Options for Insulating around window with drywall recess

Question

Hello wise and wonderful HI Community!

I need some help. I bought a house last year and noticed horrible drafts coming from the tracks between the upper and lower window panes. I dug in today expecting to just need some foam insulation but found something I wasn't ready for behind the trim. There is a metal stud that runs down the length of the window behind that there are two pieces of drywall that butt up. Behind the drywall that runs across the main wall there is a wooden stud, which is where the short (2.5") bit of drywall is placed to make the recess in the wall for the window. Typically, from what I understand about the process, you would spray the insulation foam in the cavity between the stud and window, where I have a piece of drywall. Do I have any options to fix this that won't require me to effectively reframe the window? Is there something else that I could be missing?

Here are some images to help show what I'm describing

Any help is greatly appreciated, my thanks in advance!

Answer 1

If you really want to get into it I would use spray foam, the limited expanding kind in the areas that are more than a quarter of an inch or so and then use caulking to fill in the rest. Then fix the drywall and reinstall the trim.

Answer 2

How far from the window is the stud? Maybe drill small holes in the drywall, inject minimal expanding (window & door safe) foam, then spackle over the holes. Of course, this isn't practical if the stud is more than 1-2" from the window.