Re-installing rubber weatherstripping around the door

[Bmachine]

There is a really good thread that details all of the coupe’s weatherstripping part numbers here:

Rubber FAQ

Body: Description Image Qty Part # Left/Right Book Status Windshield front CSL 1 51 31 1 819 631 51/28 Windshield front Europe 1 51 31 7 740 114 51/28 Windshield front US 1 51 31 1 812 587 51/28 Windshield rear 1 51 31 7 740 154 51/28 Rear quarter sill...

e9coupe.com

Based on that I made this little diagram showing all the part numbers specific to the doors on top of the realoem diagram illustrations:

I got most of the parts from WN, a few from BMW, a few from Stefan at bmw-oldtimerteile.de and one from Steele rubber. I used Wurth weatherstripping rubber cement when needed.

Before you install any of this, it is very important to make sure that the door is aligned properly in its frame. Because the new rubber will invariably try and resist the door closing, making any misalignment even worse. This needs to be the subject of a separate thread, because it is a bit of a pain and not an easy thing to do.

There is a specific order that is useful to follow because some of those parts overlap. As a general rule, you want to start from the very bottom and move your way up so that any overlap will direct the water over the strip below it.

So let’s start with the long straight piece under the bottom of the door. There is a ”gutter” that runs under the full length of the door and you press this into it. You want to aim the curve of the rubber towards the outside of the car. No glue needed here.



Next is the flat aluminum part at the B post. You have to spread that rubber open in order to be able to apply the glue deep inside of it. Then you press it around the outer edge.



After that aluminum piece is secured in place, install the long stainless trim piece on top of the rocker panel covers. The reason is that the door rubber piece needs to go over that one

 

[Bmachine]

Next, let’s do that piece that runs vertically on the inside of the door edge. That one is NLA and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Luckily, a forum member (whose name I shamefully forgot) found a really good equivalent from Steele rubber. That one has to be glued. Because of the shape of the door it is best to glue it in 2 steps. The top first. After that has dried, the longer but straighter bottom section.

 

[grnder95]

Bo, I think Don Lawrence sells those seals.
Regards

 

[Bmachine]

Next is the biggie. The infamous “door surround seal“. I had ordered both from BMW of south Atlanta years ago, but only the passenger side was available. Anyone who is after these knows that BMW has kept promising to re-manufacture those for years with each deadline passing shamelessly ignored. So I decided to buy the one from Stefan Ries. As it turns out, this is a very high quality piece to the point where I am wondering if it may not be coming from the same factory BMW used. You don’t often get this lucky with repro weatherstripping, but this was a real good one.

The first thing to do is, of course, to remove the old one and clean the rails or “gutters“ that this is supposed to attach to. Of particular importance is the gutter that is part of the door surround chrome trim. Evidently, at some point in its life, my car had been handled by silverback gorillas and that gutter had been pinched in several places. Using a pick and a chisel I re-opened and straightened all the areas that had been pinched.



Then, I cleaned all the old gunk that was in there and hammered whatever pieces were not flat

 

[Bmachine]

One thing that is slightly different in Stefan‘s part is that it comes in 3 separate sections and is not pre-glued like the BMW one. In reality this actually makes it easier to install because you’re not dealing with this super long wet noodle.

You want to begin with the long bottom piece which starts from the back of the door, meaning the top of the B pillar area. You’ll notice that there is a molded rubber piece in a kind of drooping flag shape. You must insert that one in the chrome frame that is holding the wood trim piece next to the rear seat.



From there, you simply press the piece onto the sheet metal fold. The weatherstrip has an inner metal spring action, which keeps it tight onto that fold. I used a rubber mallet to make sure it was seated all the way in. Careful attention needs to be used when going around the corners at the bottom. You want to make sure that every centimeter is pressed all the way in before proceeding to the next one. Go all the way around and climb up the a pillar. Once there you can cut the length of the piece as needed.


You can determine where to cut by using the molded rubber “diamond“ as a guide. That one has an indentation that nestles neatly under the door surround chrome trim.



After that, the molded diamond needs to be glued in its position because there is nothing to hold it there apart from a little knob at its bottom and top that nudge inside the longer pieces. Get some masking tape to mark exactly where it will go and get a few pieces of tape pre installed, ready to wrap around it to hold it in place. Once in place, close the door quickly and fully so it presses the diamond in place and let the glue dry overnight.

 

[Stevehose]

Looks great, once installed do you have to slam the door to get it to fully shut like the BMW ones?

 

[Bmachine]

Looks great, once installed do you have to slam the door to get it to fully shut like the BMW ones?

Thanks Steve. Yes you do. They are very similar to the factory ones in every respect. I keep all the doors closed when not in use and I expect it will take a little while for things to soften up a little bit.

 

[Bmachine]

Third is the upper section. That one is a little more difficult, because it has to be coerced inside this “gutter“ and it is somewhat long and unwieldy.

I found that the best way to do it was to stick the inner side first and then press the outside one inside the little ridges little by little. You can’t hurry this because anytime the rubber does not seat properly inside the ridge, you have to peel it all back to that point and fix that glitch. It's very difficult to fix it later. Hard to explain in writing, but you will definitely know it when you get there.



When done, lower the windows a little bit, close (or it might be “slam“) the door shut, and then lift the windows all the way up. If you try to close the doors with the windows up, the new rubber will push the glass out and will not give a proper seal.

 

[Frankie123]

Hi Bo
Were you able to find a source or alternative for part 9? (the sill seal under the vent glass)

 

[Bmachine]

Hi Bo
Were you able to find a source or alternative for part 9? (the sill seal under the vent glass)

I would say that most of those can be found between WM and Stefan. I have not replaced the sill seal under the vent glass so I don’t know about that one.

 

[nosmonkey]

Hi Bo
Were you able to find a source or alternative for part 9? (the sill seal under the vent glass)

Number 9 I managed to pick up from Stefan Ries, the outer window felts are also available again from Walloth