gholian

Hi.
I am looking for a passenger door weather stripping. The piece that goes around the door itself. I got a set of Metro ones a few years back and they were crap. The rubber was too hard and the door wouldn't close. I ended up throughing them in the bin. I checked for original GM but a passenger door seatherstrip is $250!. There are other aftermarket ones like Fairchild Industries, Soffseal and OER. Has anyone experience with these brands, good or bad. Don't want to get stung again with crap aftermarket seals. Need something with softer rubber like the Original ones.

Thanks.

florida_gators

iTrader: (2)

Where are you getting your pricing from? $250 per side is very high. I think I paid that (if even) for a pair of NOS GM a while back on Ebay. There is one right now for $78 on Ebay that is GM licensed as a restoration part. They state they will only ship to the US, but it can't hurt to email the seller and see if they will make an exception and ship to you in Ireland. On my higher value Ebay items, I list "US buyers only" since Paypal doesn't give seller protection outside the US and Canada, but I've made exceptions in the past upon request. Ironically, most recently I had a seller from Ireland email me about selling him two front seatbelts although my ad said "US / Canada only." He had really good feedback, so I felt safe and took the risk as the seller. Unless you are in a hurry, take your time if you want NOS GM. $250 is WAY too much. Sorry I cannot offer suggestions on aftermarket. I pay a bit extra for GM quality. I've heard too many stories about people dissatisfied with aftermarket weatherstripping. Good luck!

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

GM licensed is OER. Stay away from that crap.

rob2000gt

iTrader: (1)

I bought my weather stripping from Autozone a couple years ago I am very happy with their product. I think it was $108 for both sides.

gholian

Here is the passenger side weather strip on Thirdgen Ranch for $226.The cheapest place I have seen. The driver side is cheaper for $160. I always like to go original but the price is crazy.I have been reading on previous posts that OER is crap. Most places sell Metro and some people find them fine but my experience is they are terrible at least on doors anyway.

http://thirdgenranch.com/-strse-990/...rip/Detail.bok

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Ceao Mile Failte,Sorry to here you had trouble with your Metro door seals.I have Metro and have not had any trouble with them at all.Maybe when I did the weatherstripping,I closed up everything for a few days so they formed correctly.(I do have to crack the window tho to shut the door,very air tight)

gholian

Hi,
Ceao Mile Failte, to you also.
I tried that when I did manage to get the doors to close. but they bulged out so I took them off again and ordered originals. The orignal GM weatherstrips weren't the crazy price they are now.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Nothing better than originals!!!but when funds are tight aftermarket items have to do for now.GM is totally out of line with their pricing,but you get what you pay for!!!

donna4909

Subscribing to this thread...

How long did you leave your Metro seals on? From my notes, it looks like the key to Metro seals is a litte time and a lot of meticulous prep work. A few people say that they were great out of the box, but most reported that they take 3 weeks or more to finally compress and settle in. I suspect the mixed results are probably due to differences in door positions.

I couldn't find too much about Fairchild, other than the fact that they have the plastic inserts on the ends. One or two people said that they had them installed, and they looked good. No mentions of functionality... There's decent pics of them in this thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...therstrip.html

GM would be ideal, obviously, but I just can't afford to pay the extra 60%.

For now, I've decided to give the Metro's a shot. When it gets painted this fall, I'll probably go with Fairchild.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

If it's not your daily driver and you can closeup your car for a few days and have some patients and do it right,use Metro.this is the time to do it,nice and worm out.The doors took about a week,the hatch was real quick,a day or so,the T Tops were real tight at first to close them,I checked them about two days later and the tops were sticking to the rubber under the center bar so I put some vasiline in that area and left them on for a few more days and they came out fine.The window sweeps inside and out,no time at all,the T Tops themselves,the drip strip and the seals,no time at all.With this weather,they should take shape in no time,maybe a couple of days.

