Ill fitting rubbers!!!! Oooohhh! the pain!!!

[colcol]

And another stupid tip on installing rubbers, make sure your finger nails are not short!, pushing the rubbers into position needs all the strength of your fingers, clip your nails and the tips of your fingers will not have enough support, and they need all the support they can get, and the tips of your fingers will ache for days, i know i did it a few weeks ago, Colin.

[GoldCLoverLeaf]

I had seals i bought from Alfaholics back in 2007 and tried fitting them a couple months ago... they install OK (still a total pain) but the door needs to be slammed waaaaaaaay too hard, to the point where its just not worth it.

I took them out and put the old rubbers back in as they weren't all that bad.

I do not know if the seals you can get now are the same as in 2007.

I read somewhere that you can get rubber softening spray which helps the rubber form when the door is in the shut position but i have never come across it.

[colcol]

The rubber softening gloop is available at go-kart places, they use it for softening the rubber tyres on go-karts to give the tyre more grip, you could try applying it and slamming the door shut, and hoping the rubber will change shape to suit the door, ill fitting seals - what a massive pain in the bum, Colin.

[McAnnik]

 Interesting you mention that! It brings back memories of a previous life in my early days of the auto repair industry. The trick was then to fit the new [ex GENUINE spare part,Holden Ford, Whatever!] and readjust the lock slam plate on the B pillar, this worked a treat until complaints of door rattles meant another adjustment to tighten it up again some time later.Things really don't change all that much, even these days! Don't be so fussy about door closure gaps until things have "settled"then try another time ["about 6 months should do it"].We were using Vaseline in those days, for all sorts of things![Don't ask me why!] I was an uncouth, untrained and entirely gullible dickhead kid and I was trained by experts in a solid guv'ment job.An apprenticeship in that environment! meant i thought I knew it all! Things have not changed and 50+ years later,i'm an irritable old brstrd and still up myself,and still tell todays kids that I HAVE FORGOTTEN MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER LEARN! [Thats what the old hands used to tell me!Now i'm "elderly" maybe they were right!]....Keep the info coming guys, If it isn't written down nobody can ever refute it......Cheers... Ian

[McAnnik]

  Well! I was going to start a new thread on the same topic but decided to keep the storyline flow going. Since my last post I have recieved my shipment of new ill fitting rubbers from the UK. Today I fitted, WITHOUT any dramas,the B pillar outer [door slam] rubbers on my GTJ. The rubbers as supplied are not original but even though cut from a roll of 'one size fits all" they are a very good compromise considering that original style profile is NLA.I had no real problem fitting, just some minor trimming at one end,and swear words were few and far between[coz I was slurping a lager as well].I purchased these rubbers from ClassisAlfa UK. after viewing their well illustrated parts website and the end on profile of the rubbers as shown told the story that it was a damn good close enough to concours [read original!]example that you are likely to find.It fits well AND looks the goods and not expensive, I did buy other "ill fitting rubbers" as well so had combined postage on quite a few items, I am yet to fit the other IFR's but will of course write about those episodes when that happens. Windscreen rubbers are next on the agenda.....I'm REALLY looking forward to that!!!!  Have you got an IFR story to tell too? Write it here, there's plenty of room for more.    Cheers.......Ian.       A ,  PS. to the above . The metal support pieces that the B pillar rubbers push fit onto should also be in good condition as their shape is required to support the IFR it the correct position.I had to weld a little metal on to the bottom of the pieces  I had to replace rusted sections, replace those pieces also if your keen.

[McAnnik]

  The saga continues!! I have not seen this one mentioned before,the procedure for fitting the interior floor mounted rubber boot that encompasses the upright  clutch and brake pedals.Mine was looking very ordinary as was the holding down metal surround for it which was mostly rusted away. Warp speed delivery from ClassicAlfa and i had the parts on Monday so spent  today fitting it in the car. To fit the boot requires removal of the entire pedal assembly and dismantling the pedals as it is not possible to fit the boot unless they are removed from the pivots.Fitting is not simple and needs careful stretching to slide the 'lubricated' rubber over the pivot bosses (the boot wont fit over the footpad end and you will destroy the rubber if that method is attempted).My method was to swamp everything in dishwashing liquid (make it slippery,very good for ill fitting rubbers! olive oil works well too, then you can lick your fingers after..after what???) and prise gently stretching the rubber over the large end of the pivot boss first.It is best not to poke with a screwdiver but use it as a lever working the rubber sideways pushing with your fingers (ooh.... The pain!!!).It took a while to do the job but now I know how I could probably do it now in five minutes.Also recommended is to check the fitting of your new metal holding bracket  (assuming you did buy one!)to the floor and boot.Some metal removal is required to obtain a good fit to the boot itself, not difficult with a small grinder.Clean and lube up the pedal pivots while you have it apart,or if they are stuffed as they well might be then rebushing is called for. I was lucky with mine, it being a genuine low mileage car, (108000 miles!)I drilled a small hole in each so a squirt of oil is possible occasionally......Cheers...Ian

[Evan Bottcher]

I did this a while ago - I used boiling water to soften the rubber, and a plastic bag and lots of olive oil.  I just grabbed the rubber and pulled it until it went *POP* and no tears.  I've heard that different manufacturers are more/less fragile - this one was from highwood alfa and it was fine...

[McAnnik]

  Great idea Evan! I hadn't thought of using Vegemite as well!...... I cant imagine what you would be doing with the grapes!!!

[McAnnik]

  Hi All, made a big boo boo yesterday.I went to Clark Rubber and bought a length of "one size fits all" boot seal for the 105 GTJ. Their sample board showed exactly my wanted piece, I purchased 3 mtrs and went home to fit it, no prize for guessing here! it was wrong! I have reason to complain here as it seems their sample board is wrongly made up, as the sample i took with me matched what I wanted but the number did not when actually cut from the roll for me, my fault as well coz I didn't look what was happening during the"snipping". Clark's DO have in stock what you want, just double check your purchase before you fork out the dosh! Don't expect young guys serving on the floor at Clark's to know what an Alfa actually is!.....................Good Luck!....

[pancho]

Is this for the boot lid mounted gasket or the body mounted one?

[McAnnik]

 Sorry about that, I was refering to the body mounted type................Cheers

[LaStregaNera]

They also have one that's a good match for the bootlid mounted seal

[Sportscar Nut]

Love this thread as have not changed the door rubbers on my 105 but need to! Lots of good info.

Tend to agree with Pancho re NOS but FYI, have been discussing door rubbers with Classic Alfa for a while and they have just changed the supplier of the rubbers they stock. Apparently - tried 12 different types of after market rubbers on an original 64 GT and chose an Italian supplier - rubbers are very subtle and fit without a problem and are circa $65 each (pending the $A) - guess shipping aint cheap.

Paul

[pancho]

Thanks for the tip Ben, just need to ensure the bootlid underside is the same on both the old lids and the 1750 S2 lids and onwards.

Also be interesting to see how the bootlid seal stays on. Double sided tape? **shudder**

[LaStregaNera]

I used loctite contact cement to glue the seal to the lid - don't think it'll come off in a hurry.