gummi pflege not helping sticking windows?

[philnewmerc]

Expensive alternate to Gummipflege is Krytox, which was what BMW sold to owners to cure the well known leaks on their Eos. On Ebay you can buy a 5ml bottle to try it out.

So I have now tried gummipfledge and Krytox and neither makes a blind bit of difference . I did apply the stuff after cleaning the rubber and fairly liberally even though it cost more than frankincense. What I haven't tried is silicone oil or PTFE spray. I'm beginning to think it's not really possible if the seals are damp and freezing... I think I will try PTFE dry spray next as I think the silicon oil will probably just be similar to the krytox (?).

I suppose that leads to the question of will it damage the seals to pull the door open and then close it on top of the seals? Unfortunately I have no alternative but to do this as I can't phone a client and say I'm waiting for my frameless windows to drop

Thanks for all the suggestions though

 

[KennyN]

Where is the glass freezing , onto the rubber around the frame or along the seal on the actual door ?

I have had a couple of frameless cars (CLS + F32) and once i run a bank card / works pass along the door seal in the morning i have had minimal issues with the glass not dropping prior to the door being opened.

K

 

[SmartAmg]

Think it's just a thing with frameless doors, unfortunately. I've tried all sorts. Happened this morning, Luke warm water sorted it, which is fine if your at home, but not if your out and about. As said don't want to just pull it, always worried about the rubber ripping and sticking to the glass. The credit card idea sounds ok if it's stuck while out.
Good job it doesn't happen often.

 

[RichardF]

So I have now tried gummipfledge and Krytox and neither makes a blind bit of difference . I did apply the stuff after cleaning the rubber and fairly liberally even though it cost more than frankincense. What I haven't tried is silicone oil or PTFE spray. I'm beginning to think it's not really possible if the seals are damp and freezing... I think I will try PTFE dry spray next as I think the silicon oil will probably just be similar to the krytox (?).

I suppose that leads to the question of will it damage the seals to pull the door open and then close it on top of the seals? Unfortunately I have no alternative but to do this as I can't phone a client and say I'm waiting for my frameless windows to drop

Thanks for all the suggestions though

It can damage rubber seals, and also stress the window regulator. Mk2 Audi TTs used to suffer this, particularly feeble window mechanisms would fail.

 

[philnewmerc]

Where is the glass freezing , onto the rubber around the frame or along the seal on the actual door ?

I have had a couple of frameless cars (CLS + F32) and once i run a bank card / works pass along the door seal in the morning i have had minimal issues with the glass not dropping prior to the door being opened.

K

Actually, now I use my noggin, the glass isn't freezing to the rubber around the door frame, it is just refusing to drop, even after it has been opened i.e. forced past the seals with hot water poured on it. I suppose this means it is frozen inside the door?

 

[KennyN]

with hot water poured on it. I suppose this means it is frozen inside the door?

It will be now if you have poured water on the seal on the door

As said - mine never froze onto the surrounding seal , unless super baltic , it was mainly the long door seal that froze onto the glass preventing the initial drop.

A quick run along with the bank card soon had the glass dropping.

K

 

[philnewmerc]

It will be now if you have poured water on the seal on the door

As said - mine never froze onto the surrounding seal , unless super baltic , it was mainly the long door seal that froze onto the glass preventing the initial drop.

A quick run along with the bank card soon had the glass dropping.

K

Good idea. I will try the mechanical method next!

So to be clear my present non-working method was:
Hot water on door and glass to open the door (but glass won't drop)
Force door past the seal (pains me to do but seems ok)
About 20 mins into journey glass drops

New method will be still use hot water but break the seal mechanically with a credit card... I will feed back results

cheers

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Good idea. I will try the mechanical method next!

So to be clear my present non-working method was:
Hot water on door and glass to open the door (but glass won't drop)
Force door past the seal (pains me to do but seems ok)
About 20 mins into journey glass drops

New method will be still use hot water but break the seal mechanically with a credit card... I will feed back results

cheers

Two thoughts....

As a "nipper," we were always told to NEVER use hot water to defrost a windscreen or door panel. I think for two reasons: that it stressed the glass, which could cause damage, and that it resulted in water in the wrong places: in the door, and onto the floor. I only remember that this as an instruction, I'm not sure of it "from first principles."

You've talked about "fixing the rubber," but what about the glass? How clean is the glass? If the glass is cleaned of contaminants, AND coated with something like RainX, it should be less likely to stick to the rubber.

 

[philnewmerc]

Two thoughts....

As a "nipper," we were always told to NEVER use hot water to defrost a windscreen or door panel. I think for two reasons: that it stressed the glass, which could cause damage, and that it resulted in water in the wrong places: in the door, and onto the floor. I only remember that this as an instruction, I'm not sure of it "from first principles."

You've talked about "fixing the rubber," but what about the glass? How clean is the glass? If the glass is cleaned of contaminants, AND coated with something like RainX, it should be less likely to stick to the rubber.

