Trouble getting the windshield frame to sit properly

[beijing_ken]

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice as I cannot get my windshield frame to seat properly.

It sits so high I cannot get some of the nuts to start even without washers or lock washers. I have installed the adjusting nuts to help align the frame to the triangular windows on a S4. I was wondering if I should cut the openings on the seal so that the nuts do not rest on the seal itself, or should I trim back the leading edge of the dash pad ?

Any tips/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Tim R]

The adjusting nuts fit in the holes and just the thinnest lip protrudes upwards. The dash pads are sometimes made too thick and you need to remove some of the foam from the backing but do it very carefully and only remove what you need to.

Tim R

 

[Acollin]

Maybe post a few pictures so we can see what you are dealing with.
I did this work a few years ago and while I did not trim any seals, I did trim the dash Pad.
Andrew

 

[beijing_ken]

I tried to load some photos but their size was too large, so I tried zipping them - I hope that works.

 

[Acollin]

I am always challenged with the ”computer” aspects like zip files and imaging, but from what I can see and now recall that bottom rubber will need to be trimmed— for length and not for thickness. It also looks as if the bottom rubber can still be worked into place. This could be your issue. Also once you have the gasket evenly seated the sequence for tightening things down could help.
My car still had all the factory “packing” when I did my dash pad/ windscreen rubber and I was able to reuse what was there— truly amazing after all those years. A little minor restoration was necessary but I essentially put back what I took out. I also included a few pictures that might help with trimming the dash pad. What you see is the remainder of the original dash pad that I replaced.

All that said, are you sure the the frame is not slightly bent? I have read that any number of windscreen frames get bent over time when drivers use the windscreen to help leverage themselves out of the seat.
Also know that there are no rules here- no straight forward lesson for getting this right. It will be a wrestling match- unique to your car—, but with patience and hand strength, it can be done.
I’ll also root through my files to see if I have other pictures that could help.

 

[hartmandm]

Are you sure your image file size was too large? HEIC is not listed as one of the supported file types when uploading documents using "Post Images(s)".

Apple has started to default the image capture format in iOS to HEIC instead of JPEG. Microsoft wants people running Windows to pay for an extension to view HEIC format files. Lol. You can switch the image format in your iPhone back to JPEG in the Settings ...

Mike