Questionhi and merry xmas:
I have water leaks from front winshield, rear window, doors, all over need help bad thanks
AnswerHey, Mike!
This is SUCH a broad question that I'll give you a general answer, but I'll warn you off the bat that you're in for some work, first taking care of the obvious stuff, then when it's still leaking after that (and it will!), tracking down the remaining leaks and eliminating them one by one. The materials to do this will not be cheap, and much of this--windshield and rear window (technically called a backlight) must be done when they are absolutely dry, or they will immediately begin to leak again, and your time and money will have been wasted.
Windshield and backlight: This car uses the old, separate gasket-type method of installing windshields and backlights. Newer cars (beginning in the early '70s) use a butyl rubber tape which is first installed on a lip on the body pinchweld around the openings, upon which the glass is "bedded", or laid. The butyl is in its "raw" state, uncured, and once it's put onto the lip and the windshield laid upon it, a seal is made and the butyl then cures from contact with the oxygen in the air, over a period of several days.
The gasket-type installation uses a rubber gasket that is fitted to the body or windshield first (depending upon the car) and then a pre-fitted cord is pulled around the perimeter, pulling the lip around the remaining edge, which, with a bit of careful force applied, pulls the entire piece of glass into the opening. This can be easy or tricky--every installation is different. Usually a sealant is applied, too, and this can dry out, or the rubber itself can succumb to ozone and harden and crack. This has no doubt happened to your Chevelle if the gasket is more than 10 years old. If it's the original gasket, look for checking (vertical gaps in the gasket) and if you see checking, you will probably have to replace the gasket--time spent trying to seal this will be wasted.
If it's a matter of resealing the glass, you can use a 3M sealant, part #3M8551, which costs about $25.00 per large tube, is transparent, and adheres well to glass, rubber, and metal. But, as I mentioned, all surfaces must be dry, and the area where the glass contacts the rubber gasket must be dry too, which takes at least a week of sun and no rain. Then you can apply the sealer around the perimeter of the glass where it contacts the rubber. This will cure the worst of your dripping, but you might find that the seal between rubber and body sheet metal is leaking, too, and this is often tough to get at. You can pry the rubber away slightly using a thin wooden wedge and squirt the sealer in there. Wipe excess away and clean up with some 3M Adhesive Cleaner.
I'm not sure what you mean by "doors"--whether it's door glass or door weatherstripping around the openings. Either way, you're going to be looking for window rubber, door rubber, or both. This runs into serious money--about $300+--for parts alone, and will take a weekend or more to install properly. Try these folks for the rubber weatherstripping kit for your Chevelle:
http://www.chevelle.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=63_156
So, if you're contemplating a dry car, this is your route. If you have plans to restore the car, this step is one of the last, so if you need a driver now, be aware that you will have to do this all over again if you're doing a frame-off restoration!
Good luck and happy holidays!
--Paul
