Is there a cheap way to seal the rear windshield?
 

i just need to keep the trunk from getting wet inside everytime it rains.

is there something i can put on the seals to make it watertight again?

Avoid silicone caulking. Some forms of that are prone to eating paint and/or causing rust. My '65 beetle had some of that on the door sills and windshield that had rusted out horribly and would have cost an absurd amount of money to fix (that car got sold...and last I heard was going to be a dune buggy).

I believe this is the MB part that was used from the factory. I think there's a procedure to inject it behind the weatherstrip after it's installed, but I am not 100% sure.

Pelican Parts - European Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche • BMW • Mercedes • Volkswagen • Audi • Saab • Volvo • MINI
(since that link is showing multiple items for some reason, the part number is 001-989-31-20)

the rusting is caused by silicone RTV that vent out vinegar when curing, I think your old bug had plumbers putty to seal the window rubber gaskets to the body.

Quite frankly, I would go to an auto glass shop and have them handle it. The few bucks you save by squirting something in there may not be worth it.
Anziani
'97 Cl600 56K

It vents vinegar? Very interesting. The bug might have had putty under the weatherstrip, but it definitely had a whole bunch of clear silicone on top of the weatherstrip to seal it too - obviously done by a previous owner. Those areas were completely rotten.
I don't remember seeing any sealant on my '74 superbug, though I think the weatherstrip had all been replaced at some point with the "cali" look stuff - no chrome. I had to replace it all again after I bought it. Ugh. I don't miss dealing with that car. Top tip folks, don't buy a car that's been sitting in a field with a couple windows busted out, and an overhaul engine. (Overhaul engine - you need to haul it from over there to over here with the rest of the car)

Butyl rubber sealant.

This is true. You can either spend $20 bucks every month or so to keep trying to rebandage it, or you can spend $150 and be good to go for many, many years.

*those prices are figuratively speaking*

Long time ago I had a freind who was a true VW bug maniac, I helped him put a lot of windows and he would be rolling the plumbers putty into a rope shape and stick it to the car then would come the window and rubber assembly to be pulled in. (I didnt know it was plumbers putty at that time - I discovered that here on this forum when whunter was replacing the glass on an older benz)

He also showed me that the black butyl tape used to seal windows and doorframes can also be used but is quite a messy job.


btw - you must have smelled this vinegar on some RTV tubes - like the bathroom sealant types.

Hmm,
RTV smells nasty to me, but I'd never associated that with vinegar. I avoid the stuff whenever possible because of that.

Butyl rubber can be had in caulking tubes but it never dries and is quite a mess sticking to everything. It does easily clean up with mineral spirits.

My choice for a removable repair is DAP brand Dynaflex 230 found at a home center. It can be had in clear / white / gray / almond / brown / black and maybe another color. This stuff isn't latex ( that dries hard ) or silicone ( that resists paint can never cleans off ) , it is more of a rubbery elastomer sealer. It cleans up easily and flows great.

It isn't rated for automotive use but I've used it all over a car since it is just like body seam sealer. At $ 4.50 a caulking sized tube , it's a great deal and works on houses too!

To answer your OP
 

NO.

There is no cheap and easy way. Your rear windshield will never seal using goop of any kind. The steel channel in which the original windshield seal seats is rusted through, a common condition in cars of our age.

The only cure is to remove the windshield and seal, rebuild the channel and reinstall with a new rubber seal. Any competent body shop can do it for less money than you think. I had it done on mine for a total of $300 plus the cost of the rubber seal. That includes paying a glass shop to R&R the rear windshield. I have a coupe and the rear glass is in short supply so I took no chances.

Any attempt to squirt goop in there is doomed to failure and will make a mess.

If the car is a good one .Go to a car window glass intaller .Remove it , and refit, and it wont cost the earth..Only down side may be , that its rusty after glass is removed .Then its a welding job. I was lucky with one car i had years back .Over here you could get ,now wait for it -- Captain Jacks Creeping Crack it came in a small tube ,white in colour. You just went around the window rubber with it . It was intended for caravans as they move around on the road it opened up the sealing at the joints.. This product worked for me. Do you have a caravan shop or recreation shop to ask about it.

The product is actually Capt. Tolley's
Creeping Crack Cure
It works and is available online.

I used a car cover for a few years on my sd. Cheap one...not waterproof. It just encourages the water to flow off the car.

My gasket was hardened and cracked. I finally pulled it and put another in. I had to rebuild the rusted metal a bit with JB weld and fiberglass. The new gasket went in with a cord and dish soap. It was easy. Not sure about a 190d.

The only special tool I bought was two of those double suction cup handles from harbor freight.

It is so worth not having the lake in the trunk. Just one afternoon.

Bought the OE gasket from pelican.

My post

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/344462-replaced-window-seal.html