Boot and door seals

PostPost by: Bigbaldybloke » Sat Nov 04, 2017 12:52 pm

Simple question, where should the joints in the seal strips be for the boot and door seals?
Initially I went for the joint being in the centre just below the rear screen for the boot but then found some photos with it adjacent to the boot lock, so which is it. I have an early +2 with the external boot lock handle not the cable operated latch - not sure if that makes and difference. While I'm at it, same for the doors as I'll soon be fitting these too.

Thanks in advance
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PostPost by: KevJ+2 » Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:01 pm

I'm pretty sure all joints for the doors are in the middle at the bottom. I put my boot join at the top also, as I just think it looks better and neater not to see it right in the 'front' by the lock.
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PostPost by: Craven » Sat Nov 04, 2017 2:24 pm

As the join is a weak part of the SEAL then its best positioned for minimum water ingress.
Which is ?
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PostPost by: The Veg » Sat Nov 04, 2017 3:30 pm

I'll be doing my door seals before long too, and my inclination is to put the join up at the front edge of the opening, which is high enough to eliminate worries of ingress and is also the location of minimum visibility.
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PostPost by: JJDraper » Sat Nov 04, 2017 6:08 pm

I have noticed that it can take years for the seals to bed in. I fitted new door seals at the resto nearly 10 years ago and was plagued with water leaks for the next 2-3 years. They seem to have now bedded in and water leaks have reduced (not stopped). At least I can throw a bucket of water at the car when washing it without too much getting in!

When the seals were new, the doors closed with a nice solid thump, but leaked. They now shut with quite a 'thin' sound, but the leaks are less.

Don't be too eager to throw away those old seals. I only changed them because everything else was new.

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PostPost by: Bigbaldybloke » Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:44 pm

Easy decision for me, no doors or door seals at present so however I fit them they are going to keep more water out! Thanks for feedback everyone, decision made, boot seal joint near rear window not boot catch and door seal joint on vertical section between hinges.
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PostPost by: The Veg » Sat Nov 04, 2017 9:53 pm

Easy for me too; the originals are in really bad shape.
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PostPost by: Orsom Weels » Sun Nov 05, 2017 9:36 am

Personal experience forces me to agree with Craven, I originally fitted my boot seal with the join at the front under the rear screen, but in use, when driving in the rain, water would be forced through the join. I had cut the seal to a generous length so the ends were forced together, & I tried gluing the seal, which improved things until the glue gave up, but never really cured the leak. I tried re-fitting the seal with the join near the catch & it's never leaked since. The amount of water ingress was completely disproportionate to what was essentially no gap, & only got through when driving the car, it could stand out in a monsoon & not a drop would get in.

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PostPost by: Grizzly » Sun Nov 05, 2017 2:52 pm

Strangely i never had a problem with water ingress instead with the joint on the boot lock side i'd get exhaust fumes in the boot..... My fix was to make the seal 1 1/2" too long then glue it together (i made a 1" long tube that fit snugly inside the Bulb of the seal so i sleeved the joint as well as gluing). That worked for a while but i noticed the seal wouldn't compress properly (i guess i sealed both ends up so the air inside had no where to go) so i made a few small holes in the inside edge of the seal's bulb which fixed it.

Key is to get the two edges as square as poss when cutting and loose the extra length round the boot aperture to compensate for the shrinkage.
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PostPost by: Bigbaldybloke » Sun Nov 05, 2017 6:11 pm

Not sure how relevant it is, but Tim, does your boot have the early catch our the later remote type. Also my seal has air holes in the tubular part so air can get out as the seal is compressed, so putting something inside this to help keep the joint together shouldn?t be a problem. I?ll make sure the seal is large enough to force the ends together. Plenty of other holes for water to get into the boot, around the rear lights and number plate lights. I?ve fitted new rear light gaskets and sealed around the number plate lights with silicone sealant, new fuel fuller grommet and new hinge gaskets. Just some old battery securing holes to seal up as the new battery is smaller.
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PostPost by: Orsom Weels » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:16 am

I have the remote type boot catch/release but not sure that would make a difference other than the fact the boot springs back up a tiny amount after it's latched, (ie you have to over compress slightly to let the latch set properly) which may make it harder to get a perfect seal at the rear, but I can't see it affecting the front as the hinges keep that pretty much constant. My seal also has 'vent holes' to allow any air to escape when compressed & I also tried sleeving the join, but couldn't find anything that would fit & do the job without adding too much bulk to the seal, which in turn distorted & held the centre of the boot lid too high & put extra stress on the hinges. With the join at the rear, I have no water leaks, & have never had a problem with fumes, although can accept this could be a problem if the seal isn't perfect. I once set off down the road & hadn't latched the boot lid shut, it was just resting on the seal. I hadn't travelled more than a few hundred yards before I could barely breath in the car it was so full of exhaust fumes :shock: If you can get a good seal with the join at the front, it certainly looks nicer, with the join to the rear, your eye is drawn to it a bit, or mine is at least :) Rear lights seem to give few problems if the gaskets are good & number plate lights shouldn't be a problem as they are mounted to the bumper with just a single hole in between them through to the boot for the wiring which is sheltered by the bumper & should have a grommet fitted to prevent the ingress of water.

Regards, Tim
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PostPost by: Grizzly » Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:32 pm

I tried all sorts in the joint and came to the conclusion shrink sleeving worked best without being too bulky ;)

I agree about the boot catch, exhaust fumes in the car was a huge issue for me for quite a while due to the peco exhaust i had on sat quite far in..... I also found softer seals worked better in much the same way 2 seaters door seal wouldn't squash properly.

Scary thing was i couldn't really smell the exhaust fumes in the car but i'd get a cracking headache and my eyes would start to water if i went and sort of distance :shock:

I guess it's down to how neatly/square you can cut the end, it's a bit like Chrome mini screen insert, if it's cut well it looks fine but slightly cockeyed and you can't help being drawn to it .
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