Installing weather strip sucks! Especially the hatch

[cozye]

I'm not even exactly sure what the point of installing the outer weatherstrip on the hatch is for. I've got the 3 piece kit that came from black dragon, which apparently only fits by placing the flat edge in the channel, since that was the way it was molded and any other variation I tried with placing it over the lip did not fit. None of it contacts the hatch lid when closed, so I could have left it off and not even bothered.

I didn't realize that it wouldn't make any contact, as I had installed the outer sections while the hatch was off. It's like its not even for the same car. I did quite a bit of searches trying to find others with experience and pics on this particular kit, and couldn't. I took my best guess, glued it down and moved on. Now my worry is that I will have to pull it all up, and a bit of fresh paint with it, and use a different brand/version.

Anyway, I feel better just talking about it. The rest of the kit worked out fine. The inner hatch seal was very tight, so I'm not even sure water would get in anyway.

[madkaw]

It sounds like you installed correctly. The flat part does glue down on the gutter area but I believe it had a cupped part that caught the turned up sheet metal around the hatch. It could be that your new inner hatch seal is so stiff that it doesn't allow thr hatch to touch the outer seals. I never really checked that close, but my car is an hour away or i would. I do remember my hatch fitting very snug and a bit sprung against the inner seal.

[cozye]

Yeah, the inner seal is very stiff and will require some settling down. The outer seal is so far off the sheet metal of the deck lid, that I would be surprised if it ever touched. At the top for example, where the hinges are dictating how far down the hatch comes, it's still 1/8 to 1/4 inch off. As long as it doesn't leak, I'm not going to worry about it.

[Arne]

The outer seal is essentially just a rain gutter, in my opinion. Mine is not glued down well, I need to re-do it at some point. Will probably want to remove the hatch for access. Been so worked up over my new exhaust that the weatherstrp isn't even close to the top of my list.

[madkaw]

All my body lines were very flush including the hatch front edge to the roof line before installing seals. When I put the inner hatch seal on I swore it elevated the hatch a 1/4". It has settled some, but it had to be the sea.l

[cozye]

The outer seal is essentially just a rain gutter, in my opinion. Mine is not glued down well, I need to re-do it at some point. Will probably want to remove the hatch for access. Been so worked up over my new exhaust that the weatherstrp isn't even close to the top of my list.

Sounds exactly right to me. If it works for you I'm not going to worry about it. While installing it this is exactly what I was thinking. Not exactly sure why a strip of rubber being glued down helps this

[cozye]

All my body lines were very flush including the hatch front edge to the roof line before installing seals. When I put the inner hatch seal on I swore it elevated the hatch a 1/4". It has settled some, but it had to be the sea.l

No doubt about that.

[JohnnyO]

Without the outer seal, water leaked in my hatch area by the hinges when I got caught in a storm last summer. This year I installed the outer seal and gave it the hose test and it passed.

Also, I found that using some sil-glyde (found at napa, not the pharmacy ) helped the hatch settle down a little better. It keeps it from bunching up when you close the hatch which reduces the friction and lets everything settle into place. Apply a very thin layer every year or so on all your door and hatch seals.

[cozye]

Good tip on the sil glyde. Thanks!

[Patcon]

Sil-Glyde is a silicone based brake lubricant. The down side to using it on any weatherstrip areas is the painted surfaces that are nearby or come in to contact with it will have silicone contamination, and repainting those areas later will be very difficult if possible at all. The areas with silicone will fisheye badly. Silicone is one of those products that once on the painted surfaces is very hard to get rid of. Rain X is another product that works great on glass but should be used carefully to avoid contaminating paint.

Charles