safulop

At the forward part of the door about 3 inches from the front there is a little rivet or vent of some kind on the exact bottom of the door. This vent drips a small amount (3-4 drops) of water onto the footplate after washing the car with a wash mitt (no pressure spray). It is clear that water is not entering through the door seals. Before I replaced the moldings, this vent would commonly drip a large amount of water onto the footplate, after washing or a rainstorm. What about the two big holes in the door where the handle swings? Can water get in that way?

Anyway it is probably not enough to worry about at this point, I guess, because as you pointed out, a small amount getting in is OK.

-Sean

safulop

After recent rainfall, I noticed that both of my new aftermarket moldings had water droplets in the felt, which could be seen through the closed windows from inside the car. I have now determined that this water is being "wicked" into the molding felt from the upper edge that is against the window. I noticed that the very edge of the molding is not heavily coated with rubber, it has felt visible. Similar moldings on other cars I've examined have an excess bit of curled rubber above the felt part, to help ensure that water cannot be wicked into the felt this way. If my memory is accurate, I think the 928 factory molding has a similar problem, but maybe not.

-Sean

Dean_Fuller

Sean...There is an opposing rubber strip on the INSIDE of the glass at that location. Is it in place and in good condition??? If not it will not "push" the glass out to seal with the outside trim. Just a thought.

Another GOOD reason the doors are aluminum.

safulop

The doors are aluminum?? I thought only the fenders and hood were aluminum. Huh. But I do think my inner seals are in OK shape; it seems like most of the force pushing the window outwards is really coming from the window regulator, it has to be correctly adjusted. By pushing on the moldings from the outside I can see that they do not move toward the window at all when it is closed; this is the usual bad sign that the window needs to be adjusted outward to press against the moldings, or that you need new moldings.

ROG100

Sean,
Mike fitted three sets of door seals at OCIC and each one took less than one hour. Granted his fingers were sore.
I have a set on my GTS and they have been subject to heavy downpours here in Texas with zero leaks.
The shop that fitted yours took hours to do so and may have totally F***ed up the seals so they do leak.
Just an observation.
Roger

martinss

I made a thin plywood tool like a tongue depressor when my fingers started getting sore. I used it to push the seal down to engage the lower lip.

Dean_Fuller

Doors are indeed aluminum....no rust issue to worry with. I plan on getting the same seals from Roger as soon as some money shows up.

safulop

Well, I have been overly obsessed with this, so lately I have started examining the similar seals on various cars. I've noticed that they pretty much all seep water inside the seal. The "design flaw" I referred to is pretty common, and I haven't found any other seals on any cars that are perfectly sealing. So, I'm just going to be happy until the inside of the car floods again, as it sometimes did with the old seals. I guess it is possible these are not properly installed, but you wouldn't know it from what is visible. Water intake to the door seems like a few drops in a downpour; livable, and less than before.

-Sean

Bilal928S4

I would start looking at the door seals. The doors have weep holes at the bottom that are on the outide of the door seals, so no water should be coming in from those weep holes.
Just my inexperienced observation.
I did see 2 cars get the new seals installed at OCIC and they went in really easy and looked great.

safulop

Yes but as I said above, there is also a door drain on the inside of the door seal. It is 3 inches behind the front of the door, on the bottom of the door. Or at least it sure looks like a drain plug; I have seen pictures of other cars with the doors open, and there are often water spots on the door sill right under the location of this drain plug.

Of course I could be mistaken, but my door seals seem perfect, I sure can't see anything wrong with them and they look almost brand new. I will try to examine them more closely all the way around. Not the first problem that is a little hard to chase down.

But I am going to fire my previous body shop after the moldings fiasco.