Weatherstrip Replacing?

Evening everyone. Just thought I'd see what everyone here thinks before I potentially replace something that doesn't need replacing.

Over the past few weeks, when I've been in my car on the highway, usually at speeds higher than 50 mph, I can hear the wind coming through my closed passenger door window extremely loud. I checked the weatherstripping (or whatever its called) that "seals" around the glass on the passenger door and I can easily stick my finger in through a gap where the stripping is soft between the glass and stripping.

I'm assuming it's a problem with the plastic around the glass, because that's where the sound seems to be coming from, but if anyone has any experience with this, let me know if I'm right or not, and how much of a pain installing new stuff would be.

Many thanks.

if passengers close the door by pushing the glass (I had teenage passengers who would regularly do that) you eventually have to adjust the window. Once it is loosened from mishandling the lower part of the weathestrip pushed out far enough to hold window open a little at the top.

I forget how, except that it is in the factory service manual. Most likely, the bottom of window has to be moved outward (toward door skin) a little.

Or pay a good bodyshop to adjust it for you.

Albertj

I have the same issue with my passenger door...an plan to tackle this soon...

Yep. I adjusted mine last summer, fixed the whistle but I did not move it quite far enough so sometimes it leaks a little water in the local touch-free car wash. I'll get it this spring, borrow a manual.

Albertj

I know this is an old thread, but how do you adjust the window?

Real answer: get the factory manual

Alternate answer (from memory): Figure out how far and in which direction you need to move the top of the window. Roll window all the way up. Then take off the interior door panel. One screw top trailing edge of panekl, 2-T30 TORX bolts in door pull; a screw in the interior release lever cover. Lift door panel to (CAREFULLY) unhook it from the door; carefully note the locatoin of the hooks (easy to bust the panel by not hooking it back up right). Detatch the electrical connectors and set the door panel aside.

Remove the plastic waterproofing shield from the door. Do not have to remove it all the way, but hae to access the bolts that secure the window to the window lift mechanism. Look at it closely and carefully. Some of the bolts secure the window to the lift and others move the window toward or away from the passenger compartment. What you want to do is adjust the bottom of the window AWAY from the pass compartment in order to bring the top of the window TOWARD the passenger compartment. Move the adjustment bolts so as to move the window in the desired alignment.

Reassembly of the door trim panel to the door is the reverse of removal.

Albertj

i moved my front windows in now you need to push on the glass for it to shut right i need to fix it soon

Not really - it just means you moved them too much. Also, you can change how high they roll in the first place.

The other thing - have to be sure not to mistake wind rush (*all* Rivs have 'wind rush') form a whistle caused by a leak (these are really loud). A rule of thumb you can use is that if you hear the noise but you can still talk over it, it's probably wind rush and there's not much you can do about it. If it's almost too loud to talk over, you can usually fix it.

Another way to reckon if it's wind rush or a leak - roll down the window ever so slightly (like, 1/16 or 1/8 inch). If your original noise is wind rush the noise will become a leak and get real noisy. If it does not get noisier when you roll down the window slightly, then it's usually a leak and you have to adjust window.

So what you can do is pull the door panel and put the window back a little closer to where you started from.

Also - if you are careful you can test-fit the door closing with the door panel off.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

(*all* Rivs have 'wind rush')

Not at 'normal' highway speeds, my Riv is very quiet... you can hear it once you get around 90...

'wind rush' is not necessarily very loud.

Albertj

This probably isn't the best way, but it's what I did:

After my driver door got smashed by some turd last summer, I got a new door and new paint. The fit looked good, and the door worked fine, but the seal was bad. Rather than take it back, I tried using some black foam adhesive weather strip from the local home improvement store. Ran it in the groove along the top, from the mirror to the B-pillar. It sealed up real nice, and you can't see it unless you open the door and inspect. Even then it looks almost like stock.