maccavvy

Yes on the frame. There's a join on the top..it can leak through there

paker

I thought the whole surround was one piece. My previous attempt was no good and I had to do it twice within a week. (I am still waiting for rain). I never noticed it was made up of 2 pieces. Maybe different years, different design. Mine is 97 regular cab. What is yours?

I thought surround seal was as simple as glass seal. Glass seal is basically a continuous layer of butyl rubber rope. The only potential trouble would be that the glass was not lifted all the way up so that the top notches did not match the positioning tabs of the surround. If mismatched, still leak probability is low.

Surround has 14 screws mating with 14 openings (holes to cabin). Each screw has a rubberized washer. Mine got hardened/crushed from age. Initially, I put a 4 mm silicone foam over each washer. It was too thick or too stiff. Gap between glass and cabin sheet metal became too far. Water leaked. A lot. I had to replace 4 mm silicone foam with 2 mm soft foam.

There are 2 additional plastic tabs. I wish Ford didn't put them there. They are for positioning. What makes it worse is that the mating holes don't go all the way into the cabin. So I could not tighten them from inside. Original seals deteriorated. Initially I put a 4 mm silicone foam. Not good enough. I had to replace it with a 5 mm soft EPDM foam. I am still waiting for rain.

If your surround is not leaking, leave it alone. If you remove it for painting or leak repair, spend time to seal the screws and tabs right. Don't do it twice like me.

akdoggie

Sliders are very apt to crack when removing them right above both sides of the center panel at the top. I posted pictures in another thread on this problem. That is the weak point on the slider. On the regular window, there is a narrowing area on both sides of the top of center. They can crack on either or both sides of center. Ford supposedly had the frame redesigned, but I don't see what is different. I had both in front of me this spring when I put in mine. It might be a plastic polymer difference. Who knows.