Door seal issues

[MX500]

My 70 240z had old when I bought it. As you can imagine, they leaked horribly. I tried the Kia sportage seals that everyone claims work GREAT, but they don't work on my car. The bottom half of the door was VERY VERY VERY tightly sealed, and the top had a huge gap. WTF? There was no gap with the previous (280Z style) seal, and it sealed out air noise very well on the freeway. I switched to a ford explorer seal since it was the best fit (in terms of thickness) of all the hundreds of seals I found at the junkyard. I installed the seal, now the door is impossibly fucktarded hard to shut. It's not as if I'm lacking in strength, I just hate slamming my doors as hard as it needs. Well, today after closing the door (no harder than its been being closed for the past two weeks) and my driver side window shattered. Thats rediculous. I should not have to slam my door that hard.

 

Whats wrong with my car?

 

The door lines up very well with the rest of the cars body, in fact it actually sticks out further at the bottom than at the top (remember, its too damn tight at the bottom and wayy too loose at the top). The door used to function perfectly, and had no gap whatsoever at the top of the door frame. I did not unbolt or adjust the door at any time, and my hinges are not loose.

ould new 280Z seals fix my problem? Are they thicker than the kia seals? I need help asap, because I only have one spare driver side window and I'm installing it as soon as I finish typing tthis. I can't afford to break more parts.

[Pharaohabq]

tough call, but your door sticking out at the bottom tells me that your door may have sagged due to age. sucks about the window. Don't worry more glass can be found fairly cheap. Are you sure it's the seal that's the troulbe, and not the latch? without the seal does your door stick out on the bottom, does it close tightly and easily?

[AKZX]

Have you seen this thread: New weatherstrip alternative? I read the whole thing even though I have an S130 and still got some useful info.

 

It looks like there are some more junk yard options that have worked for people too:

 

1998 - 2003 Cavalier 2 door weatherstrips work very nicely. About $45.00 ea at you local Chevy dealer.

 

I installed acura integra weather strips (94-2001 integs) in my Z. My doors close fine, just fyi if you can't find the KIA type.

 

I stripped a 96 Maxima, and the weatherstripping is IDENTICAL for the doors.

 

I used all 4 doors, more than enough for my 240.

 

I also used a Saturn weatherstripping for the hatch, profile is very thick, but closes with a slam, and the hatch is still even with the body.

 

I will post some pics later today.

 

Here in Phoenix the biggest pick n pull charged me 12.02 for one side of a weatherstrip from a 93 Volvo 850. I test fitted it and it looks like it would work but would need to be cut as it is too big.

 

Have you tried redoing both passenger AND driver's side doors or just one? If one side fits and the other doesn't, I'd have to agree that your door may have sagged due to age.

[MX500]

Funny you guys both said the same thing. The door is aligned perfectly. It never had the slightest issue until I replaced the seal. The passenger side is still functioning perfect, the driver side is just retarded. BTW, maxima or integra seals wont work unless you want a big ugly flap all around the inside trim of the seal. I spent probably 4 hours looking at every possible option. The KIA seals were just too thin, I tried three sets on in the parking lot of the junkyard and they all had fat gaps at the top of the door.

 

Before attempting to replace the seal, the door worked great. It closed very very very easily, but held firmly and never rattled. I'm a mechanic, I can assure you it is in proper alignment. It's as if the old seals I removed were MUCH thicker than the Kia seals. I also tried the PIECE OF **** Black Dragon Auto 240Z door seals (which were mislabeled left to right, so I had to try both and make them both unreturnable, F--- those guys...). Those seals may have worked but my car has 280Z style seals so I had no means to attach the seals to the door opening. I've had the car for over a year and put 20,000 miles on it. I'm very familiar with how great everything worked before the attempted seal repair. The door always closes the same way, it's never changed, I've never adjusted it nor do I need to. It is in perfect adjustment, the body lines line up great.

