Hey there!

I'm wondering if anyone has changed the seal that goes across the outside bottom of each door's roll-down window. I know mine are getting brittle and cracking.

I looked in the window slot today (window down) but could not determine if anything stragne had to come apart or be unscrewed, or if I could just dow it with the door and door panel intact?

How much are those suckers, anyway?

Thanks!

(I'm also wondering when we're going to get demoted down to an 'older' trucks forum-area since the 2004 category has appeared above us... you'd think the site administrators would know to put us on top!)

Best,

 

I don't know. But if anyoneknows tell us, I need to do mine too.

John

 

Well, I have to admit my main reason for asking was that I didn't want to pull off my door panels again. I just got done doing that, and I replaced all of the palstic clips with new ones, plus punhced a hole in a speaker attempting to put one back on (replaced the speaker, put it back on again).

I guess I could just go buy them and see what attachments are on them. I'm sure it's simple, but I was just hoping that I wasn't the first to think of this, and that someone else would describe the process...

Best, ;-)

 

Hey GammaDriver,
Let me know if you figure out how to change those seals. I have a 1990 F150 and those seals are also all cracked on both my windows.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 08-Oct-02 AT 09:20 PM (EST)]Give me until at least the end of the week here, and I'll see if I can get 'em at cost one way or another.

I've seen, and even owned, enough vehicles that have bottom door rust, and this, I'm told, comes primarily from the lack of changing these window seals. Sadly most of us think about it when we see the rusted out doors. Well, gosh darn it, I'm here to remind y'all to get 'em changed soon, if not yesterday.

Best,

 

Sounds good GammaDriver, I hope it's easy to change, I'll wait for your reply!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-Oct-02 AT 09:50 PM (EST)]I changed these seals on my '87 earlier this year. You don't have to pull the door panels off to do it. They're held on by 4 or 5 steel clips. If you look inside the door with the window down, you can see the clips. Just pull the seals upward, starting at the rear edge. Sometimes the clips can be tricky. I had to pull and twist the seals a lot to get them off. The new ones slide on really easy.

I bought the parts from JC Whitney. They look good, I just hope they last as long as actual Ford Parts.

 

That's exactly what I had hoped they were all about - thanks Man!

My sources are checking on 'em from Ford for me.

Best,

 

Hey Mr Man,
I was looking at my seal with the window down and my seals are so bad that there were only pieces of the seal stuck to what I think is the metal guide where the seal goes on. My question is the metal clips you are talking about are they attach to that metal guide?
Do I just peel the rest of the seal off and put the new one on top of that metal guide?

 

Umm, I think you need to get that metal piece out of there. It's part of your old seal. When the seal is pulled out, all you should see is your door sheetmetal with the clip holes in it.

By the way, my replacement seal kit came with inner and outer seals. The inner seals are attached to the door trim in the same way. Maybe you can use a pair of pliers or a screwdriver to get the clips out. My seals came with new clips, so I just bent the old ones until they came out. Be careful because you can bend the door sheetmetal if you pry too hard.

After you get the old ones out, you'll be finished in about 5 minutes.

Scott

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 01-Dec-02 AT 10:28 PM (EST)]Thanks guys - I finally got it done a few days ago.

I had my mum pick them up from Ford, and they came seperately (I was expecting them to come together after Mr Man's post, but maybe he didn't get them from ford?). The guy working at Ford marked them LI, LO, RI & RO (for left inner, left outer, etc).

In taking a closer look at them, it turned out the driver's outer seal was the worst - cracked, dried and brittle. I didn't really expect it to be much worse than the passenger side's outer seal, but apparently rolling up and down the window does have an effect on its life--that, or an arm resting over it more often has an effect.

I used a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the old ones up & out. For the outer seals, the clip closest to the front of the truck, on both sides, was the toughest to pull out. The rest I could have done by hand.
Like another poster warned: Be careful--especially with the inner seals since they attach to the softer plastic of the door panel. Pulling too hard or in a poor direction will stretch the holes it is supposed to mount to.

I found that one of the toughest things about replacing them is getting the rubber from the existing window seals (that go up the back of, and around the upper, window track) to layer over the new seals just like it did from the factory. Mine seems out of alignment a little bit, but it should still be ok.

Ah, the peace of mind I'll have this winter!


Best,

 

How much were they from Ford? Mine don't look old and cracked, they just don't wipe the outside of the window anymore. If they're not too expensive (got laid off, money's kinda tight) I might give it a shot.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-Dec-02 AT 09:38 AM (EST)]Whoops, just re-read Mr Man's post where he told us he bought them from JC Whitney. That answers why his came in sets and mine didn't.

They were around $10 each. I'd just go with the outer seals if money is a concern - the inner seals really don't do much except guide & protect the window glass.
:-X12
Best,

 

I just replaced all of mine with a set i got from jcwhitney for $50, it included the inside and outside...4 all together and they just snap in with like 4-5 clips...just pull them off.