stexas

I am in the process of replacing all the weatherstripping on my 88. Hard time getting the new strip into the metal channel across the top rear. Does anybody have any suggestions?

scranage

Hard time how? You just start it in the back and use (ideally) a plastic spatula to work the front into the groove. Use the black weatherstrip glue, never the yellow. The yellow is contact cement and won't give you the ability to finesse the strip once it is in place.

IRAraid

The Corvette assembly plant video cassette shows a rubber hammer pounding the crap out of it. Took about 15 seconds to install the entire strip. Hard to believe.

stexas

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. Almost ready to take out the metal channel!! Keep you posted.

scranage

Why??? Just clean it in place and install the strip.

VtVette

AHHH FANTASTIC!! Someone who knows how to truly replace weatherstripping! *ALWAYS* *ALWAYS* clean and replace the thumb grade sealer between the body of the car and the weatherstrip channel. That is just as likely to cause a leak as poor weatherstrip!

Also remember - no need to glue the weatherstrip to the channel. You only need to glue the weatherstrip at the ends to bridge and seal the weatherstrip between the two channels. Gluing the weatherstrip to the channel will make it a much bigger pain to replace in the future.

Good luck with your project sounds like you are off to a great start!

stexas

Got it done! A little bit of a b---- but done. Now on to the next project!

scranage

That isn't thumb grade sealer under the retainer, it is a double sided retainer sealing tape. If you're not going to replace the retainer, removing it will only destroy the old sealing strip. The FSM says to replace the retainer with new sealing tape strip, not thumb grade sealer. Of course, getting a lot of the now discontinued parts is another matter. 3M PT 1100 Double sided Adhesive Tape in .60" width seems to be the closest generic replacement I've found for that material if you have a leak in the retainer strip, necessitating its replacement.

Thumb grade sealer is only used to blend the ends of the strip retainer into the body after the retainer strip is installed. Not running a continous bead of black weatherstrip adhesive under the entire strip can lead to leaks and is contrary to the instructions provided in the FSM and the GM video. If you used the correct weatherstrip, it was expensive. I now always do what the manual and the GM video tell you to do in weatherstrip installation to avoid windnoise and leaks after learning the hard way that freelance techniques and materials in this job don't serve well.

GREGGPENN

I took mine off and the tape was undamaged. But, that doesn't mean it couldn't use replacing! Thanks for pointing us to a good replacement tape.

I assume it is black and is as thick (cushiony) as the original tape?

I also considered using black silicone to glue/seal the retaining strip(s) to the car.

scranage

Its a mystery to me, but they use tape everywhere in the assembly that I have seen, but suggest replacing the tape in some places, like that top bow strip retainer, but using a bead of seal in other places that originlly had tape. The weather strip retainers for the targa top for example.

I use whatever they recommend in the FSM and/or the factory vids for the area in question. Windnoise and leaks are a real source of customer dissatisfaction, and they spend a lot of time and effort coming up with the cheapest, quickest, and most reliable ways of repair that prevent those problems. Take advantage of thier experience and testing and everything seems to work out.

Arkybill

Yep,

I did body work for several years and ran a GM dealership body shop for 4. It always amazed me how mechanics and bodymen would ignore the shop manual and do it "their way". Then, they'd bitch when they had a comeback. Hey, the manufacturer spends thousands(if not more) every year doing the shop manual.

If you can read, you can fix the car-well, you can if you know how some things need to "feel".

VtVette

Where in this thread did anyone say not to follow the GM manual, or replace the strip sealer under the weatherstrip retainer with anything other than the seal the factory recommends??

I have been doing top quality restoration work for over 10 years. Before that I restored vintage aircraft. It's been years since I've touched a car during my day job that is worth less than $100,000. The car I'm working on right now is a 1973 Jaguar XKE owned by the original owner. I am two years into a three year restoration. Projected cost is well over $200,000. I am the only person who touches the chassis. Nothing we do is outsourced. Weatherstrip is a big part of any job I do. Most of the cars I've restored weatherstrip is not even available it must be made. Through PM I have been giving people here on the forum advice on installing weatherstrip on C4's since 1999. My last '85 I replaced the weatherstrip in 1996. When I sold it in '03 you could take a pressure washer to it, or drive it through ANY car wash and the car had 100% no leaks. Not a drop, not ever.

The C4's weatherstrip system is mediocre at BEST. The quality and design is reflective of the fact that Accountants had just as much say in the components that make up the system as the Engineers did who designed it. The Corvette has always been an example of compromise. Cost Vs. Performance. Corvettes have ALWAYS had problems from mediocre weatherstrip systems and guess what - that is not likely to change unless the cost grows significantly.

In 1999 I restored a 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud Convertible (one of 75 built). Due to the low production number the cars were hand built by HJ Mulliner. THAT is a car with the most beautiful weatherstrip system I have ever seen to this day, a close second to several classic Mercedes chassis. Unfortunately the C4 (and C3 for that matter) ranks way, way, way down neat the bottom of the heap. But that can be said of many systems on the C4 - Anyone ever had their dash out? The plastic dash frame is prone to squeaks and rattles and is always cracked or broken. How many self tapping screws does it take to assemble a C4 interior? You don't want to know the answer. BUT - I LIKE the plastic dash frame - it's LIGHT! That is a big factor in a sports car.

Leaks in the C4 are not always caused by bad weatherstrip. Many times the leak comes from under the weatherstrip especially between the ends of two weatherstrip retainers or where the weatherstrip retainer meets the body. This is where the thumb grade sealer can really help seal. As someone mentioned weatherstrip is expensive. If you are going to replace it do yourself a favor and plan to remove your retainers too.

No, the factory manual will not say "remove retainers whenever replacing weatherstrip" but most C4's are now between 15 to 20 years old. The factory manual is a FANTASTIC source of information but it does not consider aging when performing repairs. More than half the weatherstrip retainers I have removed have had corrosion forming between the area where the retainer meets the body. The strip sealer breaks down over time and allows moisture in. When I replace weatherstrip I remove all retainers and bead blast them then powder coat them. You will never find that in the factory manual but it is the proper way to ensure that the repair will last a long time. There are many improvements that can be made, like the last example, that I have taken from years of vintage car restoration and adapted to my C4.

It's great to see people on the forum advocating use of the factory manual for repairs. For "modern" cars I've found that Helms does an excellent job on their manuals. There are techniques that are out there that are beyond the scope of the factory manual or a dealer tech due to time and budgetary constraints. Flat rate will only pay so much. Customers at a dealership and warranty repair will only pay so much for so much time. There are better ways if someone is willing to pay the money or take the time. Someday I will sit down and write down all the techniques I've applied to my C4's to insure NO leaks. They do not deviate far from the factory manual but they do include techniques to compensate for the fact that the cars are now 15-20 years old, and sources for materials that are FAR better quality than anything that will be found in the local parts store.

skybolt31

When I changed my A-Pillar WS, I removed all of the retainers. The one across the top had the foam tape inbetween the two pieces falliing out. I drilled out the rivits, cleaned everything real good and rivited them back together with solid aircraft rivits using black rtv inbetween.

In between the reveal moulding and the body I opted to use the bedding and glazing compound. This was after careful consideration of the posts here on the forum, asking people that do this everyday and even paying to see what Gordon Kilebrew had to say.

The foam tape would have been a much quicker and much much less messy way to do it, but I think the extra work was worth it in the long run.

Finally leak free.....................

mcguinn1

Very helpful information. I'm about to replace my rear roof panel weatherstripping and am now putting together my materials list based on this post. Thank you.

Tact

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