Pulling the windshield - what to waterproof?

I am pulling all the glass/doors off my beater XJ. Looking to waterproof the dash somewhat, as it will sit in the elements. Not looking to spend a lot of time/money on this, so I just want to know what is the most susceptible to water entry. Thanks.

possibly the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. it would be one thing if you had broken all the glass out of your beater. but intentionally remove it. stupid

Not really. The windshield corners are one of the places to look for leaks. Also pull the fenders to reseal the seam below windshield corners as the old sealer has dried out and cracked. Got to fix those leaks before adding metal.

Without a windshield you will want to keep it out of the rain with a tarp or something. It would be just about impossible to seal everthing well enough to not have issues if it is subjected to being directly rained on. Maybe you could try applying some Thompson's water seal with a sprayer liberally on the dash and around it. That might help. The interior metal surfaces are not rustproofed in any significant way so maybe spraying up under the dash would help too. You will want to make sure there are good drain holes in he floor boards, they tend to rust out even if they don't have water sitting in them.

wishihad1 said:

possibly the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. it would be one thing if you had broken all the glass out of your beater. but intentionally remove it. stupid

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I intentionally removed mine. Maybe I should call someone tomorrow and have them put it back in. I'll tell them someone on the internet said it was stupid. Thanks.

I ran windshieldless for a coupe years, it sucked. if you have the option to have a windshied keep it. All the other glass get rid of.

wishihad1 said:

possibly the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. it would be one thing if you had broken all the glass out of your beater. but intentionally remove it. stupid

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It's a "race truck", plus the windshield is already cracked. I might just pull the dash and see what's exposed. I was just looking for obvious items, like ECU and the like...

ECU is under the hood and waterproofed on 91 and later vehicles. What year is yours? Looks like early to mid 90s?

Stuff to worry about -
- brake light switch - not much to be done here, don't drown it
- HVAC controls, etc
- radio, if kept
- TCU if auto, it's under the lower dash on the passenger side.
- instrument cluster probably won't be too happy about lots of water.

wishihad1 said:

possibly the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. it would be one thing if you had broken all the glass out of your beater. but intentionally remove it. stupid

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You're irrelevant to this conversation.

dennisuello said:

I am pulling all the glass/doors off my beater XJ. Looking to waterproof the dash somewhat, as it will sit in the elements. Not looking to spend a lot of time/money on this, so I just want to know what is the most susceptible to water entry. Thanks.

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I honestly wouldn't worry about it. I don't drive in the rain all too often but haven't had any issues when I do. One thing I will say, driving in the rain without a windsheild sucks but when it's dry it is way better than having a windsheild. The dust doesn't swirl around the cab and you can actually see and breathe.