poorboy

I haven't seen this posted before, so I thought I'd share.

I've been slowly tracking down and eliminating interior squeaks and rattles over the past year (1994 Touring model with the glass roof sunroof). I can't say I'm at the point of having a rattle/squeak free car, but I did eliminate a major and annoying source of noise today. When driving over an uneven road surface (just about most roads in the city I live in) the sunroof would be constantly shifting around. It was quite obvious that the rubber weather seal around the sunroof was no longer doing it's job properly - pushing against the glass roof when closed would result in a slight squeak, and a slight movement of the glass. I replace the seal today with a new one from Mazda ($80), and voila! - tight fit, no movement, no squeak. This was one of the last major sources of unwanted interior noise in my car - quite happy now.

trickshot

what did the old seal look like? was it obviously worn, or was it something your heard but couldn't see anything wrong with the seal?

poorboy

Good question.

I heard the noise, but the seal was not obviously worn out. I guess the weather seal must either shrink or becomes slightly compressed over time - sufficiently so that it doesnt form a perfectly tight seal against the roof.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Rubber like that will shrink over time.

Next time you change wiper refills, compare the length of the old vs. new. It's kinda weird.