[Richie09]

Found water on the floor, then, later damp map in glove compartment,so I went to auto glass place in Wilbraham, MA. Father and son operation, nice people, anyways Keith said that the rubber seal piece that wraps around the glass is a poor design (vs. the chrome type from earlier models) as it is difficult to make a good seal to the body.
Now, my Cherokee is very clean, no rust issues, but the soapy spray stuff applied around the windshield rubber and air pressure applied inside the dash area resulted in clearly showing that the glass was not sealed at the bottom . He also said that he found no issues with how the glass was replaced previously, as he had to take it out and I did tell him not to take any shortcuts to fix this i.e.; injecting sealer and crossing fingers.
I am telling you all this because it sounds like an experianced XJ windshield guy is necessary to do this job. He also said that using the earlier chrome type would not work with this car, so upgrading to that was not an option.
$162 with new glass.

[sprintagogo]

He might be getting this wrong as the rubber or chrome trim is just that, a trim. The glass is actually bonded (glued) directly to the body/window aperature and it is the integrity of that bonding that is the key to water tightness.

[Richie09]

Now I was not watching him (too many '40s hot rod mags in office) but said the rubber is what has to be bonded to the frame. Actually.....
This is good exersize for me as I need to signup with Adobe so that I can attach PDF files to emails. So, I have pulled up my CD service manual of the Cherokee, page 8 of fixed glass replacement procedures shows rubber is wrapped around the glass edge and rubber is what is glued to what it refers to as the cowl.
Possibly older style Cherokee that had the chrome glued the glass directly to the frame (cowl).

[sbxj]

The shop owner's not saying the chrome trim has anything to do with the seal, just that the gasket was better on the pre-97' Jeeps. I have no problem believing that.
so your windshield was replaced before? They probably did a lousy install.
When I had a new windshield installed I also got a free whistle....LOL
they fixed it

[Richie09]

Bought this just this past June from a dealer, but it was not an origional windshield that was replaced the other day.

[AZ Jeff]

As others have said, the gasket on the 97+ XJ plays NO PART in the watertight integrity of the windshield to the body. It is ONLY cosmetic. Proper use of URETHANE ADHESIVE is what attaches and seals the glass to the body.

[ehall]

the chrome trim (which was actually polished aluminum) did not have a gasket, it just clipped onto some posts

thanks for trying to share helpful info but in this case the original source is a poor source