Technical Fixing poor window fitting

[goog]

After replacing my hood this weekend I've noticed (only had the car 2 weeks) that the windows don't quite butt up against the roof rubbers when closed.

I popped the door open and tried adjusting the window plane and position as per the worskhop guide, but no matter what I adjusted it didn't make a blind bit of difference - there's always about 1-2mm gap almost all the way along the passenger side window. On the driver side the gap is less than 1mm.

Am I being just too picky? Is it the case that they all do this and it's just a fact of life that when it rains, the little boat gets a little bit wet? Mine's a 1997.

The mechanic at DTR who serviced it said that there's some plastic part that gets broken and once this is the case you have to replace the entire window regulator at a cost of 250 auid per door. I'm not sure I believe him - I couldn't find any broken bits of plastic anywhere in the door.

Any hints on what I can do about this? I've thought about cutting some rubber from a bicycle inner tube and gluing it along the roof rubbers for a better fit, but I'm not sure this would look too hot.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[patches]

When I had my hard top fitted by DTR they warned me against closing the door by pushing on the window as this misaligns the glass gradually and usually requires an expensive replacement in line with what they quoted you. It is my understanding that this may be why you have a gap. I didn't realise that I ever closed the door using the window until they mentioned it. Apparently used buyers get strung with this repair. Luckily my car is new enough and the misalignment is still minor. I was going to ask my local mechanic what he thinks when I take it in for it's first MOT next month. If he has any useful info I will post it. Good luck.

 

[goog]

Interesting. The DTR mechanic told me that the way to make the problem slightly better was to shut the door by pushing on the window to ensure it butts up better.... Kinda sounds like the exact opposite to what you were told. sigh... sounds like I'm stuck with it.

 

[docorangepeel]

Hi
I have just replaced two of the hood rubbers around the window (£56 each !! thanks Fiat) I found that you can adjust the rubber part on the hood frame so it fits perfectly with the window top. I adjusted all the rubbers and now the glass fits perfectly Even at speed I dont get wind noise between the glass and rubbers.

 

[Alan.D]

How did you adjust them? was it by moving/bending the little tabs that go between the seals

 

[docorangepeel]

Hi
The rubbers slide onto a runner and all i did was just moved them around on the runner until everything lined up. When I got the car i had loads of space between the windows and the rubbers, when I went over 40MPH the wind noise was a nightmare :-( After having a new hood fitted two months ago it was a bit better, and then when i replaced two of the rubbers last month its now perfect. PS I have not moved the windows at all.

Does the window rubbers on your car have any spring left in them so that when the glass does press up against them it makes a nice seal ?

looking at the old rubbers and my new ones was like night and day !! The thickness of the new rubber seals was a good 2-3mm thicker as the old ones.

Just letting you know a new set of the 6 rubbers around the top of the door is £300 from Fiat !! I need to change two more but just dont have the money at the mo.
Doc Orange Peel

 

[Alan.D]

I noticed the prices on my eper but the window seal is pretty good even in the last couple of days driving rain it has remained dry inside. The main seal I want/need to change is the one round the hood cover between that and the boot as the corners are a bit hard and have deteriorated with moss where it must have been siting I used the gaffer tape tip which has def worked for now till I can replace it.

 

[docorangepeel]

Hi
I changed the hood rubber your talking about a few months ago, £90 from Fiat

Doc Orange Peel

 

[Alan.D]

This one.....

 

[goog]

Holy guacamole! 300 quid for 4 bits of rubber? I knew there had to be a catch somewhere in between stunning looks and top down motoring. I think I'm starting to see why it's called a little boat - it's where all the money collects.

I'll try adjusting my rubbers. But it that doesn't work, it's Heath Robinson time - I'm sure a carefully glued strip of bicycle inner tube should be able to do the trick. I'll post pics if successful.

 

[docorangepeel]

Hi
Yes thats the rubber I am talking about Alan, it runs all the way round the hood bay

 

[doogal]

Goog - did you ever resolve the problem? Left my B out in the rain last night and it leaked like a little boat Problem seems to be that the top of the side windows don't meet the seals. Problem is especially bad at the front top corner where there is a huge rathole on both sides of the car.

Cheers
Doog.

 

[goog]

Doogal,
I'm afraid I've been backpacking around China for the past 3 weeks so haven't had a chance to try it out. I'll post an entry as soon as I try gluing spme rubber on it, but it may not happen for a couple of weeks yet....

 

[stevie_s]

After 2 years of glueing bits of rubber onto the seals I gave up last week and ordered a full set of seals - all 300 quids worth! Unfortunately there seems to be 6 part numbers for each of the 6 indiviual seal parts and the vertical parts I was given did not match against the horizontal ones! Seems Fiat couldn't get the design right and keeps trying new methods! Now waiting for new parts from Fiat again. I doubt if you'll have any luck glueing bits of inner tube on - I tried that - works fine but the glue just doesn not last - tried inner tube repair glue, rubber solution and all sorts - nothing lasts.

 

[docorangepeel]

Hi
300 pound is far to much for the little rubber parts... I dont know what Fiat are playing at. I had to replace two rubber a few months ago and when the bill came in it was unreal. Its only a small rubber part ?? why so much ??
Doc Orange Peel

 

[goog]

I finally managed to get around to gluing the bits of tyre inner tube on. It took a while to get it right, but man what a result! There's been two downpours recently and not a drop came in. Well chuffed. I used contact cement (UHU) of the type you use when fitting the roof. So far no sign of it coming off, but then again it hasn't been 2 years yet....

 

[JimMagill]

The mechanic at DTR who serviced it said that there's some plastic part that gets broken and once this is the case you have to replace the entire window regulator at a cost of 250 auid per door. I'm not sure I believe him - I couldn't find any broken bits of plastic anywhere in the door.

I've got a drivers side glass that won't fit tight against the windscreen... It sits out and when the door is open the glass 'flops' about a lot

Anyway, we took the door pannel off today and low and behold there's this little of white plastic lying in the door....

Is it really 250 quid???

Jim

 

[dave]

I've got a drivers side glass that won't fit tight against the windscreen... It sits out and when the door is open the glass 'flops' about a lot

Anyway, we took the door pannel off today and low and behold there's this little of white plastic lying in the door....

Is it really 250 quid???

Jim

i thought you was going to be starting a new thread for the new car, not bump old ones
took me ages going through other threads to find out what you was on about, i didnt know you bought one of these an i dont know what this being on itv thing is all about

oh an is the eastenders panda also the 2 pints of larger panda?

 

[JimMagill]

Ok, I've started threads about everything now!

lol

Jim

 

[alexGS]

i thought you was going to be starting a new thread for the new car, not bump old ones
took me ages going through other threads to find out what you was on about, i didnt know you bought one of these an i dont know what this being on itv thing is all about

oh an is the eastenders panda also the 2 pints of larger panda?

Goodness me, that's a long reply for you, dave...

I thought it made sense since this post was just about the window fitting... so it seemed obvious enough until *you* mentioned the bit about ITV... then I had to really go searching!

-Alex

PS something I've found helpful on cars that aren't Barchettas is foam tape about 5mm thick, black, with adhesive backing. Also, I've sometimes used silicone windscreen sealant (neutral cure, black) with masking tape to provide neat edges, and if you stick the masking tape onto the surface of the uncured sealant, and peel off when cured, it provides a nice texture to remove the annoying gloss. I used this on a rather tatty X1/9 I used to own. Fortunately I had a second, smarter, X1/9 as well...