Regarding the cleaner and defreaser, if youve never messed with por before, i recommend it. If por doesn't get perfect adhesion it peels off in sheets. I think they have an etch, and it's an absolute must. If not, wait for the steel to start to develop a tiny bit of rust powder on the surface evenly. The por soaks into rusted or etched metal like a sponge and it's never going anywhere ever. If it's not rusty or etched metal, it peels up like plastic sheets.

Yes, I recommend the starter pack; More than enough for windshield mounting surface and surrounding.

Yeah, I saw that Jeep glass, it looks really nice, I like the look of it. I do have the two base clips and my cowl is already off the vehicle along with the windshield wipers. I think I'm going to POR-15 the whole rain tray area like I saw in a previous photo even though its still in great shape paintwise and am also planning on spraying the plastic debris guards/filters with plasti-dip to help better preserve them long-term. They are getting a little sun faded because I've had the cowl off for the last year. I had previously replaced the wiper motor bolts with stainless steel as well my fender bolts along the hood line. Snazzy!

Ok, I just ordered a quart of the black semi-gloss POR-15 and a quart of the pre-cleaner / etcher which as per some YouTube videos shows what it does and how it needs to stay wet for 15 minutes or so to "do what it gonna do". (I got full quarts since I'll be doing a trailer soon too..I'll just have to be careful with sealing the can as I saw on a video that it is a big issue since this stuff is like hard glue). I also see on Amazon several options for urethane adhesives from Sika, 3M, and Dow with Sika being the cheapest in cost of the 3 major brands. I also noticed most of them say primerless so should I assume that if buying that type then I can just skip out on added primer? Much like some of the newer paints from Behr at Home DeepHole they are making a lot of "all in one" stuff these days. Better living through chemistry I suppose. Also attached are images of what I'm dealing with. It wasn't nearly this bad a year ago and then suddenly took a nose dive. Mother nature is a real bitch!https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...a2e45fd825.jpgHoly Jesus!
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...3246dc2ad1.jpgOMFG!

LOL! You are not alone. We've seen worse. You may also notice that rust is worse around where the clips are because moisture and dirt are more likely to pool there.
Mine was not to bad - only one tiny pinhole- but I could grow pot on the dirt that collected there - LOL!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...c3fcf41660.jpg

The good stuff or skunky stuff? :banger:

MudWaspSR5
If you need more POR15 let me know. I have a quart of semi-gloss black # 45404, 1 quart of top coat gloss black # 45804, and a quart of cleaner degreaser # 40104. All sealed and never opened
If anyone needs any of these just PM me. I bought it to do my frame but have since changed plans.

Just the gasket. No glue or liquid at all. No leaks detected at all thus far. Maybe if I put a pressure washer up to the gasket it could work its way under.

Late reply, sorry-

I'll have some updated pics on my windshield project at the end of this week. It's FINALLY out. My wife and I have been sharing my truck for the past few months after our VW ˟˟˟˟ the bed last spring. I had installed a new clutch in it last September and the clutch push-rod blew right through the gat-damn NEW chinesium thrust bearing plate in under 6,000 miles. And add to this the steering rack started having a major leak too. The car has 200k and should have just been towed to the junk yard at this point but we completely restored the interior 2 years ago, put in a nice stereo system, countless other upgrades, and did a full soup to nuts suspension rehab last year so I really had no choice but to fix it since we have been so heavily invested in the POS. So... I had to remove the transmission AGAIN.. as well the steering rack too which is an anodized aluminum German made ZF rack, not the cheaper metal TRW rack. And because of this, a remanufactured ZF rack is..get this..$500 vs the low $150 reman TRW, or...$50 ZF rebuild kit from Gates. I chose the Gates and rebuilt the thing which was not too difficult save for some bearings. And now I could give you a full dissertation on how rack and pinion steering works. Not that I wanted to!

Anyway, with that nightmare behind me I finally pulled out my windshield last week. I used the YouTube trick with 100lb braided fishing line and used some baby oil on the outer perimeter of the old butyl as lubricant. I have to say it works damn well as long as you carefully position the line on the rubber (aiming for a mid point). I wrapped a hand towel on my steering wheel, tied the line to it, then line goes out at the 8'clock position (viewed from front of truck), then wrap line under windshield, up drivers side, across top, down passenger, and then back inside ...making sure not to thread it under the first line! You need ~ 6 feet extra line inside, then tie the end to a 1" to 1.5" wooden dowel (cut to 10" long). Tightly wrap up all the slack around the dowel back to ~2ft and start pulling.

