New door seals...doors VERY hard to close....sit out

[knac1234]

All,

I am going nuts over this. When doing the work on my S3, I purchased all new riveted on seals. The doors stick out quite a bit (not flush), and are VERY hard to close.

I have tried adjusting the striker for hours on end, looking in through the window and making sure the door handle latch lines up.

Any clues? This is frustrating. I can live with the gap, but the doors barely latch shut and sometimes pop open.

Thanks,
Julian

[SafeAirOne]

I have the same issue to an extent. If you're not already using them, I'd recommend the anti-burst door latches and strikers. They do a much better job of pulling the door in when latched.

[knac1234]

Mark,

That was quick!

Yes, it has the antiburst latches. I've tried adjusting the striker in, out, up and down! Drilled the hole larger to assist in further movement of the striker, but doesn't help much.

Is there an alternative to the riveted seals (other than what I've heard about Defender ones involving grinding lips off)??

Where the riveted seals overlapped, I carefully cut off the metal parts that overlapped, so just rubber overlapped. Helped a bit, but still in the same boat.

Thanks,
Julian

[TedW]

Julian:

I installed the (Genuine) Defender door seals on my 1970 IIA. Didn't need to grind or cut anything. They went on snug in a few places, but no biggie. Fit is very nice.

Perhaps the SIII is a bit different?

Email me if you wish to discuss.

Ted

[knac1234]

Well, I removed the door tops to see if that was where the excess pressure on the seals was. Not at all.

So, I removed, one at a time, the bottom door seals. All ended up coming off. Adjusted the striker. The door now closes perfectly. Did this on the passenger side afterwards. I will say there is some relief in this observation of good shut lines and proper locking. I had visions in my head that somehow the rear tub panels I replaced were off or perhaps the aftermarket doors were. Glad to see that was not the case!!

It looks like I am going to come up with a creative solution for seals. The rubber and metal riveted ones just do not give enough. I will drive it maybe tomorrow down to an automotive supply store that has weatherstripping I might glue in place. Or, worst case scenario, get some thick weatherstripping from Home Depot. At this point, I've tried going the stock (and expensive) route. Now I am looking at something different.

Ted.....if none of this works, I will chat with you about the Defender seals. I did look up this conversion, but everywhere I read about it there is grinding of the lip required. Perhaps yours was done by a PO??

Thanks,
Julian

[bpj911]

I didn't grind mine either

Doesn't seem to be necessary. Just push them on hard.

[TedW]

Ted.....if none of this works, I will chat with you about the Defender seals. I did look up this conversion, but everywhere I read about it there is grinding of the lip required. Perhaps yours was done by a PO??

Nope. There are some tight spots - you just need to push them on snug, like bpj says. They are pretty stout, and once they are on they are on.

[knac1234]

Great info. I couldn't bring myself to attempt grinding!

Might be a plan.....will see how tomorrow goes.....

Julian

[jac04]

You may want to try something like this:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Metro-7-8-x-3-4-in-x-8-ft-bulb-style-adhesive-backed-weatherstripping/_/N-25r3?counter=0&filterByKeyWord=MW+78348&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=267100_0_0_

I used it to make door seals for my Lightweight. Quality seems very good, it is available locally & reasonably priced.

[TedW]

You may want to try something like this:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Metro-7-8-x-3-4-in-x-8-ft-bulb-style-adhesive-backed-weatherstripping/_/N-25r3?counter=0&filterByKeyWord=MW+78348&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=267100_0_0_

I used it to make door seals for my Lightweight. Quality seems very good, it is available locally & reasonably priced.

That stuff looks pretty good!

[knac1234]

Again, thanks! Autozone is in town, so that might save a 40 mile trip to the Springs. Will check it out

Julian

[jac04]

Here's the stuff in real life:

[SafeAirOne]

Here's the stuff in real life:

I was considering replacing my riveted seals with the tubular seal you show in the pics, but I had concerns about how well it'd stay stuck to the weatherstrip channels in my heavily used 109, especially around the curves.

Any insight you can provide regarding their "stickiness"?

[Dav1550]

It takes some time to set oem door seals…….they basically need to be trained into place.
Start out with mounting the leading door edge seal; leave it a few days allowing it to seat then follow in turn with the top, trailing edge and bottom seal. It takes some time to do it this way, but it keeps from putting excessive pressure on the door while the seals get settled into position.

[jac04]

Any insight you can provide regarding their "stickiness"?

The adhesive is basically the same thing as 3M double-sided trim & molding tape (and it may actually be the 3M stuff - it looks exactly the same). VERY sticky stuff. If you get the surface clean before application, the only way to remove it is with a scraper and/or heat gun. Also make sure that the surface is warm.