gholian

I put on the Metro ones and the effort to close the doors was unreal. I got them closed and the doors were a couple of mm out from the body. That couldn't be good for the doors so I took them off again and went for original GM which were a lot more affordable than they are now. Would like to try Fairchild but would be good if some body had experience with them.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Just an update to this thread: I finally installed the Fairchild industries door weatherstripping on my car, and they fit great. The plastic inserts let the screws hold the ends properly like the original weatherstripping. All the pins are in the correct spot, and the doors close like they should without much effort. If you guys are looking for replacement door weatherstripping I highly recommend these.

gholian

Thanks for the reply. I need a weatherstrip for the passenger side so will try a Fairchild.

dctrouant1995

I have soffseal ones on mine and there great!

Abubaca

iTrader: (3)

I bought some from ThePartsPlaceInc on Ebay for $50. Honestly don't even know what brand they were. Fit was perfect, but they did NOT have the plastic inserts inside them. I used washers to give the screws a little more surface area, so as to hope they don't tear the rubber! ....not sure how they'd do for a daily driver, but for me they'll be fine. First door close would hardly close, after being closed for a few hours they were ok, and now after a few weeks they're "normal".

For $50 bucks, it was totally worth it.

blackbmagic

I also got aftermarket door weatherstripping. Mine are the sofseal brand but Im sure they all come from the same place. I used washers at first as well after hearing that many guys screws ripped out.

Heres what you do instead. First make sure the seals is secured on all the edges with weatherstrip glue. The areas that you can fit a washer on, You use push clips with a wide head. Drill out the holes slightly to fit the clips. Use some strip glue on the head and push the clips in. This gives you a wide surface area, plastic, not too tight, and wont wrap the seal around when you tighten it. Unlike a screw. Works great.

Something like this

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

The thing is - if you buy the Fairchild weatherstrip, you don't have to glue the ends because the screws don't hold, put huge clips or washers in so it doesn't fall off, slam your door because they don't fit right, etc. They install like they are supposed to with the molded ends with plastic inserts, and the fit is nice so the door closes like it should. I do believe some have fitment issues because of bad hinges though. If the door isn't closing right, a piece of thick weatherstrip is going to make it much worse. The original weatherstrip was foam and all of the aftermarket stuff is rubber so it is not as forgiving to a door that is not closing properly.
If you need a set of door weatherstrip, give these a shot.

blackbmagic

How much for the fairchild weatherstrip?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I think it was about 90 bucks from Rock auto for both sides.

blackbmagic

So its a bit more expensive than the soffseal brand. Soffseal also gets you a lifetime warranty and a 100% guarantee. Got my doors for 57.99 pretty happy with the product it is not rubber and pretty much the same material as OE, or at least not enough different for the naked eye to tell different.

I guess for the guys who havent purchased weatherstrip frairchild might be a nice option if it does have the hard molded ends. For those who have purchased weather strip that has free formed ends USE the body push clips, it works great.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

I bought and installed the Metro brand seals without the plastic piece where the screws go into. All I can say, that after watching the installation video, doing everything as instructed and keeping my door closed, these are absolutely terrible.

Even some of the clips when installing carefully onto the door decided to come out of the rubber seal. I had to get them back in with needle nose pliers. Only did my driver's side and said forget it. I'm just going to take the loss in buying them and try the Fairchild brand as soon as I get paid next week. By not having that factory plastic piece on the molded top ends, makes installation awkward and you really need to carefully use and hold the ends once glued.

You get what you pay for.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

Anyone else take out their Metro brand seals and replace them shortly after?

gholian

Yes, I did. Thought they were terrible. Going to try the Fairchild one. just going to try one door first.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

That's what I did. The driver's door first and gave it time. Total junk.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

Just ordered the Fairchild door seals. Looking forward to installing them and see how much of a difference is between them and the junk Metro brand seals.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I don't think you will be disappointed. I think they fit good. Let me know how it works out.

1Aauto

We carry a lot of seals for these cars. Here's a link to the weatherstrip section on our website if you guys want to check it out.

