted on like some 4x4's?
I someone screwed my windshield molding on, I could think of a place to put them once I removed them and repaired the damage!
Seriously though i wonder if water was leaking in around the windshield and the PO removed the trim and just flooded the gap around the windshield with sealant and then couldn't use the original clips because they are covered in sealant?
Now if you removed the trim you would have all of the screw holes which are bound to leak at one point as they are... Maybe JWA knows of a material that is suitable to seal around the windshield as well as be formed in a shape that would appear like a rubber gasket seal.. It wouldn't be anything a shop would do because it wold be too time consuming.
Oh boy I have solid rear doors, no windows, this clown put about 20 screws in each door, attaching wood and signs, tacky so I removed it all, what do I find, a screw went through the door, a hole to fill outside. Now While I support making a vehicle yours, by all means bolt on as much nonsense as possible, but don't put unnecessary holes that will cause leaks, I have to say this has to be one of the dumbest people to walk the earth. I must remove 1/4" lag bolts to get the plastic trim off the headlamps to replace a bulb, same for the entire grill, he lost all the clips Ford installed that allow the use of reasonably sized bolts, god help me I feel like this vehicle is a punishment from god, never before had I felt what a blessing the 1973 Econoline I had before this, I almost feel the need, when buying a used item to ask the owner, could you drill it full of holes and put random size screws in it for me, the more the better. I am really worried about the windshield frame, this just keeps getting worse the more I get into it, and I've yet to get the heater blower motor hooked back up, they cut that too, nice toggle switch screwed to the dash for that.
Its got a small miss, I've yet to pull the doghouse, it is caulked/sealed in place, one repair at a time, really afraid what I'll find once I remove the seats and floor mat, just keep fiber glassing it, already used a quart of resin, I plan to replace all the vacuum line, plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor. It is a low mile van, 70,000 on the I6 and C6 transmission, everything has its issues, I went for drivetrain, so that means everything else needs attention it seems.
I think you try to connect a vacuum gauge and see what the readings tell you.. You should be able to find a vacuum source from the front of the van. I would check out the engine a bit more before spending to much on the body.. If the engine is good then great but if it has problems then you have figure out what to do from there..
Another simple but good test to do is the engine block test.
The video says the tester is $50 but you can get it as a loaner tool from the box store and just buy the fluid. You will have some left over so store it in a cool dark place.
I had a vacuum gauge in my 73, pulled it out to put in this one, I also have the test gauge, oh the engine is good, the body, rust, owner used it to sell stuff at the flea market, you should see the mountains dad had to drive through to get it, the mountains between Va and Ky, talking 55 MPH pedal on the floor. I have one more fuel filter to replace, one by the pump, it must have low gearing, you let of the throttle it immediately slows, dads been driving it, he loves it, runs great, just has a miss at idle. I bought a doghouse to steal the gasket and hold downs from it to replace the missing passenger side hold down, and gasket because I can not find a new one, thats why I've not got at the miss, I have to pull the drivers seat/base to install the 6 way seat base to transfer from my wheelchair, will get at the front floor then, pulling the engine cover, there seems to be a patch panel in the middle, dad saw it while under the van.
Well the rear door gasket sold by Autozone, it is not made to fit the drivers side rear, the bottom of the gasket has a large end that attached with a screw through Ford, it doesn't and is not large enough to touch the body of the van at the gap between the doors, will leak, have to glue some flat rubber to it, I will not be pulling a $65 gasket off the door.
Don't make anything like they used to it seems, the other door gasket fit good on the other door, should have known this one would be a problem, it has 2 large ends on it that are to seal where the doors meet.
