I just received a few new seals from Rennbay, including a new rear hatch seal. I've installed it snugly, but it seems about 1 1/2 inches too long. Does it need to be cut? I just figured maybe it would since the one that was on there was cut.

Thanks!

 

if it fits good all the way around then go ahead and trim it up- make sure its on real nice before cutting it and realizing its too short though...

 

Well, since it was supposed to rain during the night, I went out and cut it before I went to bed...cut it a little long to be on the safe side, then realized that a small section wasn't popped in tight, so it turned out to be about 1/8 inch too short...of course, it never ended up raining!

 

It's long for a reason, your 1/8 will turn into a 1 gap and you'd be surprised how much road noise comes through there.

 

So how do you install it initially w/o having to "hang" the excess somewhere? I save the cut piece, so I guess I can fill that in in the future when it does stretch. Interesting to know; thanks!

 

When I replaced mine about a year ago it was too long also. I went around the entire seal making sure it was on perfectly and then I ended up cutting about an inch out of it. My original was cut and had a little rubber tube that went through the ends so I reused it.

 

As you go around you have to sort of push it back into itself. Doesn't seem like it but it will compress and fit properly. Pita though and doesn't matter if you already cut it. You can try this technique if this one shrinks up in a year or so.