Door Seal Warfare

amcdonald

amcdonald

Active Member
Hello

I am trying to refit and align my 3500 doors and I have pretty much decided that with the remanufactured "P6 Door Seals" that I have, this will be an impossible task. Although the seal does fit into the retaining groove they are just too thick and it is basically impossible to close the door and even then the alignment is awful.

Does anyone know where I can get a decent set of door seals that are somewhat similar to what they are supposed to be like? That way I will not destroy my door handles with the perpetual door slamming as I am on track to do.....

I looked at my 2000 and they have a square profiles. The "P6 Door Seals" that I have are round in X-section. See pic.



Thanks very much.
 

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Funny, the ones on my 2000 have squared off edges and "go round the corner" while these new ones are just a straight tube, that twists and does not do well around the contours, plus it seems too thick/stiff. There is no way it could go round anything close to a 90.

I don't think they came from the UK. I got them in a job lot with some others that do not fit well either.....
 
I fitted new seals to my doors and had to manufacture the corners which didn't prove to be successful, the doors were hard to close and I had loads of leaks. In tHe end I chucked them in the bin and refitted the old ones, which thankfully I didn't throw away. It seemed that the rubber in the new ones I had wasn't as flexible as the old rubber and was unable to form a good seal around the doors.
 
As my 2000 had been sitting / dumped for 30 years, its own seals remained flat when you opened the door! I've even kept a bit for the archives!

However, I did consider remanufactured seals but then I was fortunate to get a good set off a scrapper before it was crushed. If you can find a donor car that has been well used, the seals may still be reasonably flexible. They are parts that are usually ignored when a car is disposed of. Try asking questions of sellers on ebay etc. Then you should have original seals which will fit perfectly.

Incidentally, the seals I've now fitted have a discernible seam at the joins on the corners, whereas the 1964 ones didn't. I guess I'll just have to live with that! :D
 
I think inflexible rubber is a problem with many, if not all replacement rubbers these days. I've had the same with my Oxford door seals. It just doesn't crush enough to conform to the metalwork even after years of having the doors closed on it. I think the originals were much more flexible being open-cell construction inside, whereas the new stuff isn't. That's also why the old stuff crumbles with age I suppose. Saying that though, the P6 rubbers seem to be different & last much better, probably because they're not spongy, rather having that open space inside. I've not come across any that aren't suitable for re-use.
 
Aaaaarrrgghhh

Another thing I should not have thrown away. The seals were probably fine but I ripped them out early on expecting to be able to get replacements and in a misguided path to newness.

I think that an old set is probably the best. The trademark clunk of the P6 door needs to have a quite thin seal to allow the latch to do its work. Closing the door by wedging oneself against the garage wall is not on . I have not even tried to close from inside. Not going to be possible.

Now, anyone with any decent original seals I would pay good money after all this grief!!
 
amcdonald said:
Another thing I should not have thrown away. The seals were probably fine but I ripped them out early on expecting to be able to get replacements and in a misguided path to newness.
Click to expand...

Easily done in the first throes of enthusiasm. I think I may have a set from the car I scrapped though my workshop/garages are in no kind of order so I'll have to....erm, browse. :LOL: You may have another offer by then but I'll let you know.
 
Of course all real rubber has a cure age and will eventually fail. The door seal rubber can be removed, cleaned and soaked in hot water, and it will regain some of its former size and shape. Dried and reinstalled it will fit better than replacement seals.
 
My new door seals were like that too. All four doors were difficult to shut originally as the rubber was so stiff. However, nearly a year on they are better and all except the drivers door can be closed gently.
 
My experience is similar to Testrider's above. I replaced all 4 door seals using JRW items. I made up my own corner joints using as foam rubber dowel to keep the circular seal, well circular, when cutting the mitre. I obtained a special Loctite rubber glue to join the mitre and painted a thin band of special rubber glue over the mitre to make it look professional.

Around 10 years later all is OK. All door shut well except for the rear nearside which probably would with a bit of adjustment.

The original seals had cracked in places and let the wind whistle through, much to my annoyance, when travelling at any reasonable speed.
 
For my father's SA car our wizard found a supplier of a type of Jaguar door seals that are a direct fit and work well. Jag parts would be easier to source in the U.S., I can get details from him if you like.
 
That would be marvelous. Right now I pulled them all out and I drove the car the first time for a year after its recent paint job. It was rather noisy with no seals....
 
Hi Adrian, have you tried Scotts Old Auto Rubber (http://www.scottsoldautorubber.com.au/) in Australia, maybe you can send them a pic of your rubber section and they can hopefully confirm with you if theirs would be better/suitable. I've only has a rear deck seal off them so far and that was a good fit. US dollar and aussie dollar pretty much at parity at the moment so may be an option,
Regards,
Scott, ps, I've no connection with the company just same name!!

mailto:scott@scottsoldautorubber.com.au

from their website;

DOORS
Door seal (on body) without lower seal $32.00 /door 364071/2-364167/8
Door to guard weather seal vertical (6) $62.00 /set (367873,367874,367875,
367876,367877,37878)


Seal - sill to body $ 3.90 /pair 367133
 
Hi

Not yet, as I do not know where the current terrible ones came from. I am going for the scrap car with miraculous great condition door seals route. Let's see how far I get with that.......
 
amcdonald said:
I am going for the scrap car with miraculous great condition door seals route. Let's see how far I get with that.......
Click to expand...
Before you do, have a look at Jag E-type door seals. With that sample you had pictured, you should be able to compare at the shop. Not sure what to do with the sharp angles at the top of the doors, but the people there might know of a fix. Early XJ6 and maybe even other British car manufacturers may or may not have used the 'same' type of seals. It's important for the width of the foot to be right for the channel so that it sits close. That's the word from SA...

Hope this helps.

Tor
 
I have just ordered a new seal from Wins in the UK as my drivers door seal has a bit missing from the rubber due to wear. I will keep the old one now thanks to the advice given here! Before I start can someone tell me if the seal is a push fit or does it need glue/sealant? Perhaps it may be better just to try and replace the small section which has the hole in it? ( near the lock).
 
If it gets tight, which it might, it can help to have a suitable blunt poking instrument and maybe some dish washing liquid for lubrication purposes.
 
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