Front bonnet / hood seal (again)

Christopher

Christopher

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The seal (replacement BMW grey chalky and soft) under the top of the bonnet (under windscreen end) is preventing my bonnet from closing properly. The gap is about 10 - 15mm

It seems that there is alot of rubber on it that's pretty unecessary for its function.

Anyone got any tips, either on how to deal with the existing, or any clues on an aftermarket seal with a slimmer profile ?
 
Christopher said:
The seal (replacement BMW grey chalky and soft) under the top of the bonnet (under windscreen end) is preventing my bonnet from closing properly. The gap is about 10 - 15mm

It seems that there is alot of rubber on it that's pretty unecessary for its function.

Anyone got any tips, either on how to deal with the existing, or any clues on an aftermarket seal with a slimmer profile ?
Click to expand...

i am using an aftermarket that i bought in essen, i must find the supplier business card for you,...
 
Just to be clearer it's the long seal at the top. that fits around the corners.

The horizontal seal that seals fhe firewall from BMW is also a problem (discussed here in the past). I have bought a generic seal that offers a better solution than BMW product, as this too was preventing a snug fit for my bonnet
 
I bought my new rear seal (by windshield) from W & N. Like you, I found it a bit difficult to get everything to fit and look good. I always had puckering and wrinkles as it turned around the corners and went toward the front of the engine.

I first used lacquer thinner (MEK) to remove the grey mold release, then after 3 or 4 attempts to install and have it look good, I removed it, along with all the adhesive I'd used off the mounting area of the car, and the mounting area of the seal.

I then proceeded to re-install it in segments, taking about 4-5 days total for the install. I installed about 25 cm of the center section first, using Wurth Rubber glue, and stetching the rubber, applying clamps on both sides to keep that center section in place 'as stretched'. Continued after ~24 hours (to allow adhesive to set) with another 15 cm or so on each side. Then, came the curves! Stretched the seal to take out any wrinkles in it's top curve over about a 10 cm length and clamped again. When it was installed on all the metal ridge, I had about 10-15 cm of extra seal on each end. I just cut that off at the point where the new rear seal mated up with the end of the firewall seal.

Hope this might be helpful.
 
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Christopher, if you have not glued it down yet, you may try removing it and seeing if the seal is actually the problem- there are lots of things under there that prevent the hood from sealing easily.. I'm still finding them :-)
 
Purists look away now.
After struggling with conventional glue to fix this seal in place, I gave up and, although I hate to admit it, resorted to super glue. Job done in less than an hour and when my car needs its second restoration it can become the next owners problem, hopefully in another 45 years.

John
 
Thanks for the tips Gary & Peter
I can achieve a good fit for my bonnet without the seal in place. The bonnet catches are adjuested to very bottom, so i've got nowhere left to go with these. Once the seal is fitted and glued the bonnet sits proud, by about 15mm. I've seen many coupes like this (and some without seals at all to compensate). So i've been taking a closer look at the seal itself. it seems that the flap that needs to fold over and sit in the curve of the glued seal doesn't want to go naturally, and this might be the problem. it seems that there is a whole lot of seal there, that appears to be fairly unecessary. After all, it's not sealing anything as such, just providing a cushion so the top of the bonnet fits snug and deosn't bounce about.
So maybe the solution is either cutting the lip of the seal back, or alternatively gluing it down so it remains flat at all times. Perhaps however there's a better solution with a generic seal (as i've found with the firewall seal and that at the very front of the bonnet (near the headlamp covers) ...
 
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