All good points but I don't have the patience to get out the cordless heat gun . I did clean the glass and rubber fairly thoroughly before firstly using gummi stuff and then the krytox... The main thing is just that the glass will not drop but maybe I need to physically price it away with the credit card technique. I'll report back if that doesn't solve it then I assume it's the mechanism inside the door that is too cold and refuses to move

 

[FL1963]

Hello. I have one of those silly cars with frameless doors so the windows have to drop a centimetre in order to clear the rubber sealing strip. Many people have recommended gummi pflege so before this cold snap I cleaned all the rubbers and generously applied the stuff. It hasn't made a blind bit of difference in an overnight temperature of about -2, ie not exactly Arctic. Obviously I just resorted to the electric kettle. Any other ideas? Or am I using the stuff incorrectly? Oh and my idiotic electric boot once opened, refused to close! I had to drive across town with it open in the snow

WD-40. If it works in Norway in the -20 degrees they have, then it will work in the summerly temperature we get in the UK Hva bruker du silikonspray til? Click on translate to English unless you can understand Norwegian.

 

[philnewmerc]

WD-40. If it works in Norway in the -20 degrees they have, then it will work in the summerly temperature we get in the UK Hva bruker du silikonspray til? Click on translate to English unless you can understand Norwegian.

OK that has been mentioned a few times so I will give it a go - The thing is I assumed the Krytox was a sort of super duper silicon and that didn't work... maybe not

 

[philnewmerc]

Can i put gummipfledge on the window seal where the window drops into the door or will that just cause a smeary mess?

Credit card test tomorrow

 

[SmartAmg]

Credit card test tomorrow

Don't snap it.

 

[stressd]

Where is the glass freezing , onto the rubber around the frame or along the seal on the actual door ?

I have had a couple of frameless cars (CLS + F32) and once i run a bank card / works pass along the door seal in the morning i have had minimal issues with the glass not dropping prior to the door being opened.

K

^ ^ This.
I used to keep a bank card by my front door to be able to get into the Alfa Brera that I had. Quick and easy!

 

[Will]

Hate to say it but how about some de-icer spray?

For the really cold mornings it has to be better than moving jammed glass/seals or forcing the door open past the seal anyway.

And less likely to allow water in to re-freeze elsewhere later, too.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Hate to say it but how about some de-icer spray?

For the really cold mornings it has to be better than moving jammed glass/seals or forcing the door open past the seal anyway.

And less likely to allow water in to re-freeze elsewhere later, too.

Phew, at last someone’s asked that…..

Cos I wasn’t going to. No way, no how.

(Nor a comment about using a hard edged ice scraper….)

 

[Noitz]

A quick shot of de-icer and a credit card has done the job previously on my SLK.
Hopefully it'll work again this morning!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

BTW, if you think this morning’s motoring is tough, cast your eyes across to Germany, where water and freezing temperatures have turned their roads into black ice skating rinks, cancelled flights and briefly closed airports

 

[philnewmerc]

^ ^ This.
I used to keep a bank card by my front door to be able to get into the Alfa Brera that I had. Quick and easy!

Tl;dr
Basically, I've realised the problem has got nothing to do with rubber seals and freezing, it's something to do with being cold and the car deciding not to drop the window automatically (even though I can drop the window on the window switch once the door is opened)


Thank you all for the advice, but none of it has worked. Perhaps I wasn't crystal clear: The problem is not to separating the seal from the glass in order to open the door, the problem is the glass will not drop when it's cold. For example, this morning, I poured warm water all over the door frame and there is no problem opening the door, I did try sliding a credit card along all the seals and the fact is none of them are stuck after the warm water. But the window will still not drop. Hence, I have to pull the door past the frameless door seals. However, what I did notice is that once the engine is started I can drop the window on the window switch then close the door and do up the window, which is an improvement. But no rubber treatment is changing the fact that the window will not drop when it's cold when I open the door. I assume this is because the electronic brain has decided it is too cold to drop the window automatically, but it has not decided to override manual control from the inside... Any ideas why this might be?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Tl;dr
Basically, I've realised the problem has got nothing to do with rubber seals and freezing, it's something to do with being cold and the car deciding not to drop the window automatically (even though I can drop the window on the window switch once the door is opened)


Thank you all for the advice, but none of it has worked. Perhaps I wasn't crystal clear: The problem is not to separating the seal from the glass in order to open the door, the problem is the glass will not drop when it's cold. For example, this morning, I poured warm water all over the door frame and there is no problem opening the door, I did try sliding a credit card along all the seals and the fact is none of them are stuck after the warm water. But the window will still not drop. Hence, I have to pull the door past the frameless door seals. However, what I did notice is that once the engine is started I can drop the window on the window switch then close the door and do up the window, which is an improvement. But no rubber treatment is changing the fact that the window will not drop when it's cold when I open the door. I assume this is because the electronic brain has decided it is too cold to drop the window automatically, but it has not decided to override manual control from the inside... Any ideas why this might be?

What happens if you open the window from the key before getting in?