The door weatherstrips on my '76 are shot, and I have ordered new ones. Any special advice on installing them? They glue on with an RTV-like substance? The ends are at the bottom of the door frame so I start there? What to secure them with until the glue sets? How long till you can shut the door and not distort the glue?

Any help appreciated, thanks

 

i thought they were held in with little clips.

 

3M weatherstrip adhesive works great. What I did was I found the center of the weatherstrip and place it at the center of the upper weatherstrip flange and tape it down. Then, I continued taping down the rest of the weatherstrip across and down of the flange until I came to the bottom. After having it taped down in a few spots to hold the strip in place, I started peeling back the tape and placing the glue then taping it back down. I continued to do this until I came to the bottom where the scuff plates are. I let the weatherstrip dry for a bit, than I started to glue the bottom portion in place and taping it down to hold it. That's what I did and found it to be pretty easy.

 

I did mine the same way as Buck - starting from the middle top, even though Dennis Carpenter's instructions said to start at the bottom. Both 3M and Loctite make excellent adhesive for this. I had a lot of time, so I did each section of the "square", so to speak, one day at a time - both doors. That allowed for nearly a full cure between each section. Be careful not to induce any stretch into the seal before taping or it will try to migrate back even after it cures. I left my doors cracked while curing.

 

I followed Dennis Carpenter's instructions (though I didn't buy the weatherstrip for my truck there)and started at the bottom so there is a seam there. Made sense to me that it would be better for drainage. If you start at the center of the top, because the striping is hollow (at least mine is) I would think it would be more likely to get water in it and be trapped at the bottom inside the weatherstrip with no drain. I'm not an expert in these matters, so take this with a grain of salt. I too left my doors ajar until the adhesive cured. this was a number of years ago and so far no problems. Do follow the advice to not stretch it when applying..
Good luck!
Dak

 

Like Buck said, however, I like to start at the bottom personally, that way I have both ends line up right in the middle of the bottom. But if you do like Buck said, you should still end be able to line up to two ends at the bottom/center of the door. The weather stripping will be long enough (Dennis Carpenter was long enough) that you may have some left over that will need to be trimmed up.

The 3M weatherstripping adhesive is extremely tacky. Make sure you don't get it on anything you don't want it on. (Don't ask me how I know.) Besure to have a rag to do clean up. Also be sure to buy the black adhesive, so it's not noticable if you get some on the fringes of the rubber. The yellow 3M adhesive is often called "Gorilla Snot" by many a mechanic/installer due to it's stickiness.

And use some decent tape to hold it up. (Again, don't ask how I know.)

 

I need new weatherstriping in my truck.Does it cost alot?

 

Not really, got mine from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard for $38 plus shipping, $45 total.

Thanks for all the responses, guys, maybe this weekend I can get it put in.

 

Was it new?

 

Yeah, new weatherstriping isn't that expensive. I bought mine on ebay through autokrafters which was made by Dennis Carpenter. Great deal, less than 50 bucks I believe and good product.

Yes, the 3M adhesive is sticky and unfortunatly I learned the hard way that it doesn't wipe off the greatest. After, I installed one side, I then masked off the areas I didn't want the adhesive. I did mess up and caught one upper corner on my coat or something when I was installing my seat and pealed it off. I stuck it back on so hopefully it stays. If not, I guess I'll be redoing one side which I don't even want to know how tough it is getting the old stuff off. Mine was all nicely painted and clean from the start. Which brings me to my question.....What will take old adhesive off? Just in case I need to redo one side.

 

i started at the bottom and used spray glue with cloths pins to hold it until the glue dried..... glue didnt hold long tho.... maybe 2 weeks

 

Spray glue is not the way to go. Buck, try alcohol first, if that won't soften it, then try the 3M woodgrain/adhesive remover - I forget the part number right now. If all else fails, try acetone, but be very careful with it - it may attack the paint! Dak, I think you misunderstood - both Buck and myself still ended up with the seam at the bottom, not the top, and yes, that is definately where it should end up. I can barely see my seams anyway because I "vulcanized" them with flat repair cement.

 

NOCO77,
Thanks for the clarification. You are correct, I did misunderstand. Makes sense now!
Your recommendation and warning about acetone is correct also. It will attack the paint. I use it to clean paint of brushes, but if used carefully it also works with glue.
Cheers!
Dak

 

3M Weatherstrip Adhesive Release Agent...

3M Weatherstrip Adhesive Release Agent #8971 (couldn't find this)
or
3M Weatherstrip Release Agent Spray #8879 (see link)

Sorry it's a Camaro place... Weatherstrip Release Agent Spray, 3M

A little difficult to find these products. I personally haven't tried them, but if 3M makes them they probably work pretty good.

If anyone has used this or does use it, please share your experience with the product.

 

Thanks Reynard and NOCO77. So far my weatherstrip seems to be holding up, so hopefully I don't need to redo it, but just in case I think I'll get some just have.