Exterior trim seals

[FundamentalyConfused]

Has anyone had the pleasure of replacing the 4 exterior seals in the roof trim pieces?

How much of a pain the ass was it?

[Legacy777]

Are you talking about the seals around the windows just below the black trim pieces?

[FundamentalyConfused]

Just below the black trim pieces. I think you have to take the A pillar covers off to get at them but I'm not sure how to take the covers off without damaging anything. None of the service manuals or my Haynes manual covers this.

I attempted to take apart the exterior trim on a 91 legacy wagon that was in the junkyard and I ended up tearing the door seals and bending the shit out of the metal trim pieces. I never did figure out how to take off the A pillar covers.

I am not looking forward to this project but I am getting really sick of my drivers seat getting wet when it rains.

[oldscoobyturbo]

there are screws that are covered by the door seals that hold those trim parts in place
I think I have a set of them new unwrapped I'll check it out and if so I'll take pics and post them here

[FundamentalyConfused]

So are the black plastic pieces that cover the A pillar and has the weatherstripping that touches the windshield clipped onto the metal trim part?

[Legacy777]

No, they are screwed into the A pillar. I've watched the guys who replaced my window get at these screws. You need to peel the window/weather stripping back a bit to get at the screws.

[FundamentalyConfused]

So I went through the process of taking off all the driver side trim to clean out the drain channel and only had a few issues to deal with, which still need fixing but it's back together for now.

1. I broke a couple, 2 out of 5 I believe, of the yellow clips that border the windshield and the rear quarter glass. These help hold down the front A pillar cover and the rear quarter glass cover. It didn't affect reassembly too much but if more break next time round the trim wont hold down.

2. The rear quarter glass cover needs replacing. Theres 5 fastening points along the glass edge and 2 of mine are broken. The top one and the bottom one. The bottom one was already broken from the last guy who worked on it but I broke the top one because I don't have any idea how this one comes out. *upon further research I believe this one has a nut under the interior trim panel that I didn't know about*

3. All the rubber edging seals have succumbed to age. I attempted to fab some new rubber edges with some garage door seal but that was a huge fail from the start. Wrong glue, wrong angles, wrong idea from the start. I didn't want to spend $36+shipping for some rubber edging but it seems that's what I'll have to do to make it right.

4. I broke the rear quarter glass trying to pry out the top fastener that broke off the cover piece. It's now covered, inside and out, in a layer of duct tape that is holding it from falling apart. I got lucky somehow that it didn't fall apart when it broke.

I did find a large clump of debris built up under the front cover that was probably blocking water from draining that way but that didn't solve my water leak problem. I'm convinced now that the rust along the top of the windshield is where my water leak is from. Someone put some silicone down in the top crack but there's still water coming in.

[Legacy777]

Yeah, that rear quarter trim is very commonly broken due to the nut on the inside behind the trim not being removed.