Door gaskets, Wind, Noise
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From: Georgia
Door gaskets, Wind, Noise
I am or have been the owner of three different Aerostars. I had a 91 and now have a 94 and 96.
Only on one, the 94, do I have this problem. It seems like the door gasket on the two front doors do not seal. It gets noticeable at highway speeds like 70-75 and gets worse the faster you go. Also when the wind blows, it gets worse too. It can be very annoying.
The passenger door has some play in it too. It doesn't droop but you can push the door further in after it is latched.
I have considered a few options. First and most obvious is to replace the gasket. Second is to adjust the door latch or post, if possible, to hold the door in tighter. Third, is to insert some rubber hose (or something) inside the hollow part of the door gasket to stiffen it.
Before I start experimenting I did a search here and didn't find anything. So now I’m asking if anyone else has experienced a problem with the door gaskets and what you did to fix it.
Only on one, the 94, do I have this problem. It seems like the door gasket on the two front doors do not seal. It gets noticeable at highway speeds like 70-75 and gets worse the faster you go. Also when the wind blows, it gets worse too. It can be very annoying.
The passenger door has some play in it too. It doesn't droop but you can push the door further in after it is latched.
I have considered a few options. First and most obvious is to replace the gasket. Second is to adjust the door latch or post, if possible, to hold the door in tighter. Third, is to insert some rubber hose (or something) inside the hollow part of the door gasket to stiffen it.
Before I start experimenting I did a search here and didn't find anything. So now I’m asking if anyone else has experienced a problem with the door gaskets and what you did to fix it.
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Joined: Apr 2001
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Tom,
I haven't this problem on the Aerostar but I have had it on a Taurus. My experience with moving the door striker was a tighter door-to-seal fit at the expense of creating an obvious mismatch of the door-to-panel seam.
Rather than stuff the seal or move the striker, I eventually wound up buying a coil of 1/2 inch foam weatherstipping with adhesive backing. Pieces of weatherstipping placed between the OEM seal and the metal frame pushed the OEM seal outwards just enough cure most of the wind noise. Additional pieces could be added at the curves where it appeared the OEM seal was furthest from the frame.
I would be afraid that if you stuff the seal you would wind up needing to really slam the door to latch it.
Just some thoughts for consideration.
I haven't this problem on the Aerostar but I have had it on a Taurus. My experience with moving the door striker was a tighter door-to-seal fit at the expense of creating an obvious mismatch of the door-to-panel seam.
Rather than stuff the seal or move the striker, I eventually wound up buying a coil of 1/2 inch foam weatherstipping with adhesive backing. Pieces of weatherstipping placed between the OEM seal and the metal frame pushed the OEM seal outwards just enough cure most of the wind noise. Additional pieces could be added at the curves where it appeared the OEM seal was furthest from the frame.
I would be afraid that if you stuff the seal you would wind up needing to really slam the door to latch it.
Just some thoughts for consideration.
Last edited by aerocolorado; Dec 5, 2003 at 12:17 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: Corpus Christi, Tx. 78418
Tom,
If pushing in the door doesn't seriously misalign the door to panel seam, I'd try adjusting the striker first. Adjust it just enough to align the door and the outer panel when the door is securely shut. My 92 had the same problem, but my door was not aligning properly with the panel when shut. It stuck out a little. Apparently, the stricker on mine had shifted or been shifted (bought it used) outward, I think because the inner trim panel fasteners had broken loose and the trim panel made it hard to close. After I bought the van, I repaired the trim panel fasteners, luckily they were still inside the trim panel, but neglected to reposition the striker. Wind noise was bad at high speed and, like yours, the door seemed to have slack in it when shut.
Just my 2...LOL
Ron
If pushing in the door doesn't seriously misalign the door to panel seam, I'd try adjusting the striker first. Adjust it just enough to align the door and the outer panel when the door is securely shut. My 92 had the same problem, but my door was not aligning properly with the panel when shut. It stuck out a little. Apparently, the stricker on mine had shifted or been shifted (bought it used) outward, I think because the inner trim panel fasteners had broken loose and the trim panel made it hard to close. After I bought the van, I repaired the trim panel fasteners, luckily they were still inside the trim panel, but neglected to reposition the striker. Wind noise was bad at high speed and, like yours, the door seemed to have slack in it when shut.
Just my 2...LOL
Ron
Last edited by rlmdad; Dec 9, 2003 at 05:59 PM.
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Tottenham Ontario Canada
I've experienced leaky door gaskets before, too. My 95 has this problem, but I found out that the door striker pins are not adjustable. Neither are the latches. I wasn't about to invest in new hinge pins just to see if it might cure the problem, so I was prepared to just live with it.
Running a strip of foam tape on the mating surface of the door is a great idea! It won't look great, but it'll only be visible when the doors are open, so who cares?
FWIW, the reason the wind noise only shows up at high speeds is due to aerodynamics. The air spilling off the side of the windshield creates a vacuum outside the front doors, which tends to pull the doors outward. This is the same reason the old no-draft windows and modern vent-visors work so well.
Cheers,
Eric
Running a strip of foam tape on the mating surface of the door is a great idea! It won't look great, but it'll only be visible when the doors are open, so who cares?
FWIW, the reason the wind noise only shows up at high speeds is due to aerodynamics. The air spilling off the side of the windshield creates a vacuum outside the front doors, which tends to pull the doors outward. This is the same reason the old no-draft windows and modern vent-visors work so well.
Cheers,
Eric
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