Windshield Inside Garnish Moulding Removal

[Bingster]

I went to remove the interior garnish moulding surrounding the windshield, took out the screws and gently tried to see if it would budge.  It didn't.

 

The maintenance book says in its instructions to replace the windshield glass to remove the screws from the garnish moulding and remove the moulding.

 

I guess it must be stuck in there pretty good, and I was thinking that maybe the windshield rubber might be resting in a groove in the garnish moulding.  But after reading the manual, it seems like it should just pop off.

 

Anybody remove theirs?

[Joe Flanagan]

I removed mine a long time ago and if I recall correctly, I had to pry it off. I believe it does make contact with the windshield rubber, so it might be stuck along that surface. I had an advantage in that the car was completely trashed when I removed the garnish and it didn't matter if I slipped and dinged something up. I don't know if your interior is finished or what. If it is, you might want to use some masking tape around the dash, etc. and maybe see if you can get behind it with something like a piece of plastic. 

[Bingster]

My dash needs a lot of work, too.  It'll be next, but I want to have some concentrated time to remove it from what I learned on here.  I'll try to lube up the garnish with WD-40 and have a go.

[Oldguy48]

Bingster,

I don't recall having any problem removing the windshield garnish moulding from my P15. BUT...I did have a problem re-installing it. I had new windshield glass cut. New Steele rubber gasket. Installedthe new glass, and the garnish moulding. Snugged down the garnish moulding. Came back to the garage a bit later, and discovered a crack in the new passenger side glass. I guess the lesson here is to not get too aggressive when you tighten it down. In my case, I had the new (2nd time around) glass cut just a tiny bit smaller than the first one, as the first one did seem a little tight when we installed it. Since I had never done this before, I thought it would be OK. Anyway, when you replace the garnish moulding, tighten each screw a little at a time, and alternate the screws you tighten, much like tightening lug nuts on a wheel. And don't get too aggressive. At least that's been my experience. Good luck.

Wayne

Edited September 3, 2014 by Oldguy48

[casper50]

make a short hooked shaped piece of rod that will fit into a screwhole.  stick it in each and give a little tug.

[Bingster]

Thanks.  Yeah, my immediate thought was some sort of hook for the screw hole, but wasn't sure how sturdy the moulding was, if it would bend the metal.  I'll try it.

[Bingster]

I shot WD-40 around it, used a hook for the screw holes and managed to free the garnish moulding. It was a great feeling!  Thank God for the little things!

[casper50]

great stuff.  Always good when things go well.