RXTbone

I wasn't sure where this questions should go - so I double posted.

... bought a nice '83 GSL from a little old lady (no kidding). Decided to replace the door weatherstripping (outside edge) due to wind noise and water leakage. I bought the cheap stuff from A1 - and it's corrected neither problem. I also tried to gently bend the window frame slightly. It doesn't move easily and I can see screwing it up with too much force.

Has anyone ran a secondary weather strip around the shell's door opening? Any help would be appreciated!

nosajwrx-7

Check your hinge pins for excessive wear, I bet that's your problem!

Guackman

I seem to have the same problem.

Can the hinge pins be replaced or does the whole hinge have to be changed as a unit?

RXTbone

ECK! Brought back old GM F-body memories!

I just ran to the parts store during lunch. I think I'm going the second row of stripping on the shell opening. You can get some decent looking 3M stripping, though it isn't cheap...

On the pins - are you talking new hinges, or can you adjust them somehow?

Manntis

Did you also change the felt/rubber weather stripping inside the window frame, and the 2 piece stripping along the lower window edge?

Why use generic weather stripping around the door when the dealer stuff is actually quite cheap? Did you push the plastic pins around the lower door all the way in?

Too many variables to outright say it's something else other than weather stripping at this point.

nosajwrx-7

I would think new pins and bushings. Not sure though, I haven't had to do it on my car.

RXTbone

I didn't change the inside channel felt - though I'm not getting water through it. The outside stripping was from A1Auto (eBay $53), it fit perfectly. I don't buy the hinges being off - the door is perfecly aligned, closes nicely with a almost new thump...

It seems to me that either 1) the weather stripping isn't fat enough, though it looks just like the original, or 2) the frame has pulled been pulled out slightly, so that it doesn't fit into the shell tight enough.

I seem to remember reading somewhere a post or web article where a guy talks about "bending" the frame back. Sounds reasonable, until you try it....

Manntis

Could be the one-size-fits-all stuff isn't fitting.

I just replaced Pamela's with Mazda original stripping. Only cost me $65 Canadian for factory rubber, a bit less with the exchange rate than what you paid for generic

RXTbone

Well ain't that the *****. And I suppose it's working wonderfully...

Manntis

So far. It's only been on for a day though.

Doublecheck your felt stripping - that could be letting in both wind noise and water, especially at a carwash (pressurized water can find it's way through any bad seal, it seems)

RXTbone

Thanks for the help - again the old addage, "you get what you pay for" rears its ugly head.

BTW - Manntis, I see you list Northridge, were you there in '94?

cheapie

The black metal edging on the windshield of my car was screwed up causing a lot of wind noise. I took it off and put it on correctly, and the thing is much quieter. Just a thought.

RXTbone

Are you talking windshield or side window frame? BTW - I wonder if you can take the window frame off? Adjusting THAT might be an idea... Possible?

cheapie

I'm talking about the metal trim on the windsheild. mine was turned in such a way that it was not protecting the door frame from the wind. Look at how all that fits together, you'll see what I mean.

When I worked selling new Hondas and Chevys in the early nineties, the procedure for eliminating wind noise on brand new cars was to bend the window frames toward the car so the seals would be tighter. We even had a special tool for it. First, make sure the door is adjusted right, then don't be afraid to reef on the thing to get it to fit right. It's what they do at the factory. Don't go overboard.

Manntis

Nope, I missed that big quake. I've lived in buildings that were still a bit lopsided because of it, though...

RXTbone

Now that's what I'm talking about - something that "covers space" - either more weatherstriping, or moving the damn frame closer to the shell.

This is my 4th RX and I've never had this problem. I guess I'll bend, it's the second time I've heard this.

Question: I'm assuming you do this with the window down. Or is there some non-obvious reason you'd have it up?

cheapie

DO THIS WITH THE WINDOW DOWN.
Sorry I forgot to say that. You will break the window otherwise. Don't go too far, either. You will know you went too far if the window won't roll up at highway speed (the air sucks the window out, and it won't fit in the frame if the frame is bent too far).

RXTbone

Cool - thanks for the help! Curious: Were those guys at Honda and GM just putting their knees in the door panels and pulling - or did they have some fancy device to prop the door open?

cheapie

They had a specical tool, but it was just a pry bar that fit nicely in the right places. You can use your knees like you say or use about a four-foot bar.

RXTbone

Cool - thanks for the help! Curious: Were those guys at Honda and GM just putting their knees in the door panels and pulling - or did they have some fancy device to prop the door open?

RXTbone

Double post - brilliant. Does this add to my total so I can get a cool Avatar?

cheapie

Oh... to prop the door open... Just open the door all the way, and the hinges will hold the door so you can reef on it. Sorry for the denseness of my head.

RXTbone

No worries. I appreciate the help. I'll break my frame... er... try bending it tonight. I'll drop a post to let you know how it works out.

mwpayne

I have the same problem with the A1 rubber..it looks like it'll fit, but I went through the 'touchless' carwash I was soaked thru to my drawers!!