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Replace Coupe door frame weather seal How-to

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Z4Mariner
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Replace Coupe door frame weather seal How-to

Post by Z4Mariner » Mon May 08, 2023 4:52 am

Since this was a little more challenging that it might have been, I'm posting my procedure for replacing the complex weather / wind seal for COUPE frames. I replaced the left side, but they appear symmetric.

What the coupe weather seal looks like before it goes onto the car. Note there are release liners on areas with adhesive pre-applied.
Seal alone - off the car.jpg
Seal alone - off the car.jpg (244.77 KiB) Viewed 210 times
Steps involved for replacing the door frame weather seal and some photos to go with them:

1) Remove the coupe B-pillar trim by pulling horizontally from outside toward inside of the car.

2) Remove the door threshold trim piece by levering it upward at each of the five body clips. If they stay behind, pull them out with pliers.
(Picture 1).
Seal Picture 1 - threshold trim & seal.jpg
Seal Picture 1 - threshold trim & seal.jpg (241.29 KiB) Viewed 210 times
3) Remove the plastic rivet from the rear of the weather seal at the door frame belt line, at the bottom front edge of the rear window. Use a trim tool. The pin in this clip doesn’t push in to release, and there was not enough pin exposed to pull it out.
(Picture 2)
Seal Picture 2 - plastic rivet.jpg
Seal Picture 2 - plastic rivet.jpg (134.86 KiB) Viewed 210 times
4) Pull the old seal upward in the center of the bottom run along the door threshold, and peel it free all the way to where it comes apart from the upper part of the seal at the base of the A-pillar.
(Picture 3)
Seal Picture 3 - lower front removed.jpg
Seal Picture 3 - lower front removed.jpg (206.75 KiB) Viewed 210 times
5) Mark or take a picture of the exact position of the upper front end of the weather seal against the A-pillar. You will align the new seal front upper end to this spot.

6) Peel the lower part of the weather seal away from the threshold back to the rear of the door frame until you reach the rear door frame belt line where the push pin rivet was. There is a sort of wing, attached to the rear quarter panel by both a molded-in rubber plug and by adhesive – pull this free. New seals come with adhesive on this wing, but a used seal will need sealant here.
(Picture 4)
Seal Picture 4 - Rivet & Wing Area.png
Seal Picture 4 - Rivet & Wing Area.png (808.63 KiB) Viewed 210 times

7) Carefully detach the seal from the front edge of the rear window glass – new seals have adhesive applied to the back side of the seal to stick to the window.

8 ) From the upper rear corner, peel the rest of the upper half of the seal away from door frame pinch weld all the way forward to the A-pillar, where you need to pull the very end free from the adhesive anchoring it.

9) Start installation by locating the upper seal front end in precisely the position from which you removed the old seal. Refer to Step 4 and Picture 3. Make sure the seal clinches on the pinch weld, then remove the liner from the adhesive on the seal and stick it down firmly.

10) Go only 7 or 8 inches up the A-pillar at this time, and make sure the upper-rear corner of the seal is in the very corner of the door frame.

11) When that part of the seal seems in place, position the ‘jog’ in the seal at the base of the rear window glass, align it well, and install the push pin rivet.

12) Inspect the part of the seal that overlaps the rear window glass, and make sure the adhesive on the back of the seal is pressed against the glass to create a bond. There should be a release liner protecting this adhesive, but on my seal the liner had come off in shipping (or handling before shipping ?). It was still tacky, so I pressed it down and moved on.

13) Seat the rubber plug in the wing of the new seal into the hole in the rear quarter panel, remove the liner from the adhesive, and apply pressure until it’s flat and well-secured. I used a plastic dead blow hammer to help seat the wing.

14) Move down the rear of the door frame, pushing the seal onto the pinch weld until you come to the rear bottom corner. The seal has a lot of ‘curl’ in cross section, and you will likely need to use a tool to help coax the inside edge of the seal further to the inside of the car, over the hard plastic trim molding so that it can be pushed more deeply over the pinch weld.

15) Once you get to the bottom rear corner, transfer your attention to the loose end that needs to be joined into the upper front end on the A-pillar. There’s an inner joining tube that will fit into the upper end, and the upper end has a tapered skirt to make a smooth transition over the lower end.

16) Here again you will need a tool to help flatten the inside edge of the seal against the hard plastic A-pillar and kick panel trim while you work hard to get the seal to curve into the front lower corner and rear lower corner of the door frame. Eventually the seal will be secured far enough to the front and rear corners so that it will begin to lie flat on the threshold pinch weld. Flatten the center bottom of the seal at the threshold and ensure it is fully clinched to the pinch weld.

17) With that done, go back and properly secure the upper part of the seal between the upper rear corner and the A-pillar. The upper seal needs to both clinch onto the pinch weld and to catch on the outer stiff plastic trim on the door frame. Check against the other side of your car as you do this. This is important to get correct, since it is where the window seals.
(Picture 5)
Seal Picture 5 - upper rear corner.JPG
Seal Picture 5 - upper rear corner.JPG (148.38 KiB) Viewed 210 times

18) Back to the A-pillar, check that the splice between the ends of the seal is nice and smooth. I had trouble seating the lower end of the seal fully onto the pinch weld to make it lie flat inside the skirt of the upper end. I had to resort to a plastic dead blow hammer, to make the very end of the bottom section of seal seat itself smoothly.
(Picture 6)
Seal Picture 6 - end join.JPG
Seal Picture 6 - end join.JPG (145.33 KiB) Viewed 210 times
19) Once you are satisfied with the job, reinstall the hard plastic threshold plate with its five clips and the B-pillar trim with its two clips. These two trim pieces install over the seal – check against the other side of the car.
Z4Mariner
Minnesota, USA

2006 Z4 Coupe 3.0Si, Montego Blue, MT

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