Replacing Weatherstrips - Sealed To Perfection

The wind, dust, and rain all have their place in the world, but not inside your car. To isolate you and your car's interior from these elements, the doors, trunk lid, and window glass are factory-fitted with precision-molded weatherstrips that work to form a moveable seal against glass and metal objects. But after a million times opening and closing your doors combined with a couple of decades of summer sun and winter freeze, those once-pristine factory seals and weatherstrips have probably deteriorated, fallen apart, or dried out. The answer is simple: Replace those worn rubber weatherstrips with new ones--installed properly.

The first step to removing...        read full caption The first step to removing the outer window felts on our Malibu (as with most Chevys) is to remove all the hidden screws. There are typically two on the outer felts at each horizontal end. These needed to be uncovered by pulling back a small portion of the felt. For most weatherstrip and window felt projects, it's best to remove the door panels for easier access.

Replacing the soft rubber is generally straightforward. The best time to remove the old stuff is right before the car is painted, and the best time to install the new stuff is about a month after the new paint has been sprayed, cured, and buffed. This way you'll have a cleaner installation without overspray on the new seals. If you won't be painting your car, the weatherstrips can still be replaced successfully. Just use caution, and with careful workmanship, the soft parts can typically be replaced without damaging the existing paint job. Don't fret over the tools needed to complete this resto bit; all that's required are a few basic hand tools, and it can easily be handled out of your garage in a matter of hours.

To make the car quiet and leak-free and to give it a newer-car feel again, we chose seals and weatherstripping from Soffseal and National Parts Depot. If you're wondering about the cost, expect anywhere from $3 up to $500 if you need to replace most of the seals. For a complete breakdown of part numbers and prices to outfit our 'Bu, log on to chevyhiperformance.com; otherwise follow along as we show you the easiest and best way to get the job done.

To minimize the chance of...        read full caption To minimize the chance of scratching the paint, we first applied blue low-adhesive masking tape along the window felt area and covered it with duct tape to provide a soft working cushion. The blue tape is available at most hardware stores and will allow both layers of tape to be removed without removing the car's paint.	After we removed the small...        read full caption After we removed the small Phillips head screws from each end of the outer window felt, we rolled the glass all the way up and pushed the window felt's end-retaining clips partially up.	The glass on our Malibu did...        read full caption The glass on our Malibu did not travel down far enough along the top edge of the door so that we could easily remove the window felts. To gain clearance we removed the lower window stop-bolt with a 7/16-inch wrench and pulled it from the door. We also marked the area around the washer before removal so that we could reinstall the window stop in the same position.
To minimize the chance of...        read full caption To minimize the chance of damaging the existing paint job, we positioned a plastic scraper just to the right of each metal clip before we popped it up. (Each of the approximately six metal retaining clips has three tangs.) Then we placed a medium screwdriver with the flat portion horizontal on top of the plastic scraper. Next we carefully inserted a smaller screwdriver (with the end shoved into the clip's center tang) and pushed the top end downward quickly so that it would release and remove each clip.	On the inner window felts,...        read full caption On the inner window felts, we used a hook to pull each clip up and out. Since we will repaint this inner surface, we did not take the same paint-saving precautions as with the outers.	To install the window felts,...        read full caption To install the window felts, we positioned all of the tangs and carefully pressed down (with palm pressure) at one end and worked our way across.
National Parts Depot also...        read full caption National Parts Depot also offers a lower-priced window felt (shown in hand) that does not feature the GM-style round stainless steel bead and unique inner and outer glass scraper.	With both inner and outer...        read full caption With both inner and outer window felts installed, the glass now rides up and down easily and quietly.	To remove the weatherstrip,...        read full caption To remove the weatherstrip, we grabbed the upper end and slowly pulled downward and around the door. If possible, keep the weatherstripping in one piece during removal. If it breaks, it's sometimes a little difficult to separate it again from the door because it is often glued in spots to the metal. If it does break, carefully use a screwdriver to separate it from the door. After we removed the weatherstrips, we removed the old nylon anchor pins with a pair of diagonal cutters.
Before installing the new...        read full caption Before installing the new weatherstrips we wiped the surface clean with a towel. We also allowed the weatherstrip to sit in sunlight for at least 15 minutes, making it more pliable. Next we applied a small amount of adhesive to the mounting location and carefully fastened one end into position, pushing in the plastic anchor pins while working our way around the door. To keep pressure on these areas, we placed masking tape over each glued spot to the door for around 12 hours.	We removed the roof rails...        read full caption We removed the roof rails in the same manner as the door weatherstrips. To remove any residual adhesive, we applied a small amount of adhesive-release agent to a towel and wiped down the area.	To install the roof-rail weatherstrip,...        read full caption To install the roof-rail weatherstrip, we applied a small amount of adhesive in the roof-rail channel (not on the weatherstrip) all the way to the rear on each side. Next we pushed the weatherstrip into the front position and retained it with the black push-in clips. We continued installing the strip (front to back) into the channel and used a plastic squeegee to push it fully into position. Then we rolled up the windows so that pressure was applied while the adhesive dried.
To replace the trunk weatherstrip...        read full caption To replace the trunk weatherstrip we first removed the old weatherstripping and followed the same basic procedure as for the doors and roof rails, but with three exceptions. Because the trunk weatherstrip resides in a gutter, we applied a small amount of adhesive inside the entire groove. Second, we started installing the trunk weatherstrip about 6 inches off-center from the trunk lock. Finally, after we had installed almost all of the trunk weatherstrip, we cut the end about 1/4 inch too long so that it installed with a tight bond against the opposite end of the weatherstrip.	We replaced the lower window...        read full caption We replaced the lower window seal (found at the top of the doorjamb) by removing the two screws, grabbing it with a pair of pliers, and pulling it out. Then we simply installed the new seal and the two screws. This item is often not replaced, but sometimes is the cause of wind noise because it becomes brittle and cracks over time.