By CHRISTOPHER HOWE on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 02:43 am: Edit

DOES ANYONE HAVE A CURE FOR ALPINE LIGHT WINDOW LEAKS?

By Joe LeGault on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 04:45 am: Edit

LR had a recall on the gaskets for the alpine windows but when I went to the dealer with my 96 they were going to charge me labor (a lot of labor) and would not just give me the gaskets. So I put I my rig in the garage at home, took out the interior trim panels, the gasket expander strips, the windows, and the gaskets. I spent a couple hours of cleaning all the parts. The big thing is I found corrosion under the gasket! Took my dremel with a fine sanding barrel and ground it down to metal (fortunately it wasn't very deep) sprayed it with some Extend then painted it. Allowed to dry and then put a bead of silicone on the body, installed the gasket, a bead in the gasket were the window goes, installed the window then the expander strip. 6 months later still no leaks. Hope this helps.
Joe

By Jeff Penrose on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 05:11 am: Edit

Joe

Not being a glass mechanic, how do you remove the glass and gasket?

I want to do this, but I want to know all the steps.

By Joe LeGault on Wednesday, March 28, 2001 - 05:50 am: Edit

Jeff

Unlike a windshield the alpine glass is not glued in so it is pretty easy to do.
You may be able to do this with out removing the interior trim but I removed it for easier access to the inside of the opening. The gasket around the window has an expander strip in it(these will not be the exact technical terms as I am just a DIY guy). It is about 3/8 of an inch wide and is in the middle of gasket and runs all the way around it. Look closely and you will see the two ends of it. With a small flat blade screwdriver pry up one end and simply, but gently, pull it all the way out. Once it is out you can pull the lip of gasket away from the glass, use your screwdriver again to pry under the glass (again gently) and just pull the glass out. The gasket will now come out of the opening in the body by just pulling it. If there is any corrosion you must deal with or it will cause you probs later and may keep you from getting a good seal. Take the gasket and clean the all the grooves real well. I used dish soap and water in my kitchen sink - my wife gives birth to a large mammal when I use the kitchen for truck parts :-) - Clean the glass and the body opening.
When installing, the only pain is the expander strip. They make a tool for this but I just the same screwdriver and a lot of patience. Except for the time to let the paint dry on mine, it took about about two hours per side. Let me know how it goes! Good luck
Joe