Door problems due to thick rubber seals

[Alfiat]

Well I got rubber for one side of the car but it's be just too damn cold to try to install it. I'm gonna wait for a hot day and let the gasket sit out in the sun a little while to make it soft enough to work with. The gasket I got from Alfaholics looks pretty much the same as the ones I got years ago from Re-originals - but perhaps the rubber is softer or thinner. Wish I could be more help... but I'll have to wait for a warm day.

[darth dino]

WoooHooo

after four (or five) years of putting up with slamming my doors and having them bulge out from the body, i finally did something about it. finished with the driver's side door today, and it closed like a new car's door !


i ended up doing pretty much everything in this post to make it work, plus some :

1 - i had used strip caulking under the metal strips. this pushed them away from the door frame. so i removed and cleaned them all off with citrus goo remover (what a mess), followed by alcohol to remove the citrus.

2 - the condition of the strip caulking showed me where the metal strips were not fitting the body properly. so the bends were tweeked to get them all to fit snug against the car.

3 - during disassembly, i also noticed that not all of the metal strips were pushed as far inboard as possible, and there were noticable misalignments between pieces. this was using the original mounting holes so i slotted all the mounting holes with a carbide bit in a dremel.

4 - remounted the metal strips using a small bead of black silicone on the bottom surface, and using the slotted mounting holes to push them inboard as far as they would go. all the ends are now aligned with the next piece.

5 - i heated the door seal in the oven at 275 degrees F for 10 minutes to make it more pliable. i took two 5 gallon buckets, filled them with sand for ballast, and stretched the hot gasket across them, pulling the buckets as far apart as the gasket would stretch (until the gasket would pull the buckets towards each other). i left the gasket to cool and take a set overnight.

6 - adjusted the door hinges slightly so the door would close nice and flush. i found that the body shop that painted the car did not tighten all the screws down properly. this i think, helped the thick, mis-installed, rubber gasket to push the door out of alignment and bulge out from the body, especially at the bottom.

7 - i attached the upper rear corner of the gasket to the metal strips with extra thick super glue and a little accelerator. then i worked my way down and forward, using small stripes of glue between each mounting screw and a DULL flat blade screwdriver to push the gasket into place. there were a few spots that the mounting screws interfered with the rubber bead, so i did a little rubber trimming with a sanding drum in the dremel - nothing visable from the outside, once installed.

8 - when i reached the center of the sill plate from each end, i cut about *1 FOOT* of extra gasket out. glued the ends to the track with them pushed slightly together for a better seal.

9 - adjusted the door latch slightly, so the trailing edge of the door is flush when closed.


now it only takes a firm hand while closing, but no slamming, and there is a nice CLICK-CLICK of the latch
thanks to everyone for the suggestions !!!!!

a lot of work, but it was very gratifying to see the end result now, on to the passenger side . . .

[1750GT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darth dino ....now it only takes a firm hand while closing, but no slamm ing, and there is a nice CLICK-CLICK of the latch thanks to everyone for the suggestions !!!!! a lot of work, but it was very gratifying to see the end result now, on to the passenger side . . .

[darth dino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1750GT did you install your seals new in the first place years back? if so, which supplier did you use?

[yvesmontreal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darth dino Rossano, yes, the car had a complete stripped down, bare metal respray five years ago. ALL new gaskets and seals were installed on reassembly. i believe they were from Re-Originals. in my occupation, i have much experience in trade show model & prototype construction. i wanted a temperature that the rubber would be considerably softer than normal, but not so hot as to degrade the material. that said, it was still just a matter of experimentation. i actually started at the lowest my kitchen oven would go - 225 degrees F, but didn't think the rubber was soft enough. i stepped it up to 275, and that seemed to work well enough. i imagine i could have gone hotter, but i do not have a spare gasket handy, in case i went too far. 10 minutes was enough to heat soak the rubber, and i used oven mits to protect my hands.

[Alfiat]

I did speak to the guy who runs re-originals in person at the Detroit AROC convention. I told him of my (and many others) troubles with the door seals. He acted surprised and unaware of any problem! I told him that I thought the rubber used was too stiff/thick and that I've tried several vendors trying to find the right part. He was unable to help. Looks like the stretching method is the best and only way.

