Door Seals question...

[Lazeum]

I had some MSA weatherstrip on my 72. Doors were very diffucult to close. I was worried about breaking the glasses since I had sometimes to slam the door very violently.

I decided to remove them and to go to a different route.

I went to the junkyard, I purchased some weatherstrip from another recent car (Renault Twingo in France). It works very well now! it cost me 20€ (worth a try, I guess).

I've heard in the US, Acura integra weatrerstripping works well. Most of the new stuffs are clamped instead of being glued. It is better IMO

It can look like a "ghetto" solution but the end result looks awesome and super clean but you deviate from stock if this is what you are looking for...

Edited March 10, 2009 by Lazeum

[gnosez]

You can spray silicone on the door seals or spray on to a cloth and then apply to the seals. Now wipe off any excess, then shut your doors and leave the car in the sun for several hours.

You may need to do this a few times.

The seals will shrink just a bit and the doors will close quite nicely.

[soundmasterg]

I bought the complete MSA kit (made by Precision), Everything went on the car well, but the doors are very hard to close. MSA says it's the number one complaint they get.

My doors closed fine before replacing the weatherstrip and the gaps are all perfect so I don't want to mess with the adjustment. I have to slam them big-time to get them to close all the way. I broke one exterior door handle from the stress of opening against the weatherstrip.

I tried putting a film of silicone on the selas to make them silde against the door frame easier. It helped a little bit, but they are still hard to close. It's been a year so far.

The adjustment that they are talking about is the striker adjustment, which won't affect the gaps a whole lot. I used Black Dragon seals and the doors were hard to shut on my '72 until I did some adjusting of the striker. They still aren't perfect, but they work without having to slam a whole lot. They will never shut as nicely as my 1969 Volvo 1800S does, but then each door's hinge on the Volvo weighs about 15 pounds and is huge. I can shut the door on the Volvo with my pinkie, but my Z is lots faster, partly due to light weight of the car, and I'd rather have a faster car honestly...hehe.

Anyway, try to adjust the striker on the back door jam and you'll find it will shut a lot better.

Greg

[trout_hound]

As a follow up, I bought the Black Dragon door seals and installed them. They went on easy, they look pretty good (although different than the original), and the doors shut fine, and the exhaust smell I was experiencing with the windows rolled up is gone. So hallelujah to that. Next step is to the shop for some rocker panel rust removal...

[moritz55]

Hi all , I just wanted to share how I resolved my Door Slamming issue after I added the MSA Precision Weatherstripping using the separate Welting.

It started last year when I instaleld the MSA Weatherstripping (that requires the separate Welting) on both my Driver and Passenger doors. The Passenger Door finally softened nicely and closed well after about 1month of letting the door sit closed. The Driver side never closed well - major slamming was needed. I noticed that my Passenger door weatherstripping came in a Nissan OEM bag, where as my Driver side came in a Precision Green labeled bag. ... Hmmm should have reacted to this immediately, however I was anxious to finish the interior and enjoy the ride last year!

About 2mos ago as I put my '73 240z on the road, I called MSA and inquired about their Nissan OEM weatherstriping (the type that requires welting to also be added) in an attempt to resolve my Driver door slamming problem. I noticed from my left-over pieces that the Passenger door strip was softer than the Driver side strip. When I called MSA they only had Passenger door weatherstrip so I ordered it figuring I can convert it to a Driver side: 76801E41 and Nissan's PN is 76801E-4100).

When this arrived, I noticed it was much softer and compressed nicely!

When the time came to do the Driver Door - I cut the Long run at proper length where there is actually a seam and attached the cut piece to the shorter run using Permatex Contact Cement. This converted the Passenger weatherstrip to a Driver weatherstrip for installation. It spliced superbly - looks like a factory seam and installed easily.

Now both my doors close very nice without slamming and nor air leaks - in fact I could pull the doors in closer to the body for a better fit. They also look like original as seen in the photo.

Hope this helps others who have lived with door slamming.

Many thanks ..

Edited June 2, 2009 by moritz55

[GeeZ]

I installed factory door weatherstrippings several years ago and apparently installed them incorrectly. The part that actually installs to the opening fits ok but the rubber curls up and outward. I tried to tape the curls down but it does not stay plus it is difficult around the locking mechanism. I am told to use a heat gun to make the rubber more compliant.

The technique I will use is to clamp down the rubber flat and hit it with a heat gun (650 deg. from a Harbor Freight gun) for 15 minutes. Has anyone tried this and worked? Is my technique plausible?

Thanks

[Chart505]

I installed the black dragon kit. The doors were very hard to close for the first week or so. I am about 2 months into it and the door are about back to normal now. Just takes some time.