anyone who has sucessfuly sealed their T-Tops or know anything about it please see my post in the Body, Interior section...PLEASE,my interior is soaking wet.

 

One thing I did which really helped was silicone the between the body & the existing seal, since mine was cracking underneith. I also ran the silicone accross between the center peice on the t-bar & the body.. I still get some water in but only when it rains really hard. (how It's getting in I really don't know.. But I'm looking into it).
Hope this helps.

 

yep I did reglue the strips to the body and silicone them, I JUST siliconed al around the Bar tonight after I dried it up.

 

Silicone sucks.

Use a better sealer, like weatherstrip adhesive or seam sealer, it will work much better. Silicone has a nasty tendency to shear off of smooth surfaces if they move, which is usually the case with glass and t-tops.

 

1st step is to remove the current rubber stuff. Clean it off good, clean the body good, then used some 3m weatherstriping stuff and reseal it that way.

Another thing you can do, is to rub carb cleaner all over the rubber. What this will do is to cause th rubber to swell some which will give an even better seal to the T-tops.

Later, be sure to keep armor-all on it. That helps keep the rubber from drying out.

Clayton

 

Vasoline swells it to, i will try the Armor-All.

 

My T-Tops were leaking.. $1500 (candian) later I had brand new weatherstipping and not a drop gets in now.. Plus it looks alot nicer..

 

it is not good to use vasoline or armor all on rubber. They are petrolemum(sp?) based and will corrode the rubber. I use Meguiar's rubber and vinyl conditioner. It doesn't last as long but it will not break down the rubber.
Jeremy

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ArmorAll corrodes rubber?
Thats not what they say.
They say "The easy way to clean, protect and shine rubber, plastic, and vinyl surfaces."
Check out http://www.armorall.com/prodcat/page...ctant_2.2.html

Clayton

 

Buy a new set of seals from Classic Industries for $150 plus shipping. Read the instructions that come with it, read the tech article here regarding t-top seal replacement ... I haven't had a drop enter the car and we've had some pretty good rain!

No matter what I did, I couldn't get the old seals to work anymore ...

 

I have been using ArmorAll om my T-top rubber since it was new (10 years) and the rubber still looks new and I have never had a drop leak inside.

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1998 Dodge Ram SS/T

 

It depends on where it is leaking in at as to what the fix is. On my '86, I have identified about 8 different leaks, and only two of them from the rubber.

One place was on the T-top, where the glass meets the rubber, there is body sealer there. That body sealer sits on the rubber and the rubber seals it. Well, the sealer was rotted out and allowing water to channel right over the rubber. I scraped out the older sealer and put some new sealant in and that leak was gone.

I found some body sealer rotted out in the corner where the "T" bar is in the center, allowing water to channel down into the body, and drip onto the headliner.

I had to adjust the door glass to get the window to properly squeeze the weathersrip.

My '86 (not in sig) used to pour water everytime it rain, rain would just pour in all over me and the seats. After identifying the leaks and repairing (still have the origianl rubber) I get only an occasional drop.

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The service schedule specifies applying silicone lubricant to the body seals every 12 months or 15,000 miles. We're all doing that, right? Just like we are supposed to be using engine oil on hinges and latches, not spray lubricant. Doesn't anyone READ any more?

That's just another one of those steps that USED to be considered part of a chassis lube.

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Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
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I have been using vasoline for 17 years on my t top rubber and all weather stripping and it looks and works like new!

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Fully restored 84 TA original factory spec (sucks) Mods when the kids grow up "Sigh" no money!

 

pertrolemum based products will break down rubber seals amd gaskets but it takes a really really really really long time for it to happen and the more it is exposed to light the quicker it will break down...

 

Thats' correct - any petroleum-based product (like armour-all) will eventually damage just about anything like rubber or vinyl - it will suck the moisture out and cause cracking, although it may take a long time. One of the best products for the weather stripping is Silicone Emulsion, available at the dealership for a few bucks.


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87 GTA 350 TPI, 700R4,
K & N, Accel cap/rotor/wires, SLP airfoil, ported plenum

 

I used silicon emulsion on my door seals when I couldn't get the doors open in the winter and that fixed my problem right up.

 

I just did this on the 4th , I removed all the old rubber , and then spent about thre to 4 hours to clean all the old glue and rubber residue. and then when you go to put on the new seals you must use the 3m adhesive, and make sure you use a good amount of adhesive. I had a pretty good rain storm last night and it was completely dry