[Peter K]

Did you guys check to see if the inside door panel trim isn't causing the problem?

After many months searching I just aquired a v/nice S2 1750. Knowing about the problematic rubber seals it was one of those things I looked for when scouting a prospect. A few of the cars i looked over (incl. the one i now bought) has problems with the doors not closing easily, but this was often caused by the door panel trim being a few mm too large at the lower edge, causing it to make contact with the rubber seals. It also seemed to be more the case when the panels had been retrimmed.

I plan to see if it possible to cut away 4mm of the lower edge panel and re-attach the leather. This might be a lot less work then fiddeling with the seals?

[Alfajay]

I encountered the same issues as most other people on this thread when installing new door seals on my Sprint GT. My car was completely disassembled for painting - the doors and frame had never been in a major accident - the bodyshop did a meticulous job of re-hanging the doors to maintain even gaps fore-aft. My metal channels were as far to the inside as possible, and fit the frame nicely (these are the original channels). So, it should be fairly close dimensionally to the way it was 42 years ago when it left the factory.

My first set of seals came from one of the larger Alfa-specific parts suppliers here in the US. They had no manufacturer's labeling when I received them. I installed these on both sides, and found that they didn't work for *&^%$#. The driver's door would only close properly after an incredibly hard slam; the passenger's door could not be closed to the second click at all.

One of my Alfa buddies had a new, spare Cincogani brand seal. Comparing the thickness of the Cincogani versus my "brand X" seal, a significant dimensional difference could be felt. Measuring the thicknesses of the two seals, I get .68" for the Cincogani and .79" for the "brand X". Now, I will freely admit that you can't measure these things to the nearest .01" - it's compressable rubber for pete sake! But, I used the same procedure for measuring each (see first picture), and I think I can safely say that the Cincogani seal is about 1/10th inch smaller than the one sold by the US parts supplier.

I got my Cincogani seals from Alfaholics in the UK. They can be distinguished from the "brand X" seals by the cardboard tags stapled around them which are about 2" wide X 5-1/4" long when unwrapped (see second picture). Also, the Cincogani seals are a bit more grey in color, while the "brand X" are closer to jet black.

Perhaps there are some cars whose dimensions favor the thicker seals. But on my Sprint GT, the Cincogani parts are definitely the better solution. The doors still require a solid slam to close to the second click on the latch. But, at least it can be done.

[Frank S]

Has anyone tried the ones from Centerline with the felt?

Weather stripping for either door on Spider 1966-94. Has "felt" finish on pinch-weld. Priced per door.

WS121

Price: $ 34.75

[MidLifeCrisis]

I recently replaced mine with the Alfaholic's seals. These are definitely better but I still need to slam the door shut, just not as hard. Door adjustments are next...

[yvesmontreal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank S Has anyone tried the ones from Centerline with the felt? Weather stripping for either door on Spider 1966-94. Has "felt" finish on pinch-weld. Priced per door. WS121 Price: $ 34.75

[dirkdg2602]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darth dino WoooHooo .......... 8 - when i reached the center of the sill plate from each end, i cut about *1 FOOT* of extra gasket out. glued the ends to the track with them pushed slightly together for a better seal. ..........

[darth dino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirkdg2602 Darth Dino, it has been over 2 years now that you installed your seals. How are they holding up ? Did they shrink back and left a gap where you cut them ?

[Alfiat]

While in Holland a few months back I spoke to an guy who specializes in Italian car restorations. I mentioned the issue of GTV door seals and he told me he NEVER uses new seals and only used factory seals. He said the new seals are not made correctly and will not work. - FYI

[dirkdg2602]

I swapped out the horrible new seals sent to me by the US supplier with Cicognani seals purchased from Alfaholics. Boy, what a difference! I also changed installer, another big difference. The driver side door is done and I am fairly satisfied. The passenger door needs to come in another 1-2 mm, but the project is sure moving in the right direction.