Hi. Need some advise regarding the door seal I installed on my 54 F100 today over here in Germany. I used the door seal set from Dennis Carpenter and -since I did the driver side door first- used the one that had the markings LF / left front and LR / left rear. Glueing it on was easy and it fitted nicely. I then mounted the door back on the cab (after it was off for about 17 years now) and adjusted to have an equal gap all around. However, closing the door is a problem. It takes a major bang and then the door still stands open by a few tenth of an inch (i.e. does not align with the body in the rear from top to bottom). It aligns nicely in the front. I now wonder how good should it align in the rear. The problem seems to be that the lower rear seal piece (that's the one which goes around the corner) hits the pillar / cab (don't know how to call that part of the body). It appears that it would need some trimming, but that does not sound right to me, or ? I moved the striker plate further in, but then it was totally impossible to get the door shut. I could take a digital photo if there was one out there who would like to help and needs to see how I glued the seal to the door and what I mean with 'it does not look right'. Any help is appreciated. Kai (Hanau/Germany) e-mail 3k.liebig@gmx.de

 

the new seals need time to settle in and conform to the body. Do not cut them. I have had luck by spraying silicone spray on the seals. It helps relax the new rubber. This also works good on old seals too.

 

I also have Dennis Carpenter seals and have the same problem. They seem to be pretty dense but are starting to settle in over time. Keep the doors shut as tight as you can. I am going to try Gregs silicone trick.

Dewayne

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-Apr-02 AT 00:53 AM (EST)]Thanx for the hints. I'll go for them. I'll also take one or two shots with my digital camera later today and will post them in my galery. Please check them out and let me know what you think. I also had an e-mail response from Bob who also had the very same problem on his 54 and over the time ruined his door latch (and therefore never did the other side). It'l take me a few weeks (if not month) to prep the other door and then put the seal on. Hope the silicon spray has done it's job by then. Thanx again and Greetings from the rainy Germany. Kai

 

Kai

Perhaps I misunderstood your post, you are not going to silicon spray the uninstalled seal yet are you? That would likely cause adhesion problems. I checked out you gallery. First of all, its looking good so far. Nice job. Is your door latched shut in the PIC? If so, your gap is even wider than mine. The seal appears to be installed correctly. I wonder if Carpenter has an email address on his site? You know the question must have come up before.

Dewayne

 

Kai -- You truck looks great. I am starting a rebuild and I has wondering how many man-hours it has taken you to get to this point?

I was planning to use door seals from Dennis Carpenter on my 51. Does anyone know of a better supplier for door seals? My guess is that the factory originals did not require a break-in time or spraying with silicone. My experence with silicone spray is that it reduces the lifetime quite a bit and that the rubber turns sticky over time. To soften air cell rubber that thick will require a bunch of structural damage.

James

 

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-Apr-02 AT 03:31 PM (EST)]James and Dewayne, Thanx a lot for the info. No, I did not spray silicon before installation of the seal. Yes, the door in my photo is completely closed. In fact, now it won't open anymore. Just found that out today when I tried to get in. Left it alone for now and did something else. Hope I have not damaged the mechanics. I have added a photo of my truck the day I bought it. That was in 1985.

 

Kai

I just installed the latch on my drivers door which is a bear claw style latch. My truck used to have shaved handles. The door gap closed up just fine on this side. My stock latched door is where my gap is. I suspect looseness in my latch mechanism may be most of the problem. Check your mechanicals carefully. Your door gap looks way too wide to be caused by a stiff seal.

Dewayne