Door seal mod with product from Lowes

[stevedmc]

Like many people I got tired of having problems with my door seals. On the old forum I read of a modification where you use two seals instead of the expensive seals the vendors are selling. This credit goes out to Jack.

Jack was using window trim for the inside seal and door molding from a hardware store to fit the door. I didn't like the window trim idea because it didn't do a very good job at covering where the headliner meets the fiberglass.

Here is my idea which is basically a modified version of Jack's mod. This mod relies on you having torn or worn out vendor door seals that need replacing anyway.

I had a set of door seals from Hervey which were starting to wear out. His door seals are great but over time they can separate. What I mean by this is his consists of rubber that is glued to a metal trim. Over time the rubber will separate from the trim.

What I did is I took his seal and simply pulled the foam off of the trim. Yes you heard me right. I destroyed it for this mod (they were torn up anyway). Then I simply put the trim back on the car as it originally was.

Next I went down to Lowe's and bought a pack of door seal for $4.88. It is dirt cheap and if I remember correctly, one pack is enough to do both doors.

The door trim I got at Lowe's was a little too wide for my needs so I used a pair of scissors to cut it down the middle. The resulted in two door seals for the price of one.

Now just put the product from Lowe's directly onto your doors. It has a self adhesive that works nicely. You will have to eyeball where it goes. Don't worry if you mess up. It is only $4.88 a roll!

Now this is my favorite part. If the foam isn't making a seal with the trim it is very easy to adjust. Simply lift the trim up from the car and when you shut the door the door seal will push the trim into the correct position. If you ever need to adjust it again you can simply pull the trim up a little in the needed spot. Of course you could also go back to Lowe's and find a thicker door seal if needed but it is so easy to adjust by moving the position of the trim.

Hopefully my instructions are easy enough to understand but just in case they aren't attached are plenty of pictures.

[stevedmc]

Well today we had a hard rain and I noticed a small leak in one corner. I just doubled that spot (which is a total of nearly 1 inch thickness) with door seal and all seems to be fine.

I am thinking of trying a thicker door seal from McMaster. They have 25' rolls of 1" thick door seal for about $20. I'm going to give this product a try and let everyone know how it works.

Item # 8694K52 on www.mcmaster.com

[Farrar]

Nice going, Steve! I'll probably end up doing something similar when my doors start leaking. I always thought the "two-part seal" thing was pretty slick.

Farrar

[stevedmc]

Here is a quick update on the McMaster part # I provided earlier. Basically, don't use it! It is too firm of a material and the doors will not close with it installed. I am guessing either a softer seal or a seal not as thick would work. For now I am just going to stick with the lowes product.

[Farrar]

That's good to know -- I still occasionally get drips of water in my footwells after a really hard rain. Time for me to go to Lowe's!

Farrar

[stevedmc]

If your "stock" door seals are still intact you could probably leave them installed and install a thinner piece of weather stripping on the doors as well. In my opinion that would be the ultimate way to keep water out.

[congerz83]

Like many people I got tired of having problems with my door seals. On the old forum I read of a modification where you use two seals instead of the expensive seals the vendors are selling. This credit goes out to Jack.

Jack was using window trim for the inside seal and door molding from a hardware store to fit the door. I didn't like the window trim idea because it didn't do a very good job at covering where the headliner meets the fiberglass.

Here is my idea which is basically a modified version of Jack's mod. This mod relies on you having torn or worn out vendor door seals that need replacing anyway.

I had a set of door seals from Hervey which were starting to wear out. His door seals are great but over time they can separate. What I mean by this is his consists of rubber that is glued to a metal trim. Over time the rubber will separate from the trim.

What I did is I took his seal and simply pulled the foam off of the trim. Yes you heard me right. I destroyed it for this mod (they were torn up anyway). Then I simply put the trim back on the car as it originally was.

Next I went down to Lowe's and bought a pack of door seal for $4.88. It is dirt cheap and if I remember correctly, one pack is enough to do both doors.

The door trim I got at Lowe's was a little too wide for my needs so I used a pair of scissors to cut it down the middle. The resulted in two door seals for the price of one.

Now just put the product from Lowe's directly onto your doors. It has a self adhesive that works nicely. You will have to eyeball where it goes. Don't worry if you mess up. It is only $4.88 a roll!

Now this is my favorite part. If the foam isn't making a seal with the trim it is very easy to adjust. Simply lift the trim up from the car and when you shut the door the door seal will push the trim into the correct position. If you ever need to adjust it again you can simply pull the trim up a little in the needed spot. Of course you could also go back to Lowe's and find a thicker door seal if needed but it is so easy to adjust by moving the position of the trim.

Hopefully my instructions are easy enough to understand but just in case they aren't attached are plenty of pictures.

Steve, there is rain expected in the tri-state the next couple of days. I cannot make out the dimensions of the Lowes weather-stripping. I want to buy some today...

[stevedmc]

It's 3/8 x 1.25 inches. Whatever you buy doesn't have to be exact an if this isn't thick enough you can layer one over the other.

[stevedmc]

Keep this in mind as well if you buy what is in the picture:

"The door trim I got at Lowe's was a little too wide for my needs so I used a pair of scissors to cut it down the middle. The resulted in two door seals for the price of one."

You can either buy what I purchased and cut it or simply do some math and buy whatever the right size is (hint: it would be about half the width of what is in the picture).