M-body windshield trim/seal removal?

[8v-of-fury]

I have a pretty gnarly leak going on at the top of the windshield. I think I need to at a minimum remove the chrome strip and apply some silicone around the windshield.

I didn't wanna start prying up stuff and possibly damaging things. Any ideas here?

 

[Master M]

I would get the trim removal tool. The end of it looks like an arrow. There is one on ebay. Search #321289598163 to see what it looks like. I removed all of my trim with a long ice pick tool and didn't do any damage. Look on ebay to see what the trim clips look like so you know how to release them from the trim.

 

[BudW]

Here is a couple of examples of windshield trim tools. There are other examples out there as well.

The big thing is to NOT GET IN A HURRY, when removing trim!

It is not uncommon for trim to be glued in place (with sticky rubber like material), so after they are unclicked, you still need to gently pull trim off (using a knife to cut the rubber strings, helps).

Marking the back side of trim as to which piece goes where, is helpful - if not reinstalling trim right away. A damp paper towel and a fine tip Sharpie works great for this.

Once trim is off, clean out all of the dirt/mud that is remaining (a water hose and bristled scrub brush helps). Then look for rust, particularly in area by the clips.

If “rust through” is present, the only fix is to fix it correctly – and that may some work/effort.
If “rust through” is present and is only patched over – the leak will come back very soon and will be a lot worse than it was before (and harder to fix)!

BudW

 

[Aspen500]

Yes, do not attempt removal without the trim removal tool. You WILL damage the trim piece, especially since they are aluminum.

The trick is to slide the tool under the trim until you feel a clip. Then get it hooked behind the clip and gently pull away from the trim and it will unhook. Do that for each clip. After the first couple, you'll get a "feel" for it.