So you would think the door seal mod would be a no brainier...right?

I viewed that YouTube video of it being done...ordered 100' of the latex tubing (3/8" OD), and got it yesterday.

First snag, the tubing roll was not continuous (no mention of that on the eBay ad). Figured I would still give it a shot with a length that was long enough.

Second snag...the door seal is different on a 2000 Excursion than the truck in the video (later year F250 or 350)...different seal design and smaller inner cavity.

Took the advice and started with super soapy water into the inside of the seal...ran my fish tape through, attached the tubing...only got about 3' in to the seal before the latex hung up and started to stretch. Removed it, ran clean water then compressed air through to dry it, then sprayed lubricant inside the end and the little holes, tried again. Made it about 4-5' through before hanging up again.

My particular seal was holding the form of the door (bends still obvious even when straightened) so I thought the tubing was rubbing at the bends. Laid it out completely flat with a 2x4 clamping it down, same thing - grabbing. Tried a solid fiber fish, that ended up poking out of one of the holes and making a 6" tear in the seal.

Note to folks that try this...the seal on the 2000 Excursion is NOT the same seal in the video...the inside diameter of the door seal is much smaller than the video.

Add to all that, I was finally able to get the driver door done by making small incisions and doing it in thirds...but now I have to seriously slam the door to get it shut. FYI it was about 76 yesterday, so it's not the cold working on the latex tubing.

Any ideas before I send the other roll of latex back to the idiot eBay'er and just order new seals?

 

You don't need to go all around the seal. Just the 2 rear corners of each door should suffice.

 

I thought about that initially, but I was worred about how 'flat' the rest of the seal was. I was concerned if I only 'assisted' the rear part of the seal, would I get any gaps at the top or bottom since the rear was now solid. Not to mention, I couldn't get my fish tape inside the latex tubing...I could only get one section of the tubing in. To use one piece wouldn't have worked - I couldn't get it positioned far enough up the seal.

I couldn't handle the slamming of the front door, so I went on a hunt to find new ones for the front doors, thinking I'll try again on the rear ones to see if I can get it to work...maybe baby powder this time instead of soapy water or liquid lubricant?

It took me a drive to get them...no more than one exists at any one dealer in the Sacramento area, so I had to hop from one to another to get them. No-one in Sac has the rears - Walnut Creek is the closest and they only have one. Apparently there are 12 in Michigan, so I may be ordering the rears just because.

Here are some shots of the new ones I got for the front:

As you can see, the one on the right (original) only has one channel and seems to have slightly thicker walls. The new ones (left) seem to be set up to 'fold' when the door shuts. The factory one I can see easily 'grabbing' the sides of the latex tubing easier than the new one.

Not all door seals are cut right from the factory!:

"...WTF...?" Yep, too short! I'll go back to the dealer to see if they are willing to get me one the correct length.

The only temporary fix I could think of was to cut a small length of the old seal to fit in between the gap:


The passenger side seal was a perfect length:

 

Here is a link to what I ordered for my 2000 Ex and it worked great. Actually it was a bit loose when inserting it into my seals so maybe yours have swollen up from some lubricant applied to them in the past? Or maybe you got the wrong tubing shipped, did you measure the O.D. of the tube you actually received to make sure it was correct? Thats the only thing I could think of unless they were not original seals but the side view of your original matches the side view of mine.

I got mine from Amazon and was aware after doing some research from the actual supplier that I think a maximum of 50' length was possible on latex in some sizes and that it was common to have multiple pieces in one roll of even 50' due to how it is manufactured. I can not remember but I think my 50' rolls came in 2 pieces each with the smallest ones being about 7' or 8' or so.

Amazon.com: 50 Feet Black Rubber Latex Tubing 3/8"OD 1/4"ID (#804R): Health & Personal Care

Hope that helps

 

Don't feel bad. Mine were a major PITA also. I got them through, but only with a lot of silicone spray and lots of straightening the door seal and fish tape and a few small tears. My driver's side rear door is very tight too, you have to slam it a little. I consider this a good thing. I am dreading doing the front doors, which I have noticed rattling a little lately.

 

Just a few more things I remembered from when I did mine.

Do not worry about that gap you show after reinstalling the new seal, just go back and rework it a bit and it will close up. This happened to me when I reinstalled one of my old seals, I ended up about 1/2" short and just reinstalled it working from the seam back both directions.

Also, I did mine alone and used what I had lying around. I used a spare piece of coax cable instead of the fish tape and it worked great. I did not have any tears or punctures using the coax and the latex tubing fit great over the end once I got the coax through the seal. I just used one small piece of duct tape to insure the tubing stayed on during the pull.

I also found it much much easier to fish the coax through and to pull it back by using some bricks as a weight on the opposite end while I worked the coax. I was able to pull on the round side of the seal as I worked the coax and make it pretty straight which made all the difference.

When finished I did not have any issues of having to slam it or anything or the sort, it just shut nice and solid. Maybe it was the result of the exact tubing I ordered and the thinner wall which made the tubing more pliable? I had found some before that had the thicker wall but still the same O.D. and it seemed like it would have been too stiff and not compressed enough in my opinion.

Oh and by the way, I just used a healthy spraying of soapy water as my lubricant and made sure to stop and apply a few times as I went along.

 

Can't you use vaccum line for this ?

 

I believe there was an issue with others using it and it either becoming too hard or not holding up, I can not remember off hand. The key was latex due to how pliable it is.

 

I think I too remember some using vacuum line and they found it had a memory and did not hold its shape very long and compressed, similar to the door seal itself.

 

The big advantage to the latex is it stays pliable in cold weather.

 

Robert, can you post the part number for the passenger side door seal?

Thanks.

Stewart

 

If I was putting new front door seals, I would be getting the seals from the current SuperDuty. I imagine they are even more improved now and they should fit in theory because it's the same darn door.

 

20708 - listed twice in the Ford Parts on-line database (one for the driver, one for passenger) but it's the same part.

25324 is the 2nd row doors - part number lists for both left and right. Go figure.

 

I think they are the same as current. If you check that first pic, the design is signficantly different - two seals on top of one another.

Can anyone take a peek at their newer model F250/350 and confirm if the ones I posted pics of are the same?

 

Forgot to post...the dealer says the 2nd row doors on the Excursion are different than the full size 2nd row doors on F250/350 (different dimensions maybe?).

I asked when he said he didn't have any for an Excursion if a F250/350 would fit and he said the doors are different. Fronts SHOULD be the same though I would imagine. Can anyone confirm?