Finally done the door seals.

steve carter

Active Member
Nov 22, 2010
191
0
Poole, Dorset
After all this rain we`ve had leaving lakes in my footwells i finally did the seals today. A lot easier than i thought it was going to be. Got all 4 doors done in 2 1/2 hours, thanks to the guides on here. Used butyl tape off ebay, only cost about £12 for several metres and still have loads left. Just need to wait for some more heavy rain to see if it`s been done properly.
 

steve carter

Active Member
Nov 22, 2010
191
0
Poole, Dorset
Really easy, scrape the crap stuff off, wipe area and apply. Butyl tape is really sticky, so keep in fridge until you`re ready for it. Leave the backing on until you get it stuck in place the peel off.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
scrape the crap stuff off

This stage took me the longest, turns out my panel had been 'fixed' three times judging by the three different types of sealant that had been squeezed in. Getting it back down to bare metal took a significant amount of time.

Applying the butyl and putting everything back together took a few minutes after cleaning up the previous owners bodge jobs. Didn't he figure out after the first two attempts that silicone wasn't going to do the job?
 

springer

Active Member
May 30, 2010
256
1
Out of interest does that stuff actually work? it looks quite thin the stuff we used to use was either round butyl on a roll or about 3 times thicker than that looks but it could just be the picture
 

steve carter

Active Member
Nov 22, 2010
191
0
Poole, Dorset
The stuff i used was about 3-4mm thick and 9-10mm across. After all this rain over the weekend my handywork has had a good test, and best of all, not a drop on the sills when i open the doors and no more water in the footwells.
 

dawson86

Active Member
Jun 23, 2010
237
0
bury st edmunds
i used silicone, and have not had a problem! but then again the silicone is food grade anti fungal stuff that i got from work! around 18 quid a tube, not had any probs since doing it
 

Dozer360

mk1 Seat Leon 20v T
Jun 1, 2010
1,026
1
southampton
Silicone might last a year or two but mine was silicones by the previous owner and it was leaking, I got the 6x8mm 8m long butyl tape and did the passenger door yesterday, pics and wright up in my RR (see link).
 

Leon_Ray

Guest
I had a bash at doing my passenger rear door - to no avail.

Caught up with the forum to realise that silicone sealant isn't good enough

Sorry to thread jack, but question - can the metal membrane be removed with ease or am I asking for trouble trying to do it that way?? It just seems easier, but possibly not recommended??
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Muttley

Catch that diesel!
Mar 17, 2006
4,987
31
North Kent
If you mean the ancilliaries carrier, the metal plate under the cosmetic door card that carries all the door's working bits, then the main problem is that it carries the window lifters and the glass. To remove it completely you have to remove the glass from the lifter, which is fiddly.

It's possible to do a good job of sealing without removing the carrier completely. Leave the top bolts in place, but loosened off as far as possible. The carrier can be swung out enough to clean out and redo the seal on three sides - front, bottom and rear - of the door.
 

Steely

semiskimmed cupra R
Dec 30, 2008
1,425
5
Doncaster
If you mean the ancilliaries carrier, the metal plate under the cosmetic door card that carries all the door's working bits, then the main problem is that it carries the window lifters and the glass. To remove it completely you have to remove the glass from the lifter, which is fiddly.

It's possible to do a good job of sealing without removing the carrier completely. Leave the top bolts in place, but loosened off as far as possible. The carrier can be swung out enough to clean out and redo the seal on three sides - front, bottom and rear - of the door.

i find it a much cleaner job actually removing the glass from the window mech, best way i find is to actually tape the glass to the top of the door frame adnd then just just loosen the glass clamps & drop the door panel away

Mine are up for renewal this week so i'll ad a little info on how i managed it. it also makes it one hell of a lot easier to clean the butyl tape channels & get everything clean,
 

Brettyboy

Active Member
Jan 21, 2012
2,600
4
Exeter,Devon
I found 1 of the handy tips helpful to put the butyl tape in the fridge before u use it if it is warm,also i found that it was easier to peel backing tape off as you go,i did 3 doors & 1 still leaks as i think the butyl tape stretched as i peeled backing off along the bottom of the panel so will redo it this wknd
 

marcus.l

Active Member
Dec 31, 2011
168
0
Manchester
I've got to get round to doing this myself as my cars starting to smell like a wet dogs sleeping in the footwells and I've had the tape about 6 weeks now d'oh.
 
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