79 Dodge Truck Window Gasket?

I have a question regarding the front windshield gasket on 1979 Dodge Truck. I'm just wondering which brand is best to use with an aftermarket windshield? I've heard the NOS gasket may not fit the aftermarket glass as well? From what I've read the go to route on the gasket is the Steele brand? Can anyone confirm if that gasket is as good as the NOS piece? Thank you in advance.

I bought a new windshield from LMC and had a reputable company do the re-seal and it leaked like a sieve. It hasn't been very long but I can't remember the brand of seal already...too much going on. But it felt very thick and supple and I believe it might have been from LMC also. So THEN I read that it might have been the glass itself so too late. Company came out and tried it round two with a new seal, also can't remember brand but different brand, neither were Mopar nor were lock strips. Still haven't gotten truck wet yet and it's probably been a year. I'll have to look at receipts to know the brand but both seals seemed very good quality with nice groove for lock strip. I really do wonder now about the aftermarket glass thickness because that seems more like the problem than anything.

If I had it to do all over again I'd try and find a NOS windshield or have kept my original despite some delamination. Also wish I had compared my old one with new one (windshields for thickness) but never thought of that and discarded the old one immediately.

My truck: '79 Power Wagon

I think Precision makes all the windshield gaskets sold by others except the Steele Rubber gasket. The Precision gasket seems to be too small for the opening and is a super PITA to install and has to be sealed to the frame with non hardening sealer and to the glass with a hardening sealer. The Precision brand gasket can be found for as cheap as $35. I've only heard of one report about the Steele gasket as it's a newer offering and it was good but the reviewer was not the installer. The Steele gasket is $200 though.
If you go that route please report back on it. I'm tempted to buy one for when I do my 74 this summer but at $200 I'm hesitant.

Okay now that you remind me I'm pretty sure at least one of mine was a Steele and I will pull the receipt asap. I don't remember paying $200 though I seem to remember paying $100. I just got to get a few to pull my folder!

I just went on their site 2 days ago, $198 and some change. Steele Rubber

Yeah maybe I did pay that or they went up. I'm just chiming in at work whenever I have a minute so my receipts are at home. You're right, I had a steele and a precision though. You jogged my memory. Again, I'm guessing the glass may have been the issue with my first one and I still haven't gotten the truck wet for attempt two.

I have precision stuff for doors and windows too. Just haven't gotten around to it.

Thank you both. The Steele gasket is indeed $200+ unfortunately. I've heard the quality for the Precision stuff is hit and miss. As far as the windshields are concerned, I haven't seen a NOS unit thus far. My understanding is that the factory glass in the later trucks 81+ (maybe?) have thicker glass due to federal safety standards. I know someone else on another forum mentioned the Fairchild brand worked for them. Anyways, I'm just debating which way to go. I hate spending the money for the gasket but, if it works better with the aftermarket windshield that's the way I'll go. Thank you all again.

Yeah I'm sure a NOS windshield will be tough. Would they be the same through '93


I had to spend on two windshield gaskets with the leaking on the first try, $300 for the new windshield because I thought it was the right thing to do since I was getting it re-sealed anyway and it was starting to delaminate in corners (before I realized there was a possible issue with thinner glass on new ones) and the $150 I paid the company to seal the glass. So I'm at LEAST $850 in and I don't think this included the two lock strips AND I still don't know if it's sealed because I haven't got it wet. I am afraid to. I don't want to know.

72-93 is the same. Precision has a video on you tube that shows how to replace the gasket on the Dodge. You can see what a pain it is.

This is pretty much the exact method the installers used on my truck. The only difference I can see is they used a mechanical sealant gun not manual.

I need all the rubber for my 85. I have a (used)factory slider window to put in among other things, my particular slider is out of a 91-93 truck. I now have a solid back window that I want to see changed out.
I have the gasket that came with the slider but no lockstrip.
If I remember right the factory slider window takes a different weatherstrip than the aftermarket sliders do.
I got a Steele rubber catalog strictly geared towards 72-93 dodge trucks, they sent it to me earlier this year. I'd like to replace all of the rubber weatherstrip on mine. Til I saw their pricing YIKES
I replaced the door weatherstrip on my old 83 D250 probably 15 years ago, don't remember what brand I used. They fit good, I was a little apprehensive about them at first when I pulled them out of the box and saw "made in India" on them.
I do have a set of new wing window weatherstrip that I got from ebay sometime last year. Haven't put them in yet.
I do have to swap out the passenger side door as it is quite beat up, and since I have spare doors it's faster and easier to swap out than to reskin (do they even do that anymore?) or try to pound all the dents out of the original one.

i just had a new w/s put in my 91 d150. my glass company sold it to me for 165.00 installed. i supplied the w/s. from a place volaredon does not like(lmc. sorry don). it has not leaked. i used all lmc rubber on this truck. the front lock strip is even from lmc. i drove to there as we were on vacation anyway and dropped 1k on stuff from them. so far so good.

Yes the factory slider rear window has a unique gasket. The aftermarket ones use the same gasket as the plain glass. The lock strip for the original gasket shouldn't be anything special tho.
I ran across an aftermarket slider I liked in a junk yard several years ago and got it for this very reason, in case I couldn't find the proper gasket if I ever need it.

