The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Easy fix for dry, cracked, leaky, window seals?
We have some pretty nasty seals around the windows of our Opel Manta... there's plenty of cracking, breaking, and probably leakage going on. Anyone have any quick solutions for this that are cheap and easy? We were thinking of just getting some sort of sealant to apply around the edges of the front and rear glass but we don't know what to use. Anyone have something that works?
We used 3M WindowWeld for the front lexan and it did great in the rain (and snow) at Barber and ECR, but we pulled our Lexan windshield, installed the WindowWeld, then put the Lexan back in and laid a small bead over the top too.
But, we were able to remove and re-install the "glass" itself to create that seal. And it did work great. You could probably use it in the same fashion over the top of existing seals, but I don't know if it would adhere very well. It is some thick, sticky stuff though.
You can get it in a caulking gun type container at AutoZone. Caveat: look at the expiration dates, you want the stuff that is the newest (i.e. has the date furthest in the future). This stuff hardens up quickly in the tube, and it's not easy to get out even when it's fresh. The old stuff is practically impossible to squeeze out and then it sets up fast and doesn't last very long. Learned that lesson the hard way.
Alternatively, you could use some silicone door/window caulk from Home Depot over the top, that's cheap and easy, but I'm not sure how well it would last at speed, since residential door/windows don't tend to achieve the same velocity as even the crappiest Lemon. 
Cheers.
Thanks man. I'll pass the info along to my team and see what we can do!
You may be begging for some water inside the cockpit racing in Texas in Sept. Or you could be freezing your ass off. Who knows.
We did what Mulry did. Enough of the old sealant was brittle and gently working around the frame we loosened the old glass, removed most all of the old sealant with wire wheel and re installed post painting. The 3M stuff worked well (got from amazon, but we got lucky on the date when we ordered I guess).
IMO, don't put the glass back until you are loading into the trailer as you can't image how much easier is to weld the steering quick release, chase down or rewire behind dashboard or whatever else is needed for work on the inside with the glass out.
My towing SAAB 96 had one big split in the top section of the windshield gasket when I got it a few years ago. The two ends had pulled apart by about a quarter inch, extending all the way through to the interior of the car. I bought some Permatex 81730, used some painter's tape to mask the surrounding areas inside and outside of the car, then poured a surprising amount of the sealant into the gap until it eventually filled flush. No mess and, so far, no leaks. The car is parked outside year-round in the Seattle area, so by now I'd know if it leaked.
Nice. Thanks for the tips guys!
For the windshield I would try to seek out the correct new rubber gasket. It may not be as hard as you think to get. For the rest of them I use black caulk from home depot. As a word of warning though, we notice at Sears Point last month that the rear window was actually coming loose. So I would recaulk, under & around the glass every 2 years. As an added precaution I also laid 1" wide aluminum strap from top to bottom in the center of the rear window, and the windshield (off to one side so 1 wiper would still work) so no matter how old and dried the seals/caulk get the window can't get sucked out by the awesome aero of our 1970s personal luxury coupe.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Opel-Manta-Wind … 2eb4c5e3af
Nope. Not gonna happen.
Is it a Manta B? http://www.ebay.de/itm/Opel-Manta-B-Sch … 3f321e3029
Google translate tells me this is all the rubber for 80 euros, you may need to convince them to ship the the USA
That's still like $140 isn't it? Plus international shipping? I would love to put some nice seals on the Manta, but we are stretching our budget already and don't need to pile it on. It would be pretty sweet to have original seals though.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Opel-Manta-Wind … 2eb4c5e3af
Nope. Not gonna happen.
These guys have it for $149...
http://www.opelsunlimited.com/OpelBrochure.pdf
Its still a little spendy by I think its related to windshield which is a safety item and not included in the $500 budget. Buy the rubber.... you'll be happy you did.
Its still a little spendy by I think its related to windshield which is a safety item and not included in the $500 budget.
I agree that the gasket is quite reasonably an exempt item, but I've learned the hard way that any R&R carries a risk of breakage. If the gasket is still sound enough to secure the glass but just has a few small issues, I'd be inclined to leave well enough alone and seal it as-is rather than voluntarily put myself in the market for a replacement Opel Manta windshield.
I never have used black roofing cement to put a rally car windshield in, because that would be wrong.
How about that new stuff that they used to seal the screen door in the bottom of the row boat?
The seals on the car currently are in pretty bad shape. $149 is a lot more reasonable in price. I would like it to be as safe as we can get it without spending a ton of money. I think we will be discussing options at our next meeting.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/trm-8 … 7AodvA8AlQ
under $20 and so far, looks good. almost 2000 race miles and no sign of failing.
How about that new stuff that they used to seal the screen door in the bottom of the row boat?
Well, it's certainly an apt parallel to Lemons.
We bought the seals from Opels Unlimited. They were super nice people and the seals came quickly. It's not as 'lemony' but you can't win em' all...
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