Door Rubber Gaskets--Where should ends be located

[dogma420]

Thanks for reading my post; I appreciate it.

I am installing 2 new door rubber gaskets.

The old ones I have now have the ends down in the middle of the rocker panel area.

If I install the new gaskets (the cheapo's from VB)..the bag labeled for left, if installed on the left, would have the ends ending somewhere around the front edge of the door, I would say about half way down, near the level where the hood release is.

Which way would everyone recommend? Which way is standard, and what is all of your opinions?

I would think it wouldn't matter....but if the ends come off on the front side, I wouldn't want to do that...it would look better imo if the ends were not in the middle of the rocker panel area however.

By the way, I did have broken linkage on my wipers and from Arizona Z I got a '78 set of linkage ($35 w/shipping from Arizona to Portland, Oregon), installed it, along with a nearly forgotten about gasket set created by Bambikiller from a while back, and I must tell everyone, one of the best upgrades I've done. The linkage was in almost new condition imo. Previously, since I'd never had any linkages apart on previous Zeds, I had thought it was probably normal to have a little bit of play in the shafts that the external wiper blade attaches to, as my originals had about 1mm of play area...the ones I just got had 0% play in them. After pulling them apart, greasing, and installing it all, incredible difference.

Also, I"m very close to having the hazard stickers ready for sale...I just need to send the money to my sticker maker now...I will send 10 of them to Will and let him send his opinion to everyone before anything else. I believe Zedd Findings has created them as well, but I will definitely sell for less to all members here.

Take care, thanks for reading,

[EScanlon]

Dave:

Do you still have the interior metal piece with vinyl on it that helps hold down the gasket welting after the gasketing is installed? If so, then put the seam in the rocker panel area and use that piece to hold down the weatherstripping.

If they've taken the time to cut the 90° corner for the upper part of the door, and that forces you to put the butt end of the weatherstrip up by the kick panel, then use the welting (the vinyl piece with the metal form inside that pinches the metal on the body and fastens the weatherstrip in place) to hold it in place and put the welting's butt ends on the rocker panel area.

Hope that made sense.

E

[dogma420]

I think I understand E; they didn't cut the corner; I will switch them like you said so I install them the same way the old ones are installed.

If I installed what VB says is the left side on the left side, then the butt ends would be at the front of the doors, near the hinges.

If I simply put the left side on the right side and just switch them, then the ends meet in the middle of the scuff plates. I can then just make sure the welting ends at the same place.

The interior piece you're talking about is the scuff plate, right?

I'll be installing these tomorrow...looks like we're going to have some clear, cold, windy weather, good for working outside on the Z.

[EScanlon]

The scuff plate is exactly right. It will help hold down the ends of the welting and the weatherstripping preventing it from popping loose and getting hooked on something.

The other alternative is to use the 90° corner to hide the ends of both the welting and the weatherstripping, and in fact makes for a cleaner installation.

E

[dogma420]

Thanks for the info, Enrique.

Makes me wonder why these door rubber gaskets are cut in the middle...it would seem that they should be one piece...

Are the Nissan OEM ones like that? Or any others? (are they one piece vs. cut in the middle) I am not complaining at this point, because for the quality that these gaskets appear to be (holding them in my hand at this point) I'm pretty happy with the low cost of $19.99 each.

Finally!!! Once these are installed, and the hatch panel which is coming in the mail from MSA is installed, my Z is 99.9999% sealed up from the outside!!! It's been 3 complete Z cars since I haven't smelled exhaust. Only my first Z, a 260z big bumper was completely sealed up.

By the way, I'm sure you've modified your hatch interior panel on the backside in some way (to prevent it from moisture deterioration)...

My idea was, to use some heavy plastic and gorilla glue to within 1/4" of the edges all around on the backside, with tiny holes in the plastic for the rivets to go through...and on the hatch itself, I'm thinking of putting little thimble like plastic pieces all around each rivet, to make them 100% sealed up.

...kinda makes me wonder, if anyone has tried to seal up this hatch area around the actual hatch latch assembly and seal it up right there...it would be better if the inside of the entire hatch was sealed up. Since I'm going to try to put a BRE spoiler on the back, I've already put 5 of the little rubber bumpers on the holes for the emblems. (the ones that the gas door rests on--they work good for that.)

Once Summer comes, then I'm going to pull out the rear window, fix the defrost lines, get good window tint put on, and POR15 the heck out of the hatch, Ala how Gary has done his hatch.

This summer I will definitely ride with you guys!

Enough rambling....

Thanks for your time E.

[LEB]

While you're on the subject of door gaskets.........I just installed new ones after painting. I can barely get the doors shut. The gaskets are that tight. I'm hoping that with time things will compress enough to have normal door operation. Have others had the same problem? Will it get better with time? It's been about a month now and things are still really tight although maybe a little improved.

Oh, I trimmed the ends between the hinges right or wrong.

Thanks, Larry

[EScanlon]

Dave:

That you're getting moisture in the hatch plenum says that you have openings to the outside. With no emblems, that would be the first thing to close up. The next would be to check other openings and close them up as well.

Unless you have a Series I with the vents in the hatch, there isn't any reason for an opening to the exterior (excepting the latch mechanism, which can't be sealed).

Larry;

Unfortunately they WILL go down in time, but it can be a long time for that. Unfortunately, while the 70-78 models shared TONS of parts, one of the items they didn't share were the door gaskets. Later year cars had a slightly larger space between the door and the body, which is why their weatherstrips are thicker. Add to that that not all weatherstrips are manufactured with the same specs (hardness of the rubber) and you have more variation.

Your best bet is to adjust the doors to see if that will improve the fit. If you end up not being able to do so, then you might have to give up and buy the OEM weatherstripping or at least get a good quality kit.

FWIW

E

[dogma420]

Enrique,

I installed 5 of the rubber bump stops on the emblem holes, the same part number for the rubber stops on the gas filler door. They work great on sealing up emblem holes. The only opening to the outside world should be just the latch (I have the later non vent hatch). I was just wondering if anyone had done any modifications, or such. I like to do refurbishing so I don't have to do it ever again, if possible.

I'm doing it because I'm going to get a BRE spoiler sometime next year, and my emblems were falling off due to broken studs, so I just went ahead and installed the rubber stops.

Larry,

I think installing the gaskets either way should be just find, as long as they are installed correctly in all other aspects. I was just confused because each part was labeled left or right, and if installed, they would have the ends in a different area than how the worn-out gaskets were installed.

If you do a forum search on the gasket sealing subject, soom good posts will pop up...If I remember correctly, Enrique did one of his great explanation posts on how to adjust the body side latch piece. They don't move much, but you can adjust a tad bit.

If money wasn't an issue, I would get the OEM Nissan door gaskets. I think they are around $150 though, hence why I didn't get them. They will still be tight, from what I've heard, but not as tight.

Hope this helps, and thanks E for your input...I appreciate it.

Everyone have a good week,