I am working on the windshield frame on my 1986 4WD pickup. While grinding off rust I found holes in three corners that had been filled with body filler at some point in the past. After I finish removing the rust I will use Ospho to treat the metal and then prime, paint, and install the windshield using the OEM Toyota rubber gasket referenced in other threads.

My question is, do you guys think I should refill the holes with body filler, or cut them out and weld in sheet metal? I know welding in sheet metal is probably a better approach, but I don't have the equipment or skill to form sheet metal to fit the rounded corners. Let me know what you think, thanks.







​​​​​​​

 

Best option is weld
second best option is extremely well prepped metal and epoxy resin (us epoxies is a good source for resin, thickener and fiberglass) Fill on any uneven spots with thickened epoxy to the consistency of of peanut butter. Epoxy resin is not the polyester resin you purchase at Walmart/AutoZone/Lowe's.


Last is a body filler.

 

Thanks PickleRick. I am getting some 20 ga sheet metal pieces and basic sheet metal tools, will try to do it right by welding pieces in place.

 

There is also a fairly extensive post on this.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...t-maker-107858

 

I did one a while back , and have another in my shop to do ..
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f209...ew-bed-242508/ , might help

just scroll threw the first part


.

 

Hey thanks a lot slacker, great photos and documentation there. You obviously have some skill in shaping sheet metal

Is it still the understanding that the OEM Toyota windshield gasket (56121-89117) is too small for the US-spec windshields? In other words, a glass shop would actually need to grind down the windshield?

Also, do you use any sealant when going with the rubber gasket approach?

Thanks.

 

Post some pics when you do it. I'd like to see how you did it. As soon as I finish doing the tailgate on my 87, the leaky windshield has to come out, and I'm quite sure it will look like yours. If I get to mine before you do yours, I'll post pics. Don't let the welding worry you like it did me. I was so intimidated by it starting the project I'm doing now, but soon found out that mig welding 20 gauge is quite easy.

 

thanks .. we stopped selling the gasket to the general public quite a while ago , yes , the shield size is different and MUST be ground to fit . Its not that the rubber is to small , it's the shield is to large .
We still do them inhouse , as mentioned , I have another one I'm doing here very soon . yes , we do urethane in the rubber and shield , for safty reasons . This is actually ther reason the rubber is not used here in North America , and this is also the reason why the shield is a different size . because they are all urethaned in , you have a much larger area , so the spec of the shield dosnt have to be exact , as it does with the weatherstrip .

 

I bit off more than I can chew, I don't have the welding skill to repair these windshield frame rust spots. I know @slacker in BC does this kind of work, but can anyone recommend a person or shop in Oregon? Thanks.

 

If I was closer I could get it done for you, what problem are you having with welding it?
if it’s forming a piece to go around the bend I would recommend going to harbor freight and buying a shrinker/stretcher for cheap and just playing with it until you figure it out or you could just weld pieces trim out rusted part and form a piece with a pair pliers or whatever you got. I consider this kind of a good place to learn how to weld because nobody else is going to see it once the windshield is installed

 

I have a cheap Harbor Freight line feed welder set on the lowest setting and it still burns through sheet metal. I practiced on scrap for a while, then tried one small section of the windshield frame and it burned through there too. Pretty sure I need someone with a better welder who also has more welding skill than me