I found that keeping the dowel as close as possible to the windshield works best and was also trying to keep the line in a "U" shape around where it cuts the rubber / urethane, rather than an extended "L" which seemed to reduce the cutting ability and places more tension on the line. And I did break the line 4 times and had to start over, so I'd probably recommend 150lb test line (but no greater / no thicker as that would not help). Lastly, at no point did I have my face in the direction of the pull for safety and not wanting to potentially hit myself when the line may snap. The four corners are certainly the toughest. I also used some 1/4" wood dowel pieces to help maintain a gap as I went along (screwdrivers could work too). Once three sides were done (passenger, top, driver) it was really easy from there. My wife and I then switched methods and used a section of string with two dowels, thus her on the outside with one, and me still inside the truck to finish out the bottom. All in all I'd say maybe an hour and a half for full removal. I start cutting / sanding tomorrow evening.


***Also of very important note; I did have to remove the two interior pillar plastic trim pieces which requires the hand holds to be removed first. The OEM screws that hold them in use a green lock-tite and I was BARELY able to get them loose and I mean BARELY. They are pretty stripped and I thought I may have to dremel a slit in them to try and use a Flathead instead of the Philips. It took every muscle in me to get them loose and they were all difficult to the very last thread. I will replace them with Allen screws and certainly will not use any lock-tite. I also had to pull out the dash. This was not a huge issue for me and was in fact easy as most of it was already out because I did the clutch back in December and am doing other mods, so most of my interior was already out. There is a thin black metal band right against the windshield bottom that is held onto the firewall with 4 screws. In order to cut out the bottom butyl rubber (and to cut it flat / flush against the metal lip for grinding / prep), this trim piece has to be removed. Unfortunately the only way to remove it is.. yep, ...remove the dash. Luckily I have the OEM factory manuals which show the dash bolts. There are only like 4x 10mm bolts but all the surface screws for the dash have to come out first. Lucky for me I was already 90% prepped.

While I'm in there I'm also going to go ahead and remove the main cross support frame and central frame so that I can POR15 them too. They are lightly rusted so this is a perfect time to seal them up. On a final note I am also going to move my HVAC cables under the cross-support (stock is on top) because I want to move the HVAC controls lower so that I can install a double din stereo right under the air vents (thus ditching the pull out drink holder too). And yes, this will require a new custom console cover. I could place the stereo in the stock location but as you will notice with all new cars, the stereo is much higher to maintain better and much safer peripheral vision when looking at it. After noting the HVAC cables and how they connect, it will actually be very easy to move them and will NOT require any modifications to the cables at all. I was very very pleased to see that! I'm ordering a double-din from Xtrons next week. They are a highly regarded Chinese maker who makes stereos for many auto makers. Id love to have the $800 Pioneer unit but Xtrons has excellent units for half that.

Sorry for the essay guys but hopefully this may help some folks downwind.

What windshield?
 

What windshield did you use? Do you know either the part number or the NAGS number?

I got the gasket, but tried with a 471 and it did not fit.

I tried to install the gasket with the 471 windshield and it did not work. Every indication is that there were two sizes of windshields, as you suggest. One for glue-in (471) and one for gasket (and I do not have the NAGS number for that one).

The glue-in was used in the US and the gasket was used in pretty much everywhere else. I am wondering of I could find the smaller windshield in another market.

The Swiss 4-Runner didn't have the rubber, they had the trim.
All we need is a VIN from one of these vehicles?

This job is looking at me and saying: "You gonna fix me soon, right?"

Mod, please delete.

My swiss 4R has the metal trim also. If I remember correctly, the Toyota trucks sold in UK, Asia, Australia (the steering wheel in the other side) have the rubber gasket. A forum member got the rubber trim from an australian shop.
This one:
http://www.4x4world.com.au/shopping/...roduct_id=5996
I can't tell if our 4R windhields're the same size than the ones sold in those markets, I can't find the thread with the info.

Either the windshields are different or the gaskets are different. The 471 windshield is definitely too big for the gasket I got from toyheadauto.com. A person at toyotafiberglass.com tells me that the only way to make them work is to get out the grider. I am going to see if I can have it done or do it myself. Otherwise, I will have to have the windshield glued in.

That's a good thought. If I had a VIN from a vehicle (non-US 83-88) that used the gasket, I might be able to find the windshield.
Any help out there?
Otherwise, I know of no one who has actually made any gasket work on a US 84-88 windshield without trimming the windshield.
If anyone knows for certain, I would love to hear how.

I got a swiss 93 4runner 3vze. Would my vin help you?

Probably not, but... Does it have a gasket? If so, I would plug it in and see what I come up with for a windshield.

@depiante honestly, i am not sure what a gasket is with respect to a windshield. here, have a look, maybe you can see it :D

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.yot...a22a84259c.jpg

Okay, different windshield entirely. Before they started gluing windshields in, the window fit in a gasket and the gasket fit in the frame. Rear sliders are still often done that way.