So I fitted new door gaskets when I had the van resprayed. The drivers side works a treat but the passenger side is giving me jip. It seems to me the part of the gasket that is on the hinge side is too thick and too hard. When I close the door it wants to spring open again too the extent that it puts so much load on the latch because of the spring that the handle will not open the door. These are good quality gaskets as they cost me a fortune. Any ideas as to how i can sort this? Will the gasket soften up? In my experience gaskets get harder not softer.
I would check door alignment before anything else? Maybe the door is too close to the front of the body? Loosen the hinges a little and slide the door out a smidge? Other option is to take some pressure from your expensive rubber seal, by cutting some small slits, but dont do this until you are happy door is lined up correctly. A few photos would help us to see the issue?
I replaced my passenger one and have the same problem - have to really slam the door to get it to close. Changed it well over 6 months ago and it's not got any better - was hoping it would settle over time. My door alignment looks Ok but I haven't tried tweaking it - so will be interested to hear how you get on and whether you find a simple solution. My plan was to shave a layer off the thick rubber by the door hinge however woukd be good to find a solution without having to do that. Mine is so bad that I haven't even attempted to do the other side. Nick... Nick...
Adjust the doors first before cutting the seals. The seals can be cut or shaved back a little to take the stress off them. Best option is not to trim them back as such but cut small X's at stategic places near the check strap area, to allow the material somewhere to squash into. Out of interest which seals are they? I have a cheapo brazilian one from JK that I will fit soon, since the old one is just disolving into its component parts and if the passenger door whistles any more I will buy a drum kit and we can make a tune and perform on X chav factor!
Mine were the ones that come in the JK cab door seal kit - so pretty sure they are the JK reproduction ones.
I got what are sold as genuine VW and they cost an arm and a leg. I couldn't get my doors to shut properly either. After a year I was hoping for the rubber to compress. They are off the bus at the moment and will need a bit of surgery I think.
I recently bought top quality seals. My door alignment isnt perfect but the seals are much less than perfect. I too have done tyhe drivers and not even bothered with the passenger seal as the cheap after market one which I had to cut and glus and in effect make a seal actually works better than the expensive one.
there have been loads of posts about cab door seals, basically if they are black they are crap, if they are grey the door will close
Problem is I stuck the gaskets in with tiger seal and if I try to take it out half the door will come with it. Whoops
And here we have it. Glue, glue guns, tiger seal. Then a coat of paint. Then more glue and more paint and more glue because the seal won't stay in the slot. Then the doors won't shut. If you have a glue-free channel for the seal, when fitted the main square of it should be complately withing the channel. Boinging back out again as you shut it - the further inwards you adjust the door the worse this gets. If you have some adjustment, move the whole door outwards on the hinges? A mm or 2 makes quite a difference. When I were a lad, I thought the best way to adjust the door was without a seal, but now I'm not sure it matters. Reason being when I did my own, they have X-head screws and I couldn't get one out/didn't want to weld/free it. Without the seal the top rear of the door is much further in that the bottom but when it's shut it's flush. Sometimes I wonder why I bother.
