Do cheap door seals get better once settled in?

Early Bay Forum

Help Support Early Bay Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

983 Huey

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2017
Messages
56
Reaction score
3
Location
Northumberland
So I bought some budget door seals from heritage just as a stop gap until all of the expensive stuff has been taken care of on our bus. I had done my research and the common consensus is to buy the best you can afford as cheap seals are a cheap fit, buy cheap buy twice etc...

What I didn't expect was for my perfectly good door shut on our '69 bay to suddenly become a spring open booby trap door!!

What used to be a casual slam to shut the can doors is now a forceful push, and when you open them they spring open about 2ft by themselves.

The seals are all fitted correctly and sit flat in the doors.

My question is, do they get any better with time? Will they settle and compress to a less violent state? Or do I take them straight out and buy better ones?

Any help from previous experience greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Doug.
 
No, they crap full stop. i have one on my passenger door and its like closing a jack in a box! i have to re-glue it regularly.
They don't leak which is the only good thing and as my bus has a garage i haven't bothered changing it. Oh and mine has started to perish after 5 years.
The good ones are very expensive though but probably worth it in the long run.
 
Nope, always bad. I have to admit I thought 'what the heck am I doing paying £40 for a 5ft bit of rubber)

But now my sliding door closes like a swiss watch, so they are worth it.
 
The expensive ones (brand name escapes me just now) are made of a more sponge-like rubber which is a little more forgiving. I fitted new cab door seals a year or so ago and the doors still take a good solid shut to enable the second click of the latching mechanism. They are a very good fit and required no glue to keep them in place and have remained leak-free thus far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Daisybay said:
I bought the good ones. After two years the doors is still hard to close.
I'm 5 years on the good ones and they are starting to get better now.....

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 
I have genuine VW Brazil on the doors and Germany on side door and back hatch. All were difficult to close for several years, but are now seated perfectly.
 

Latest posts

Top