DMage
05-24-2011, 04:01 PM
Issue: After 25 years of heat and weathering, the outer weatherstripping between the toll booth window and stainless looses its adhesion and allows water to enter. Mine was bad on both doors and during a rainstorm caused leaking on the inside of the car.
Parts needed:
New weatherstripping (optional [see below])
Window channel seal (optional)
Supplies needed:
Black super weatherstripping glue
Black RTV silicone sealant
Small flat bladed screwdriver
Regular flat bladed screwdriver
Glue remover
Paper towels
Step (1): Remove upper door panel, put window down, use regular size flat bladed screwdriver to pry in tabs holding weatherstripping in. You can easily reach either side by pushing the "v" notch in, but for the middle you will need to go from the outside down to bend the metal to allow the release.
Step (2): Clean up old glue with glue remover, use small flat bladed screwdriver to peel & scrape up silicone sealant between toll booth seal and regular window seal where the channel meets the panel (I know it rhymes).
Step (3): If you decided to buy new seals as I did to replace the weathered ones, or wish to reuse your old ones, you will still need to follow this step. Remove the old, aging, crappy 25 year old glue. If you have a new piece it may pull off with the tape as mine did, if you are reusing start scrubbing.
Step (4): Reglue the metal strip inside the weatherstripping U channel. This glue helps keep the rubber down as the window forces against it. As these parts seem to be assembled by hand, each has slight variances. Try to hold it up and estimate where the tabs will be and where the rubber will be. Since the channel where the metal can be is longer than the metal itself, you will want to measure as close as possible. It is possible to adjust once in the car, there is some play in the metal slats.
Step (5): After the metal has set in the weatherstripping, it is now time to reinstall it in the car. If you are replacing the window channel, pull out the old and insert the new one now. Align the weatherstripping and barely push the tabs into the door. Leave enough out so you can line it with glue. Go ahead and slap some weatherstripping glue on it now. Push it down and grab some towels. As you press, you will ooze some glue out. Don't worry, while it is still fresh its easy to remove. Even after it begins to harden it just balls up and off. Keep pushing force between the weatherstripping and the door until the stripping stops making bubbling noises (wet glue). Mine took about 20 minutes of holding until it set.
Step (6): Reapplying the silicone is not that hard. Grab a glass of water and some more paper towels. Using the nozzle that comes with the silicone at the small end makes this easier. Apply a generous amount squeezing as much as you can down into the cracks. Dip your finger in water and run it over the silicone to press it down/flatten it out. After every swipe of your finger, wipe it in a paper towel and re-dip. Since silicone and water do not mix, you keep from making a huge mess by dipping in water. Wipe up any spreading with a paper towel. If you did it as I did, the silicone will be pushed into the crack and not even with the rest of the rubber. That is OK. The goal with this first application is to fill in the cracks.
Step (7): After some time (preferrably 24 hours) go ahead again with more silicone, water, and towels and reapply silicone and even it out with the rest of the rubber. If you do a good job it will probably look 100x better than it did originally from the factory. You're done. Have a beer.
Notes: I removed my inside window felt bracket when doing the above job. This may have made it easier to remove and reinstall the weatherstripping.
Parts needed:
New weatherstripping (optional [see below])
Window channel seal (optional)
Supplies needed:
Black super weatherstripping glue
Black RTV silicone sealant
Small flat bladed screwdriver
Regular flat bladed screwdriver
Glue remover
Paper towels
Step (1): Remove upper door panel, put window down, use regular size flat bladed screwdriver to pry in tabs holding weatherstripping in. You can easily reach either side by pushing the "v" notch in, but for the middle you will need to go from the outside down to bend the metal to allow the release.
Step (2): Clean up old glue with glue remover, use small flat bladed screwdriver to peel & scrape up silicone sealant between toll booth seal and regular window seal where the channel meets the panel (I know it rhymes).
Step (3): If you decided to buy new seals as I did to replace the weathered ones, or wish to reuse your old ones, you will still need to follow this step. Remove the old, aging, crappy 25 year old glue. If you have a new piece it may pull off with the tape as mine did, if you are reusing start scrubbing.
Step (4): Reglue the metal strip inside the weatherstripping U channel. This glue helps keep the rubber down as the window forces against it. As these parts seem to be assembled by hand, each has slight variances. Try to hold it up and estimate where the tabs will be and where the rubber will be. Since the channel where the metal can be is longer than the metal itself, you will want to measure as close as possible. It is possible to adjust once in the car, there is some play in the metal slats.
Step (5): After the metal has set in the weatherstripping, it is now time to reinstall it in the car. If you are replacing the window channel, pull out the old and insert the new one now. Align the weatherstripping and barely push the tabs into the door. Leave enough out so you can line it with glue. Go ahead and slap some weatherstripping glue on it now. Push it down and grab some towels. As you press, you will ooze some glue out. Don't worry, while it is still fresh its easy to remove. Even after it begins to harden it just balls up and off. Keep pushing force between the weatherstripping and the door until the stripping stops making bubbling noises (wet glue). Mine took about 20 minutes of holding until it set.
Step (6): Reapplying the silicone is not that hard. Grab a glass of water and some more paper towels. Using the nozzle that comes with the silicone at the small end makes this easier. Apply a generous amount squeezing as much as you can down into the cracks. Dip your finger in water and run it over the silicone to press it down/flatten it out. After every swipe of your finger, wipe it in a paper towel and re-dip. Since silicone and water do not mix, you keep from making a huge mess by dipping in water. Wipe up any spreading with a paper towel. If you did it as I did, the silicone will be pushed into the crack and not even with the rest of the rubber. That is OK. The goal with this first application is to fill in the cracks.
Step (7): After some time (preferrably 24 hours) go ahead again with more silicone, water, and towels and reapply silicone and even it out with the rest of the rubber. If you do a good job it will probably look 100x better than it did originally from the factory. You're done. Have a beer.
Notes: I removed my inside window felt bracket when doing the above job. This may have made it easier to remove and reinstall the weatherstripping.