Replaced Door Seals & Can't Close Door

[pbatura]

I just replaced the door seals on my '76 and now can't close the doors. I've checked the clearance between seal and door, and it appears that the rubber seal is not folding back when the door closes. Seems to me that I shoudl trim off some of this seal for it to compress, but I don't want to waste a good seal.

Any help is appreciated.

[beandip]

Sounds to me that the door may have been adjusted for the old worn seals. You may want to have a look at adjusting the hinges before you do any cutting of the new seals. Gary

[pbatura]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give that a try first.

[gnosez]

This has been covered many, many, many times. The seal kits are not OEM for 240s and as such are larger than the ones that came with the car. If after moving the hinges it still is a tight fit, spray the seals w/silicone and shut the door(s) hard and leave in the sun. You might have to do this a few times. The silicone will shrink the rubber.

[psdenno]

Make sure the welting part of the seal is pressed directly on the metal flange around the door opening with all of the old welting channel goop removed. Tap it onto the flange so that it's totally seated. A day in the sun with the doors closed tightly will help the seals conform.

[mally002]

I feel your pain....I went through this for two weeks and while I could finally get my doors closed after silicone and adjustment it was VERY tight.

Here was my solution and it worked great, a perfect fit and you don't have to slam the doors to close them.....I know it's not OEM, so don't gang up on me too hard, but here goes.......Pep Boys.....

I bought their weather strip kit and it works PERFECT, but it's $29.00 a bag and you will need 4. Here's a picture.

Good luck.

[shamus11]

I fitted fridge door seals for 3 years and although these were more plastic than rubber I'd say some of the same principles apply.

I used to use a heat gun on low (a hairdryer on high would be OK) to warm up the seal. If possible use a flat blade knife or something to guide it round as you close the door (if you can reach it). If you want to use a dry lubricant talcum powder will do the job but may stand out against black seal.