[T2] Door gasket

[Ned Savoie]

Hey Bob,

I have new seals. Still haven't installed them. But when I asked a few
years ago I got some good info:

Hey all,

I have my new front door seals from BD. I ordered the German ones. Having a
tough time finding best practices for installation. Wash off the powdery
coating or leave it? Only glue where necessary in corners or also add some
glue in the channels?

Any advice or websites that cover this would be helpful. I've checked
Samba, Ratwell, IAC, etc. and not found any consistent advice or how-to.

Thanks,

Ned

----------

>From John Anderson:
Ned, I can say to how they were initially installed, and how I've done em.

Wipe off the powder with damp cloth, but don't kill yourself.  I wipe round
once, then wipe the back (glued) surface once more round.  I put the
smallest drip of purple cleaner in a gallon of hot water, moderately
squeezed out towel.  In WV (and in AK I'd do the same but haven't installed
a set yet up here) I tossed them in the clothes dryer for 10 minutes
wrapped in a zip tied old pillow case.  In a warm land, lay em out on the
driveway.  3M weatherstrip cement, per instructions, entire way round.
That is how them came, and in fact getting out the old adhesive is a real
PITA, plastic scraper tool and laquer thinner helps to get the old glue out
first.  A 2" wide plastic putty knife helps to work em in.  Get them seated
COMPLETELY or else your doors won't close.  That happens even with the BD
German ones, but much worse with the SA crap.  Be happy you sprung the
extra for the German.  Rust in the channel of course needs dealt with and
can be a real pain as it often involves the overlapping layers and is hard
to really treat.

Be amazed at how solidly the doors thunk shut at the end.

John

------------

>From Jim Thompson:

One other experienced tip -  Even with the seals fully and correctly
installed, you will find the doors difficult to close.  This is normal and
they need time to fully "seat" in place. A little known fact is that when
seals were installed on the production line, VW employed a few people to go
up and down the line opening and closing the doors to "seat" the seals as
best as possible.  In addition, completed Buses (and Bugs/Type 3s) were
often sitting with their doors closed during transport to the US (and
beyond) further allowing the seals to "seat".  By the time they arrived at
the dealers, the doors were easier to close (relatively speaking).

In a recent install of these door seals on a 71 Bus here at Airhead Parts,
we didn't remove the talcum powder, we just installed them dry with 3M
cement in most, but not all spots in the channel.

One further note:  You may find the door just slightly "sticking" out and
not flush with the body with new seals.  Resist the urge to re-adjust the
striker plates as eventually after the seals "seat" the door will
eventually become flush.  Keep in mind that when VW installed doors and did
all of the necessary adjustments, it was done without and before the seals
were installed.

Just my nickel's worth :)

Hope this helps!



Ned

--

Ned Savoie
Creative Director

Harbour Light Strategic Marketing
Savvy Software, Inc.
621A Islington Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801

[Telephone] 603.427.2821
[Facsimile] 603.427.0938
[Mobile] 603.828.2400

On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 5:12 PM, Bob Pratt <ka1dza at verizon.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the info Kevin. Can you remember if the groove in the gasket
> goes over the lip of the channel?
>
> Bob
>
> > On Apr 6, 2017, at 3:15 PM, Kevin Guarnotta <kevin at guarnottadesign.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Installing gaskets. I’m not sure about this gasket in particular, but I
> have some experience installing similar gaskets.
> > I suggest you start in the middle and push the gasket into place. Then
> push the ends in place too. Now push the gasket into place by cutting the
> distance between installed points in half.
> >
> > It is very easy to start a gasket on one end to install, and
> inadvertently stretch the gasket as you install it. Then when you get to
> the end – you have a lot of extra gasket. Then you cut the extra off.
> >
> > A week or month later, the gasket shrinks a bit back to its original
> size, and now you have a gasket that is a bit too short!
> >
> > -Kevin Guarnotta
> > Jamaica Plain, MA
> >
> > ’78 Westy
> > '69 Singlecab
> > '65 Ez-camper
> >
> >
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