Camaro Weatherstrip

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

Tony - none of them have the inserts - that's the problem.

1Aauto

I see what you're saying. We sell piles of these seals and never have any complaints or issues with them.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

You can honestly say nobody has complained about them? I read the complaints here all the time. Chances are - somebody has purchased the door weatherstrip from you and had fitment issues with them.
I think you guys are a great business and have bought from you in the past. So don't get the wrong idea. I just think that most manufacturers don't do a good job making the door seals and really need to improve the ends so they stay like they are supposed to. Maybe you should check out the Fairchild weatherstrip and start carrying them. They are a nice product from a small, relatively unknown company.

blakecharles

I have the A1 convertible kit. It has the door rubbers..all of it is softseal and it was hands down the cheapest I ever found it. I will take some pix when I get home and post. I didn't find any problems with anything in the kit.


-- edit --
CORRECTION - IT'S ALL METRO SUPERSOFT

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

I don't think 1A carries Soffseal. I think they carry Metro.

blakecharles

Yea your right... it's Metro Super Soft... whatever tho... it's nice.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

The aftermarket weatherstrip is nice, for the most part. I used Soffseal for my t tops and I was happy with it. I used Metro for my hatch and it fit decent. But all the aftermarket weatherstrip companies make the door weatherstrip without the plastic inserts, and they don't fit properly. It seems to be the biggest complaint about them. Fairchild has the plastic and they fit good. They also fit properly around the door, and the plastic retainers are the proper size, and spaced the right distance.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

What plastic inserts are you talking about 82??

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

On the ends of the door weatherstrip at the top, the original weatherstrip had a plastic cage molded into the weatherstrip. It held the screws in place and also stopped the weatherstrip from flopping around. It is actually pretty important because that weatherstrip wraps around the roof weatherstrip when the door is closed and keeps everything sealed. Most of the weatherstrip made is just rubber on the ends. The screws go through the weatherstrip and most wind up using adhesive to hold it in place. After awhile it winds up flopping around when the door is closed because there is nothing solid in it.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Yes, you are right!!!I did notice that when I installed mine.Mine are holding up though and the push pins were spaced dead on and I also used weatherstripping adhesive under all the rubbers.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

You know what!! I actually saved them pieces,I cut them out of the old set and put them aside just in case I might need them in the future.Their the ones with a bunch of holes in them right??
PS hows the car coming along?

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

It's coming along - I wish I could work on it more, but life gets in the way. I had it out the other day on jack stands and I got caught in a rain storm. I gave that new weatherstrip a true test - no leaks!
Those little plastic pieces with the holes are the ones I am talking about.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

That's sucks,same here,one storm after another.Still waiting on mine.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

At least I got to test out the new weatherstripping

blakecharles

let me check on that... my orig didn't have that... maybey someone replaced the door seals before I got the car!!

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

I bought my weather strips from 1-A actually. Ordered the new ones from Rock Auto. We'll see how it goes when they arrive.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

I can honestly say now that the Fairchild door weather strip is much more better than the Metro brand. The installation was easier and required less adhesive than reccomended for the Metro brand.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

How does the door close with the new weatherstrip on?

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

As with all new seals, there is a bit of resistance but not like the Metro where you have to really slam on the door. I have the Fairchild on the passenger door and the Metro still on the driver's side for a good comparrison.

The Metro is coming right off, and into the trash. Money wasted but lesson learned.

Aviator857

How have the Fairchild brand held up over the years? Looks like you can't get GM anymore as they have licensed to OER, and I'm guessing if you order from gmparts direct it would be OER not original parts anyways.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

The Fairchild door weather stripping has held up amazingly well. Absolutely no problems. I do have to replace the upper window seals as they are not the greatest and I bought them new from the dealer when they were readily available.

Aviator857

Upper window seals, the ones on the outer edge of the T-top panels?

TireSmokin'

Check Steele Rubber.