How To Repair Weather Stripping

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I take a great 1984 Volkswagen GTI that I beloved dearly, but lately I've been noticing a lot of wind racket on the highway and h2o dripping down the within of my windows when it rains. I suspect the weatherstripping is going bad. How can I tell, and if that's the problem, how do I replace it?

Into every life a little rain must fall, but it'southward all-time if it doesn't autumn into your car. When weatherstrippingthe prophylactic seals that continue water and air from infiltrating the cabin through the doors and the body lidstarts going bad, that rain eventually ends up on your seats, floorboards, carpet, and trunk. Sometimes when weatherstripping fails, y'all'll discover a tiresome leak that tin cause water accumulationcars take been known to stop up with a wading pool where passengers' anxiety should get. The adept news is that identifying problem seals isn't very difficult and neither is replacing them, although it tin be a bit expensive.

Finding a seal breakdown might take some detective work. Just because you discover wet carpet in the rear passenger surface area doesn't mean the failure is in the rear passenger doorwater has a funny mode of sneaking effectually in a car. The wind noise you hear while driving is a practiced indication of the source of the leak; follow information technology to narrow your search. Audit the seals around the doorframe and the perimeter of the door itself. Many times yous'll find that the seals have cracked with historic period or that a pigsty has worn through from apply. Sometimes the rubber will accept lost its pliability and tin no longer do its chore. Check past squeezing information technology between your fingers; if it doesn't squish or spring back, information technology tin can't make a proper seal. If you're having a hard time pinpointing the source of a leak, run water from a hose to find it.

Once y'all've found the problems, you have several means to address them. Really enthusiastic owners volition run across bad weatherstripping in 1 function of the car as a sign that all of it is declining and volition supersede all the stripping as preventive maintenance. Frugal owners will fix just the problem areas, and that's fine too. Cheapskates will break out the silicone sealant or duct record; this is not recommended.

Weatherstripping comes in 2 varieties: factory-replacement and generic. Generic tin can be a little sketchy and is all-time suited for a very erstwhile car or junker y'all won't be keeping long. If you want a proper fix, and judging past your pride in buying, you practise, factory-fashion replacement is the merely style to go. Cross-store your VW dealer against aftermarket retailers to discover replacement parts you're comfortable with. Most of the time aftermarket replacements are just fine, only it's upwards to you lot. Earlier you lot start ripping stuff out of the car, though, compare new pieces with what you're replacing to make sure they're all the same size, with appropriate cantankerous sections, holes, and joints.

If there are any screws holding the quondam pieces in place, take those out kickoff and set them bated for reuse later. Peel away the stripping; be sure to remove the adhesive layer holding it on. Yous may demand to use an adhesive remover to become information technology all. Next, wipe the weatherstripping channel and the new seals with a gentle cleanser and towel them dry; they may still retain a bit of mold-release agent. Employ a very sparse dewdrop of weatherstripping adhesive (bachelor at automobile parts stores) to the aqueduct and install the seal lightly at commencement. Be sure everything is properly aligned, then printing the stripping firmly into place, ensuring good contact with the adhesive. Supercede any screws and allow the agglutinative to dry as directed. This should solve your whistles and wetness and prevent any undue carpeting sogginess in the future.

Got a car trouble?

Inquire Ben most it. Ship your questions to pmautoclinic@hearst.com or over Twitter at twitter.com/PopMechAuto. While we cannot reply questions individually, problems of general interest volition be discussed in the column.