Leaky Door Seal
 

I have an 81 rx7 that i have been fixing up, one of the first things i changed out was the leaking door seals, i got a pair of them for 60 bucks and was super happy with them until the rain started....the inside of my car gets so wet once i week i have to pull the seats and carpet and soak up the water...im looking for good quality door seals that will not leak, Can someone please help me!

The factory ones from the dealer are your best bet. They'll cost double or more.

obviously OEM is a good choice but where can i find them?

ive heard that the ones from mazdatrix are really good but 140 for a set is quite steep for me. I have also heard that black dragon make good ones but they can be extremely stiff and hard to shut the door.

I think you can get them at any dealership. Atkins, MazdaTrix, etc have them for about the same price. Most of the places selling aftermarket ones get the from METRO. (Metro LM107). The metro ones are softer. The ones that are harder to get the door shut when new are actually better. As they wear in the door will make a better seal.

I bought the metro ones but haven't installed them. I hope they don't leak.

Anyone have a source for the rubber seal that runs along the pinch weld? The seals on my 7 have shrunken quite substantially and have receded almost 2 inches from each upper rear corner.

You want new welts that go around the outer frame.

Datsun 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX & Mazda RX7 iCatalog - Black Dragon Auto

Yeah. They only have the 'wine' colored seals now. :( I have a black interior.

I guess I could try dying them with vinyl spray.

Cripes, by the time I get the welt seals, the door seals and the window tracks, I'm going to be into some serious money to re-seal these doors. Damn this 33-year-old rubber. ;)

Yeah, wine only sucks. I wonder if Mazda still has them? My windows tracks have the
same issue as well.

Last summer I got new door seals at the dealer. They work, the door requires more force to shut. I think the dealer has all the seals. It's worth the trip to go and see the amazement on the parts mans face when he says "Dang! I'll have em in a day"

I've reconditioned stock door and sunroof seals successfully. Get a jug of Gojo hand cleaner, the white can Original Formula. Not orange or pumice. Cover the seal in it, let it soak for 2 or 3 days then rinse with warm water. It'll swell the seal, and soften it. Which is great as heat/UV drys and shrinks rubber. Walmart and O'Reiles sells it for $8/ 4.5lb jug.

Don't leave the Gojo on for longer than that as I said it'll swell the seal and make it larger overall. Some people leave it on for a week and wonder why it won't fit.

If you need to, you could just Gojo the sealing surfaces only, leave the mounting surfaces dry.

To argonsoon this could be a cheap $8 fix.

Having someone spray the car with a garden hose with you inside can be a big help in finding all the leaks. Start by replacing the door seals; The ones on Rockauto worked fine for me. You should also replace the window felt and strip on outside (the one that acts like a squeegee - it will help hold the glass tight). You may also have to replace or adjust your door hinge since it is likely to be sagging by now. While you have the door panel off, plan to clean out in between the door as tree and pollen gunk can clog those bottom holes and cause leaks or hold moisture for rust.

If you have an original windshield you may want to check that too. The rubber caulk on my '83 GS was so dried up that the first trip through a car wash I discovered that the windshield was lifting up under the high pressure wash and dry. Fixing that solved the foggy windshield.

Finally, If you have a factory sun/moon roof make sure that the drains are not clogged and/or leaking hoses. Had that issue with my first RX-7 GSL years ago and the were causing water to back up into he car.

I bought my OEM door seals from Jim Ellis Mazda for 45$ each 3 weeks ago. They have loads of FB stuff at that dealership for whatever reason, as I have bought many trim/interior/seal pieces from them in recent years and all of it was "in stock" or local inventory.

Jim Ellis Mazda Marietta | New & Used Car Dealer serving Atlanta, Roswell, Alpharetta & Sandy Springs

If you can, find the mazda part # and just call those guys up, theyll find it and shipping is quick too.

I just ordered Metro door seals.

Should I use an adhesive - sealant, or just install as is?

Are the left & right the same part (#) ?

Thanks.

Congrats on the door seals. If I remember correctly there are little white plastic t-shaped things on part of the gasket and that's how you'll be able to tell right from left. There is also an angle to it around the section around the window. I may be confused but I think one of them has purple or blue paint on it and that's another way to tell but it should say something on the package or in the package - then again I could be thinking of a different vehicle.

As far as adhesive, yes you will need some. Go to Napa and ask them for 3m Fast drying super weatherstrip and gaskets adhesive part number is 08008. This is for for the area where there aren't clips - basically all way around the window section.

Look closely at all of your seals. Maybe its another seal thats leaking.

Thanks for the tips Steve. NAPA did not have the super fast, so I got the regular stuff . Seals should be here Friday.

Everything is a little rough, so the plan is to replace all seals.

I just installed the Metro seals and they didn't have any markings to identify left or right. It's pretty clear which is which when you do the install though. I had to glue the top of the seal in since they are quite a bit bigger than the stock seals. Without adhesive, they'd pop out of the groove every time the door closes.

Once glued though, they seal well enough and they were less than half the price of the dealership seals. Combined with a new set of window channel seals any my car is nice and waterproof again.

I wouldn't use gojo, I would use either gummi phledge or shin etsu. Both are specific to weatherstripping. Gummi phledge is german and (at one time atleast) was recomended by bmw. Shin etsu is japanese and can be bought at the honda dealership.

I recenty replaced mine with metro seals, didn't use adhesive on any of the seals, when I closed the door it popped out, so I lubricated them with gummi phledge, closed the door, pushed the seals in as far as they would go with a popsicle stick and left it for a few days. Now they stay in the seal retainer.

Pretty impressed with the Metro seals.
Driver side has a green painted dot, passenger side a red dot.
Doors close the same, not harder IMO. They do kind of open with a pop.

I didn't use the fast dry 3m sealant, I used the standard stuff & that setup almost to fast.
Noticed little to none factory adhesive.
It's worth the effort.

Why not, it's worked great and is much cheaper than that stuff.