Has anyone had good/bad experiences with these foam indicator seals? Mine leak like a sieve. Not sure whether it's the seal, the indicator housing or the front panel (panel is new). I used to have a leak before with the old rubber seals, but put it down to the windscreen surround being shot... maybe it was actually the indicator? I was very careful to make sure they were both aligned evenly all round. I'm sure it doesn't help that the indicator is only held on in 2 places. Any suggestions what I can try, other than gobbing a load of silicone in? I'm using self tappers rather than rivets - does that make any difference?
This is what mine looks like with only 2 self tappers holding it in place. It looks to me that you might have got some non original seal which isn't fitting too good.
They are these from Custom & Commercial. I have since realised that "German Quality" means precisely nothing.
They are the same foam material used on modern light cluster seals but the difference is that those tend to be large flat or smoothly curved plastic surfaces fitted to flat or curved metal panels. What we need is moulded rubber seals designed for the hard edges of the indicator lenses. Silicone rubber sealant is probably the best match..
I gave up on trying to get the seals to stop water getting in and just siliconed it up. Given how infrequently you'll need to remove them it'll do just fine.
I got some of these instead: https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/211953165dlr-front-indicator-seals-pair.html They look a bit ropey and are way too small (tight stretch) but they don't leak. Well, they did leak a tiny bit so I applied a thin smear of silicone to be sure. At least silicone is a similar compound to these. The foam ones take on a set when tightened up, which to my mind isn't really what you want in a seal.
I have been looking at the idea of using the softest TPE filament and 3D printing seals. Its claimed the softest TPE is soft enough for seals. It's also a bit pricey.
