New Seal Passenger Door Hard to Close

So I've now gone through two seals... one from Rutlands and the other from Maranello.

I was really hoping the one from Maranello would be different, but unfortunately they are exactly the same.

So I'm guessing that the seals that are available just aren't exactly like the OEM.

Anyway... my roof closes but I basically have to push down on the back when I latch it so that the little levers don't have to do all the work.

I'm not AS concerned with the roof since I'm 6'1" and rarely have it on... but the passenger door doesn't close without giving it a little "oomph"

The driver door closes perfectly like it did before.

I'm wondering if the reason the passenger door doesn't close as easily is because the seal I replaced was torn in that area (why I replaced the seal in the first place).

So my thinking is MAYBE someone adjusted the passenger door "in" to accommodate the torn seal?

The thing is though, when it's shut everything lines up as it should.

So should I attempt to adjust the latch on the body so that it comes out a little?

I'm thinking if I do that then the door won't close flush but hoping someone here has run into the same issue and has a solution.

Thanks!

 

Sounds like your passenger door is too tight against the seal and probably why the original seal was torn.
With the door open, take a piece of masking tape and use it as a reference, placing it about 1/16” outward and vertical from the latch plate then loosen the latch plate, sliding it outward to your masking tape reference and tighten. Then shut the door again checking for alignment. Might have to do this a couple times to get everything where you want it.

there’s tight ,and then there’s way too tight!

 

Awesome will do, thank you!

 

My passenger door is doing the same thing. I changed the seals on both doors with your same results. We really have to slam it hard to get it to close. I was looking for other solutions besides moving the latch out and messing up my body gap.

 

Try treating the seals with this stuff, it will soften them over time and while you still may have to adjust the latches, it may eventually make the door close easier. Slamming the doors is not good for the mechanism, you may have to adjust the strikers out a bit at first to allow the door to latch and then slowly adjust them in to proper alignment as the seals soften.
I also use it on all my seals to keep them supple.
Alden
View attachment 3788734

 

I wound up taking the entire door card off and then removing the seal and slowly adding it back until it started again.

Then I took a sheet metal tool I have for forming metal and clamped the seal to "tighten" it in those areas. I also use the same tool to make sure the entire seam was perfectly straight (it wasn't).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5SPNDCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After that I started the adjustment. I tried using tape but it came off too easily so I wound up just using a paint marker which is easy to remove with a little alcohol.

Drew around the latch mechanism so I would know where I started and where I would need to go back to if necessary.

Then I adjusted out until I could close the door without using any force at all.

The door gap was terrible at this point.... stuck about a little over a quarter of an inch out.

Then I slowly started moving it back in. And I basically wound up splitting the difference. There's a very slight gap outward more so than the drivers side which is perfect, but I no longer have to slam the door. I DO have to close it with more force than the driver door... the driver door I can barely push on and it closes.

The problem with these seals is the part that grips onto the seam is thicker than OEM. The flexible rubber is also slightly thicker and it only takes a VERY little bit to make a difference.

I'm ok with it now. The roof section I've not done anything to, so it's still hard to close but like I wrote before I rarely have the roof on so I'm not too bothered by it. When the roof IS on there's no wind noise at all so that's nice.

Worst comes to worst I still have my old seal and the majority of it is in great shape so I MIGHT just use part of it in conjunction with the new seal... but I don't know.

 

Another possible solution is to use a hair dryer to heat the seal in the vicinity of the proud area(s), then close the door and use it as your "die" to get the seal to better conform to the smaller door-to-frame gap in these areas.
- Dave

 

I'm confused, you took the door card off to adjust the seal? The seal goes on the door frame not on the door itself, I need an explanation and pictures to understand what's going on here.
Alden

 

@Imatk , Seems splitting the difference of adjustments may be best and letting the seal compress over time before realigning could work.

The aftermarket parts are very seldom as good as factory quality.

Many high dollar restorations are beautiful under auction lights but flimsy failures in actual use after purchase.

There is No substitution for low orig miles and skilled preservation!

 

I agree with you 100 percent on the aftermarket parts. If it's available OEM is definitely the way to go.

I don't agree with you about "no substitution for low orig miles and skilled preservation."

Most of the problems that occur with these cars are because they sit. They weren't meant to sit in a garage and languish.

At this point this car is over 40 years old so any original piece of rubber on the car, regardless of mileage, will need to be replaced. That means suspension bushings, probably shocks, hoses, seals, fuel lines... and the list goes on.

I'm not knocking a low-mileage car... but if I was looking to buy a 308 (or any car for that matter that's over 40 years old) I would be very suspicious of a low-mileage one.

1. Because it's likely the mileage isn't correct anyway... people have a nasty tendency to not report actual mileage and odometers tend to roll backward.
2. If the car hasn't been driven it's going to cost me more money to get it into a drivable state than it would for a car that gets driven regularly.

Now if the low mileage one HAD all of that stuff done, then it would have the same parts on it that a high-mileage one would. Since that's what is available anyway.

So at that point it's not really an issue.

I would also submit if someone does a "high-dollar" restoration and it fails after purchase they got taken by someone that doesn't know what they are doing. There's absolutely no reason the 308 (or any car for that matter) that is restored properly cannot be just as reliable as a new car... in some cases more since things like LED headlights, taillights, guage lights, better cooling fans... more efficient AC etc. actually make the cars MORE reliable.

 

Unless they were....because it really depends on what the car's intended use is.
There was an infamous 328 on BAT a couple of years ago - c. 3,300 original miles - that got two belt changes just two years and 30 miles apart!
The well-known BAT seller (it was a consignment) said this offered evidence of the car's fastidious maintenance and mentioned how the owner "started it regularly", seeming to imply that this magically kept every system on the car functioning properly, ready for its next drive (when most everyone monitoring the auction knew the chances of that car ever having another mile added to its odo were between slim and none).
Perhaps even more dumbfounding was the owner not realizing the much greater risk he was taking with his "regular starting" routine on 30 year-old fuel lines - which somehow got left out of the "fastidious service plan" - than he would have been driving on two-year and 30-mile old belts.
- Dave

 

Yeah starting it and letting it idle is probably worse for the car as you stated than just leaving it alone if you aren't going to use it.

Might as well drain all the fluids, put it under some lights and leave it.

Not saying that's a horrible thing to do if all you want to do is have it as a piece of art, but if you want to drive the car, different story.

For me, I want to drive it

 

I took the card off to make 100 percent sure the seal wasn't somehow "bunching" against the card. It wasn't really necessary, but I didn't want to leave any doubt.

 

When you install and find tight location then pull length to thin it

 

Can't be done with the door seal gasket.

There is metal reinforcement in the section of the seal that slips over the pinch weld.