OPENING FRONT WINDSREEN SEALS.

[David SelfridgeParticipant]

Hi

When my car retuned from the body shop there is a leak from the top of the winsreen when closed, should there be two inner seals around the the perimeter of the screen. Mine has only one which is channel shaped and fits into a slot in body, should there not be a second one forming an upstand against Chrome window frame to take the water to the drain holes at bottom of screen.

If possible could someone post a photo with window open so I can see the position and profile of seals.

Regards

Davy

[Patrick Russell-JonesParticipant]

Hi Davy

Good question. Renel’s catalogue http://www.renelauto.fr/catalogue2016.pdf page 29 shows three seals, but there may be some variation between the early and later body frames/surrounds (before and after ’52). My car (pre 52) relies on the windscreen frame seal but also has the seal between body and windscreen surround which seems to be more of a draught excluder. There are opinions among club members about the quality and effectiveness of the frame seals on offer and clearly some are regarded as poor.

Is there any adjustment you can make to the screen hinges to achieve a better fit? Is the seal new?

Patrick

[David FaulknerParticipant]

Assuming it’s a post 52 Big Boot (mine is)

Has the seal been fitted around the correct way?

Counter intuitively the curve of the rubber’weather seal’  should point the outer edge  toward the frame so that it is clamped hard to the frame. The joint is best at the bottom to avoid any leeks at the top

It makes the screen harder to fit and needs 2 people to fit, I to push at the top and one in the car to put the bolts in.

The other seals are just cover strips for the metal edge and don’t really do anything.

BTW even with a bit of rubber grease smeared on the inside in driving rain it can still leak a bit…

[Larry LewisParticipant]

To make installing the screen a little easier, take two long screws of the same thread as the six small ones, cut the heads off, install one on each side then  using them as a guide, install the screen to the hinge then put in the shorter screws and take out the long ones. It works for me but it’s still a pain.

[BernieParticipant]

Davy,

If all the correct components are properly assembled and aligned the windscreen should not leak – but it can be a job to get it right.

Two obvious questions are – did it seal prior to the recent work and, has the seal be changed?  If “No” and “No” it would imply the screen is not correctly situated.

If the seal has been changed I believe there are three more possibilities ….

– the seal is not the correct profile

– the seal is Ok but incorrectly fitted (as David suggests)

– the screen assembly has been incorrectly fitted

You mention a chrome screen surround (that implies an early car – but not necessarily) however the profile of the chrome (on brass or steel) surround is slightly narrower than that of the later aluminium version and that can make it a bit more difficult to refit correctly.

There are various different profiles available and I know the one supplied by the Club shop is narrower than some others – but I have never failed to seal one from the TOC stock.

If you are happy with the type of seal and how it is fitted to the screen it sounds like you need to re-position the screen by raising it fractionally on the side of the leak.  But it might also be worth check the assembly for centrality in the hole by measuring the gap each side of the frame.  I like Larry’s one-man fitting method but you should not have to completely remove it again.  The hinges have ribs running across them to enable incremental vertical adjustment so you will need to slacken off the fixings more than just a little to allow enough clearance for the ribs to pass and then jiggle the screen up.  This is best done with the screen as closed as possible to minimise the interference between the screen seal and the bodywork above the screen.  It can be awkward to handle so, if  necessary, use a thin wooden or plastic lever between the bottom of the screen and the (heavily padded) scuttle.  If the fixings are loose enough for the screen to move no extreme pressure should be needed.

Correct adjustment will be a process of trial and error but if you mark the hinge position with a felt pen you will see when you have managed to move it  and by how much.

Good luck,

B………….

 

[David FaulknerParticipant]

Thanks Bernie, some good tips there. I might see if I can get mine to fit a bit better following them so I can open and close it as at the moment I try not to in case it leaks…

[David SelfridgeParticipant]

Thanks to All for your much appreciated help and detailed instructions regarding the small leak at the top of my Windsreen, it looks like a bit of checking and fiddling to get it sorted (will post the outcome)

Regarding Bernie’s questions the car is a 1938 Light 12 with recently fitted (good) rubber seals, more than likely fitted by John Gillard and never leaked prior to restoration, in fact not even a road noise or draft.  The man that completed the restoration is not a Citroen man, however he has a lot of experience and knowledge working on very old cars with opening screens.

Thanks to all for sharing their valuable knowledge and also for the kind member that phoned me personally, to give his much appreciated advice.

 

Happy Easter

Davy

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