"nipped" window seal

[redspecial2000]

Hi,

Ive got a 3yr old SLK with a tiny dripping water issue on the drivers side window. On closer inspection the seal is being pinched when the window rolls up the 10mm automatically when the door is shut. The seal gets caught right at the join of the roof to the windsreen pillar and is pushed to the inside of the window rather than the outside.

Ive tried to persuade the seal to come to the outside, but is there a better way of doing this? A little heat perhaps? Silicone?

Help!

Lennie

 

[BTB 500]

Maybe the roof is slightly out of alignment?

 

[redspecial2000]

Doesnt appear to be, it just seems to have happened and never been corrected and over the years has stayed like that. To be honest i only noticed it when I went through a carwash to test the seals. Everything was perfect apart from a couple of drips in the corner with the dodgy seal.

Ive now managed to convince the seal to the correct position with a little help from my flexible friend. I'll let it stay in its new position overnight in the cold weather we're having and see what happens. Might try a light coating of silocone spray on it once the weather clears up too.

 

[lynall]

Silicone spray on a cloth spread over the seals is excellent also stops the doors sticking in the freezing weather.



Lynall

 

[portzy]

I think I know where you mean, can you post a piccy?, I have an SLK which suffered a few leaks and I might be able to help further.

Cheers.
Portzy.

 

[redspecial2000]

Please see the attachments- I can get the seal into the correct position either by carefully closing the door whilst pulling it away with my fingers (I'll never play piano again) or gently coaxing it once the door is closed.

The other side is perfect, its just the driver's side.

Any thoughts welcome!

 

[portzy]

It looks to me that the roof might be ever so slightly out of line, see how its outer edge lines up with the 'A' pillar outer edge. I will have a close look at mine tonight.

If the door is left closed for some period of time with the seal nipped as it were then the seal can take on a new shape, especially if the alignment is slightly out. One trick is to place something similar to a credit card between the glass and the seal and leave it there for a few days to encourage the seal to take on the correct formation. As I said though, let me have a closer look at mine.

Is yours from a franchised dealer btw?, not being nosey, just that it might have a bearing on getting it corrected.

Cheers.
Portzy.

 

[redspecial2000]

Nope it was the director's daughter of the local Suzuki garage that I got it from. I might get it looked at by a Merc specialist as you could be right about the roof. I might try convincing it a little more too in the mean time.

Does anyone know a decent Merc specialist in Central Scotland???

 

[portzy]

I had a look at mine last night and whilst I wouldnt say its perfectly in line it is pretty much, for all intents, parralel to the top of the 'A' pillar. I'd persist for a while with the 'credit card' remedy and see how you go on, failing that the roof might benefit from some slight adjustment but its not a diy job.

The trim parts you were refering to in your other post, they are plastic btw so shouldnt be too expensive to replace.

Cheers.
Portzy.

 

[redspecial2000]

Thanks for the advice, I will see how it does over the next few weeks....

In the mean time, I noticed that they seal looked fairly dry (probably due to it not getting a lot of moisture trapped on the wrong side of the glass) I rubbed some Vaseline into the corners at the upright last night and found it a lot easier to coax into the correct position. This morning the door and window opened and shut in the correct place, so hopefully over time repeating this process should help.

I should really consider getting some Swissvax Seal Feed and do all the seals properly. Is the Swissvax stuff the best? I dont expect Vasoline to be the best solution!

 

[redspecial2000]

Oh and the best place to source interior trim parts?

 

[portzy]

Thanks for the advice, I will see how it does over the next few weeks....

In the mean time, I noticed that they seal looked fairly dry (probably due to it not getting a lot of moisture trapped on the wrong side of the glass) I rubbed some Vaseline into the corners at the upright last night and found it a lot easier to coax into the correct position. This morning the door and window opened and shut in the correct place, so hopefully over time repeating this process should help.

I should really consider getting some Swissvax Seal Feed and do all the seals properly. Is the Swissvax stuff the best? I dont expect Vasoline to be the best solution!

There are lots of things on the market for this sort of thing and I have found that the official MB stuff to be the best although its not the cheapest. When I say 'official' its the stuff that MB recommend & use for SLK & SL roof and boot seal problems and the Pt No is A 000 989 36 60. From memory its about £12.00 for a 30 ml bottle but it does go a long way. Another one is Halfords Finish Line which is a PTFE lubricant for push-bikes and again, a little goes a long way although with this stuff if does dry leaving a PTFE coating, thats about £10.00 for an aerosol and its best if you squirt a small amount into the lid and apply it with an artists type brush.

Oh and the best place to source interior trim parts?

I'd say dealers or maybe E-bay.

Cheers.
Portzy.

 

[redspecial2000]

Progress!!

Swung by the local MB Dealer yesterday. He had a look and suggested taking the torx screw out of the pillar, lubing the seal up and "working" the seal into the corner of the upright. He also suggested putting something into the gap into the hollow of the seal to force it out a little more, whilst not blocking it completely!

Got home and found a little bit of cork, carved it into a crescent moon shape and put it into the seal. There's still loads of space to allow water to drain past it.

Door now closes like a dream and the seal stays in position! Result!

 

[Rob77]

What did you end up lubing the seal with? Vaseline?

 

[redspecial2000]

Yup, and it seemed to do the trick. Will change this for something a bit more appropriate later on...

I wish I had a camera to get a picture of my girlfriends face when I was parked in the driveway with the roof half down, with a family size tub of vaseline and a grin on my face...

 

[redspecial2000]

Update!

Well I thought Id post you an update...

The cork solution was working ok, but I was determined to find a better solution. I needed something that fitted the seal gap, allowed water to pass through, and also had enough spring in it to absorb the impact of the door glass without damaging the seal or the door.

You'll see in the image below what I found did the trick- a plasplug rawlplug! It's not exactly self-coloured, but a little bit of black spray paint and it works a treat! Holds the seal in the perfect position and the window closes bang on every time. For the first time since getting the car Ive been through a car wash and emerged perfectly dry!

I should patent this solution....

Oh and for any newbies to SLKs out there- its amazing the difference a lubricated seal makes to your car. All of my windows now seal better, and its cut out the wind noise and misting in the car completely.

:bannana:

Lennie

 

[KevReid]

Could you post a picture of where you placed the rawlplug? I have the same problem on the passenger side. I always get out of the car (roof up) then open the passenger side a fraction insert a very thin metal plate in to the grove from outside the glass then shut the door and the glass slide back up in to the correct place and I remove the metal plate. I keep the metal plate on my key ring so it is always on hand. This works but I would prefer to have a better solution.

Thanks