Thread: Windscreen leaks

I have exactly the same job to do on my Defender Maggsie, so I'd be interested in any replys to this too. Or for that matter, any other info you find on the task.


Paul [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

G'day, been watching this thread 'cos I know what its like waiting for a bit of feedback; hope this helps but its not exactly County stuff.

I rebuilt my Series III and from what I gather it's not too different to your County. I checked the 4WD cattledog as well and although the screen on yours is 1 piece the basic setup looks the same, they even have very similar clamps, so here goes. This works for a series III so ............

I assume you've got a hardtop?

Spray lots of wd40 around the external hinges for the screen. These are the bumpy things in the lower corners above the bonnet.

Back off all the mounting bolts holding the hardtop to the tub but no need to remove the bolts. About 1cm free play should be enough

Along the top of the screen will be a series of bolts attaching the screen to the hardtop. Remove these.

back off the lower nut on the screen clamps. These are the bolts with a top and bottom nut and usually a black dome top which live in the lower corners inside the screen

Once the lower is backed off, loosen the upper nut until the clamp slips out of its bracket. On the series this is simply 2 gal arms that run up the sides of the clamp bolt

wedge up the hardtop, starting just behind the driver's seat. This should clear the top of the screen from contact with the leading edge of the roof

carefully lean the windscreen forward. It's likely there will be resitance caused by rust in the hinges, adhesion to the old seal, and general landy accumulated crap. Just check the screen is clear all round and keep gently applying pressure, preferable by pulling from outside. A hefty push from inside may result in whats known as "a bad thing" if the screen suddenly lets go and crashes on to the bonnett or spare. All that glass is a pia to clean up.

Once the screen is flat on the bonnet, remove the old seal (mine stuck to the firewall so was a breaze to remove), clean well and refit the new seal

Reverse above procedure but be aware the angle of the screen will actually change a bit as you tighten the clamps, so keep an eye out that your seal hasn't been displaced. Tighten the top clamp nut first then the lower and keep an eye on the alignment with the holes in the roof. Its important to get the pressure right as this clamping down actually makes the seal work.

If when you look at your county this all sounds kosher, I reckon its only a couple of hours work even if the nuts and hinges are trashed. The only drama I had was my hinges were really bad but mine was an original 72 so it had olympic class crap everywhere

have fun