Bad rust on the upper side of windshield - leaking

Today, in a heavy rain, I noticed some water drops coming down on the dashboard. Pulled over, took a closer look, water was coming from the upper edge of the windshield. Drove home, detached a bit the roof upholstery and found myself looking at ugly red rust right where the front edge of the roof gets a bit under the upper side of the windshield.


Outside of the car there's no obvious damage of the gasket on the upper side of the windshield but it looks like in a heavy rain water may be able to find a way in, particularly in the areas around the upper corners of the gasket.
I use the Jimny as an everyday car in a busy town that gets horribly crippled in bad weather, so I cannot really have it sit in a service for a few days, particularly with heavy rains outside and winter around the corner.

Is there any quick temporary fix that doesn't involve taking out the windshield, doing a proper job with the rusted spots and putting back the windshield? What I'm looking for is something that could take the car trough the winter, as In spring I'd have no problem letting the Jimny sit in a workshop for a few days.

Thanks a lot for any useful suggestion

I had similar to this on a Ford Cortina. There was a pinhole in the guttering allowing water to leak in and that caused a rust patch farther down. I found the leak and plugged it then dealt with the rust.

You could try some sealant piped in with a caulking gun from the inside. Nothing to lose.

Jimny windscreens are bonded in. The trim around the windscreen is just that, trim. It serves no real purpose. I'd be more concerned about the effect that the rust will have on the windscreen bond as the windscreen forms part of the structure and helps prevent cabin deformation in the event of a rollover it also helps keep the airbags where they need to be. If it comes out in the event of a frontal collision it will suck the airbags with it.

I also forgot to add the only way to truly stop the leak is to have the screen removed deal with the rust and refit the screen.

OllieNZ wrote: I'd be more concerned about the effect that the rust will have on the windscreen bond as the windscreen forms part of the structure and helps prevent cabin deformation in the event of a rollover.

Gosh worrying that. I think a lot of folks drive around with a lot worse. :laugh: