I need to remove the plastic/rubber seal piece that goes around the rear glass of my Tercel - it's one very long continuous piece from what I can see.
My question: Is this piece salvagable? Will I be able to remove it without destroying it? I'm taking it out because I have a water leak that (probably because of rust in a gutter under the seal) but I want to know if I should have a replacement seal on stand-by when I try to take it off.
Also, is it easy to remove? I've pulled up a bit of it without it becoming unattached to the car but I hesitated to pull it right out until I could seek some advice.
Yes you should have a replacement ready. Consider that rubber doesn't last forever and that's almost 20 years. Penetrating oil such as WD40 will help loosen the old seal but don't get any on the new seal.
It can be easy to remove, and it can be a total pain in the ass. It depends on how dry it might be.
If you start in the upper corner (either side) and push the glass out while working the seal out from around the window frame, you should be able to get it out OK without tearing it. It's a bitch to get started, but once it starts to come out, it should come out pretty easily.
It's been years since I took a window out. Maybe you need to be on the inside pushing out at a corner, while a helper is on the outside carefully prying the rubber free from the glass. I think this way is the way to go, not the other way I said. Try both, one or the other will become apparent as the right way without too much trouble.
Frankly, if you have a leak, you probably need a new gasket. You may find serious rot on the car too, and there is no gasket that will fix this. You may find that you have to rebuild a section of sheet metal with a product like JB Weld.
When putting the glass back in, you'll need lots of soapy water in a spray bottle and a very strong but thin string Set the gasket in place first, then put the string inside the gasket where the glass goes, then hold the glass in place from the outside while carefully pulling the string out. The string will lift the gasket over the edge of the glass so that the glass can slip into its slot in the gasket. Soapy water will dry and help the gasket to stick to the glass, and rubber that is stuck to the glass is your biggest problem when taking the glass out.
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