95 Legacy Door Weatherstripping

The weatherstrip is held in place with a bunch of little "T" shaped plastic thingies. If you are careful (wait 'til it's warm), you can pull these out of the door with a pair of pliers, re-insert them into the holes in the weatherstrip, and then press them back into the door. This assumes that the holes in the weatherstrip are mostly intact. If these are ripped out, about your only other option is to go hunting at a salvage yard. Get a hand full of the plastic pieces as well. Hope this helps.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101

Thanks! I should have known a fellow Coloradoan would have the answer!

I guess I'll have to be resigned to having bad weatherstripping during the winter.

Edwin

The problem is that the holes in the rubber get ripped. For example, opening your car door when it has frosted shut results in pulling the rubber (still sticking to the door frame) away from the door. Those little T-shaped studs don't provide enough grasp of the rubber to prevent ripping the holes. You could try putting the stud tops (the T part) back in the holes but they're ripped so they won't hold very well anymore.

One suggestion is to hit the salvage yard. Some special in particular types of cars, like just foreign vehicles. You might find one that hasn't been damaged (or is less damaged than yours). To remove, remember that it is a round hole with a T-shaped head of a stud shoved through it. So you have to pull the seal in one direction to get on tang out of the hole and the pull in the opposite direction to get the other tang out. It is unlikely that you'll be able to salvage any of the T-studs. Once pushed through the hole in the door, their tangs expand and you can't pull them out without breaking off the tangs. So hit the car dealer to buy a set of new studs. Alas, you'll find they have around half a dozen different sizes used in different spots around the door. See if they'll print out or copy the page showing which part number goes to what hole in the door so later you know which one to use in which hole. I had the same problem with ripped door seals. I live in snow country and have had the seals pulled away from the door when they were opened while iced up. No matter how slowly you pull the door open, they still get ripped. No one has time to get a long outdoor extension cord and hair dryer to heat up the seals before opening the doors.

Whether you get some salvaged seals or try to reuse your old ones, you might head to the car store to pickup some weatherstrip glue. With the seal removed from the car and with the studs pre-inserted into the holes (or what's left of them), apply the adhesive to the seal and then press it onto the door so the studs go back into the holes. Apply some to where you start to reinstall the seal onto the door and then apply more as you work your way around the door putting the seal back in place. The stuff I used was:

Because the rubber seal is black, I got the black-colored adhesive. I think the other color is grey (which might've been okay, too, since my car's color is grey). You use a small brush to apply 1 coat to door (where the seal contacts it) and a coat to the seal's face that contact's the door. Let it get tacky and then press together. (It helps to have the seal on the door to draw with a marker the edge of the seal so you know where it'll contact the door.) After reinstalling the seal using the adhesive, don't close your door for awhile to make sure the rubber is permanently affixed to the door and that any excess doesn't gets squeezed out and glue the seal to the door frame. I forget how long it takes to dry. It's akin to using contact cement: clean both surfaces, apply the glue to both surfaces, wait until tacky, and press together. As I recall, they actually recommend 2 coats: one on each surface and let it dry, then again on both surfaces and then press together.

Just remember that you are gluing the seal to the door instead of relying on t-shaped studs several inches apart. It'll hold in place better but be more difficult to replace if it gets severely damaged. However, even if it got cut, it won't sag out of place since it is all glued to the door. So be sure the seal is in reasonable shape to actually provide a seal. To make sure it works well, make sure to clean both the door (where the seal contacts it) and the seal (the part that contacts the door) so the adhesive will stick and stay stuck.

It's inexpensive (well, as glues go, it isn't cheap but cheaper than buying new door seals and all the T-studs). The T-studs might help to hold the seal in place (even with its ripped holes) but you are instead relying on the adhesive to now hold the seals in place. Plus they are held everywhere along the seal instead of several inches apart.

The little "T" things work fine until the rubber hole rips.

I've have so far fixed this problem by running wire through the holes in the doorframe and tying the weatherstripping to the door.