 

Which 280Z style seals do people complain of being "too thick"? I think I need those. The Explorer seals I'm using are 10-20% thicker than the KIA seals and still have a 1/4-1/2" gap all along the top part of the door, but they seal great everywhere else. What the hell could be the issue???? I even adjusted the top half of the door as inward as possible before locking down the bolts after replacing that window last night, and it still has a HUGE gap.

 

Remember, there was no gap at all before removing the old seal, Now there is a gap. I never touched any door mounting hardware in this process.

[Tibby]

Is you door/window frame bent?

 

I used to break into my wifes neon when she would lock her keys in the car by bending the upper door frame out to slip a broom handle in and pop the lock from the inside. It worked great but bent the frame out about 1/2 an inch away from the seal each time. To fix I just grabbed the top of the frame and put my foot on the door panel and bent it back. I don't advise this treatment to a Z but I had little care for the Cryplodge Neon.

 

If the gap slowly gets bigger from bottom to top then your door is out of alignment. If its tight on the lower door and and gap starts to widen at the window frame then your window frame is bent. Either of these could be caused by the fitting of other seals pushing on the parts.

 

Let us know what you find.

[AlexPie]

Did the same to my GF's neon once haha

 

but never treat your Z like a neon

 

now back to the topic, has anyone else experienced this particular problem with their Z?

or is he the only one?

[AKZX]

never treat your Z like a neon

Hahaha!

 

 

Well, you've stumped me...but I'm still kind of a noob. If I were you, I'd start measuring around both doors and compare each side. Can you see where the strip on the bad door is worn most to isolate the problem area?

[MX500]

The gap starts immediatly where the window frame begins. I adjusted it as tight towards the inside of the car as I possibly could with about 50 pounds of pressure pulling the top in while I locked down the bolts. The weirdest thing is that I never had this issue before I took out the old seals. The body lines line up FLAWLESSLY aside from the very bottom of the door where its been slammed on the seat belt too many times (NEVER from me, the original owner must have gotten careless in his later years). However, the bottom of the door seals great, its fawkin perfect. The window frame lines up perfectly with the quarter window, it does not stick out whatsoever. I have a spare window frame, at this point, I may just try slotting out the holes in the door frame to pull the window frame stupidly close to make it seal. It will mess up the body line match, but I always choose function over form, which is why my car has a $12 paint job and I've thrown a few grand into the drivetrain and stereo. I'll try to get off my lazy arse and post up pictures of the gap.

[MX500]

Great. The 280Z door seals fit perfectly, however the gap is still outrageous at the top of the window. I'm afraid to do anything with the passenger side because the driver side only got worse with new seals. I have since readjusted the driver door with the top as tucked in as possible and the bottom as close to sticking out as possible, and it still is wayyy too tight at the bottom and has a huge gap up top. The bottom of the door now sticks out past the body lines and the top is poking inside the body lines that it is supposed to be flush with. I'm about to beat my chassis into submission with a sledgehammer to make these seal. This is downright infuriating. I may go back to 240SX's after how many F-ing problems I've had with this Z.

[palosfv3]

Carefully check the upper front and rear inner sections of the door inner frame where it welds to the outer skin at the belt line . Z doors will stress crack in these areas and if broken can result in issues as you are expieriencing..You may have to lift the rubber seals and look underneath them to see the area clearly.

[rturbo 930]

Carefully check the upper front and rear inner sections of the door inner frame where it welds to the outer skin at the belt line . Z doors will stress crack in these areas and if broken can result in issues as you are expieriencing..You may have to lift the rubber seals and look underneath them to see the area clearly.

My doors have this problem (sticks out about 3/8" at the bottom)and have noticeable cracks/rust on the top of the door, about where the front of the windsheild frame meets the door. Do you know if there's a way to fix this, or is it best to get new doors?

[Quetzalcoatl71Z]

I am having a problem in my 71 where water can get in through the top really easily. One thing I noticed was this foam tape stuff that is right next to the rubber weatherstripping on the inside of the door opening. Also, my passenger side door is missing that rubber piece that is on the inside of the actual door closest to the hood... That seems to be sealing a lot up for my driver's side. Anyone know what this piece is called or how to get a new one?