Door lower seals

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by fullcm, Feb 7, 2019.

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  1. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    I just purchased a set of the rubber lower door seals from AutoKrafters to install this spring. I have seen a lot of posts mentioning that these are too thick and cause the door to be difficult to close. My original seals are in decent shape and I am really just changing them out for cosmetic reasons so if they are not going to work well I may not want to do it. The posts are all about 4+ years old so I am wondering if anyone has installed a set of these recently, maybe the seal design problems have been corrected since some of these comments were posted.
     
  2. William623

    William623 Member Supporting Member

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    I just installed a set on one of cars and they do certainly take some force to close. My previous seals were in good shape also but I have to say I have noticed a difference in the seals and it was well worth it.
     
  3. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    I wonder if over time they will take a set and the doors will close easier again.
     
  4. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    I would think if they close easy they wouldn't seal as well.
     
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  5. William623

    William623 Member Supporting Member

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    I installed a set on my other car about 5 years ago now and they do get a bit easier but it is never "easy".
     
  6. Acornridgeman

    Acornridgeman MCCI Wisconsin State Rep Moderator Supporting Member

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    I have installed 3 of the AK kits so far. Never had issues with installing the seals or problems with closing the doors. I did have issues with the metal clips not fitting very well on the cats whiskers. Needed a bead of the 3M black adhesive to keep those from coming loose.
     
  7. William623

    William623 Member Supporting Member

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    I have to ask, what are "cat whiskers"?
     
  8. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    Are the cat whiskers the window frame seals that go down into the side rails?
    That is good to know because I also bought a set of those.
    I am also changing the upper door seal and the beltline seals.
     
  9. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    I think that is the seal that goes around the inside of the side window frame and down the side rails (not the belt line seals).
     
  10. Acornridgeman

    Acornridgeman MCCI Wisconsin State Rep Moderator Supporting Member

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    No - I was referring to the beltline - the ones with the metal clips that go on both sides of the glass along the length of the door. In ancient times, we called those cats whiskers or window fuzzies …….. :mg: ………….. cause they were fuzzy.

    The Maverick ones are all rubber. :)
     
  11. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    ok, well still good to know since I will be replacing these too.
     
  12. William623

    William623 Member Supporting Member

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    Ah I can see where that came from now. I have replaced the beltlines in a few mavericks and sometimes they do need a bit of help to stay in!
     
  13. Craig Selvey

    Craig Selvey Indiana State Rep - MCCI

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    I have installed the lower seals and have had no issues. Yes...the doors are tight at first, but they do get better. The "metal" part of the seal goes to the front of the door and is made to pivot a little when the door shuts...so don't glue that part.
     
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  14. William623

    William623 Member Supporting Member

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    I made that mistake on my first car. Learned my lesson after that lol.
     
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  15. fullcm

    fullcm Doug

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    Just installed the lower door seals, I saw lots of posts about them being too tight so I put the ends of the new seals between two pieces of wood and compressed them in a vice to about the same thickness as my old ones. Left them like that overnight and they came out with a nice 'pre-set', after installation I had no problems with them being too tight.
     
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