Thank you all. I believe the seals sold from LMC come mainly from Precision. From what I gather on the lockstrip I've heard they are somewhat different from manufacturer to manufacture. So, for example if you use the Steele gasket then you want to use the Steele branded lockstrip. Regarding, the slider I've read somewhere that one from a 1992-1996 Ford F150 or the aftermarket version for those years of Ford will fit in these trucks as well?

Yes the Ford gasket fits the solid window, one piece gasket, no lock strip, but the Dodge slider gasket is different, and different from the aftermarket slider.

No problem there, if they work for you hey great/ I just don't like being lied to in that "your catalog is on its way" that they knew didn't exist at the time, plus the fact it was all automated/couldn't talk to a real live person and the fact that Dodge's in general get no representation no respect. For too long LMC didn't even acknowledge that our trucks even existed, just like why can places like NPD offer parts for everyone but those of us that drive Dodge's, and those companies that do offer "a little" for our vehicles can split up GMs and Ford's model by model and sometimes a certain model by different year ranges then they lump what little they might offer for Chrysler products into 1 catalog that is half the thickness of what (for example) what they offer for 70-72 Chevelle's let alone all the rest of the Chevelle years, and what they do for Chevys in general and then again split from what the rest of GM built?
And the truck parts places that go bonkers on Chevy and Ford trucks, you know the ones, you could build a truck from their pages yet us Dodge guys barely even exist.....

I'm 54 and have had lots of Dodge's over the years and have never owned a GM Ford or import in my life, but struggle to find comparable parts that are readily available to those idiots/ and when I do find em, they cost 3x the price, seemingly common stuff that GM and Ford guys seem to be able to pull out their azz on demand.

Screw them, why can't us Dodge guys have our own versions of places like brothers truck parts or NPD?

Well anything close is LMC but they lac a lot of other stuff that is readily available brand X. $$$ is the reason, Not enough of us restoring old Dodge trucks to make money. I would love to see one those "Garage Squad" type shows have to do a old 70's Dodge pick up and have to beg barrow steel and make parts work because parts are not available. But than again they couldn't do that because their sponsors only sell parts for Cheby and Furd.

Yes too many Chebby sheep out there blindly following.

But, even then some of the reproduction stuff for both Ford and GM is garbage as well if not more than we all think. They have options for more mechanical stuff for sure and body stuff. But, anyways thank you all again. I think I might go with the Steele gasket as this point.

I would be really interested to know how that gasket fits. If you do get it could you place it into position when the windshield is out and see if it fits in the frame well and report back please? I don't mind spending the money on it if it fits better than the too small Precision gasket. I and many others would greatly appreciate it.

"i just had a new w/s put in my 91 d150. my glass company sold it to me for 165.00 installed". So your glass company sold you the windshield or you got it from lmc? Sorry I'm confused where you got the windshield.

It sounds like they sold him the gasket with installation for $165 and he supplied the glass. Glass guys can buy the Precision gasket for about $30. Should tell you all you need to know.

Sorry for the delay in my reply. I will warn you and say it will be a while before I get around to the windshield but, I will update this thread when I'm able do get to it unless someone else has one already installed? You're not the only person I've heard say that the Precision gasket is too small.

I had already bought a precision from LMC for the 80 model I was building, the local windshield company said no big deal we’ll knock that off the price…the first windshield cracked in the upper drivers side corner, they blamed my LMC gasket being to small said if I wanted them to install the next windshield I would have to use their gasket to which I agreed…installer shows up with the second windshield and a precision gasket…lol…and proceeds to break windshield #2 in the passenger top corner…windshield #3 finally gets installed by 2 installers using a precision gasket with no mishaps…

Any idea what brand windshield? There's been the question of whether they are too thin. And sorry for your bad luck but it does make me realize we all have these bad situations, not just me

No, sorry, it was provided by the local windshield company and I never thought to ask who their supplier was

I believe metro makes their own truck window gasket and also make the lock seal to. Might be worth looking into.


Metro truck rubber window seals

Ok thanks. I'm really concerned now with the comments I've read on new glass being to thin and beginning to think there's something to that. So sorry I tossed my original glass from my '79 PW since it was delaminating. Had I known I would have checked it's thickness.

Edit: Hey does yours have a brand in the corner? I don't know if they do that on these older ones. Thanks!

So who makes a thick, factory dodge truck windshield? I wonder if AMD makes one.

That's the million dollar question now. Forget about finding a NOS one.

Here’s a pic of the windshield info

Great thank you!

New replacement windshields are thinner because of the way they are made these days. In the olden days the ancients sandwiched plastic between two pieces of glass and heat bonded them. Today the next generation "laminated" glass is one piece of glass that is coated. That is why you should never use a razor blade on a new windshield. OEMs started using this manufacturing technique to save weight and money. In all reality though the difference is minimal and nothing some sealer can't overcome.

At least that is what I've heard...

Thank you all. Depending on the application. I've heard Metro Seals can be iffy as well but, I don't know and I did think about them as well.

Interesting