I recently acquired a 2001 XJ with 154K miles. I have a water intrusion problem with soaked driver's foot well carpet.

I initially suspected windshield gasket as the truck had an aftermarket windshield. After pulling the carpet, drying things out, cleaning up the surface rusty floor pan and coating w/POR15, I then went to the garden hose test phase. I found that the water intrusion was the driver's door weatherstrip and it was leaking in and running down the A Pillar. Gasket inspection shows no damage but it is deformed over time from the door squishing it.

Getting to my question, does somebody have experience with an economical solution? I found seal kits for 1996 and older XJ being pretty reasonably priced aftermarket solutions from Crown Rubber sold by several Jeep parts houses. The solutions for 97+ weatherstrip seem either pricey or lacking data on their effectiveness. I have searched the forums but the vast majority of the answers are just buy new seals and the vast majority of the owners were pre-97 so it was not that big of a deal. Below are the options I have come up with and I am looking for input.

1) New dealer part is 55176148C at $140 and through a parts department connection, I can get it down to $100.

2) Use older style gasket for between $20 & $30 depending on vendor

3) Saw someone suggest Mustang Fox Body gasket for around $30 aftermarket and then cut to fit, from www.americanmuscle.com

4) Found an ebay listing for 97+ gasket for $37.99 + $9.99 shipping, around half of the dealer solution. The listing gives very little detail and I am wondering if it is actually just the old style gasket being sold for the newer application. Seller is "rockriders-jeepstore" with good feedback.

5) Add an insert into the existing rubber strip like ebay item#111045312630 for $11.99 from Hong Kong. Looks like a difficult proposition to thread it through the rubber strip.

6) Rubber Strip by the foot from ebay seller "parts-pros" like item#370665546679 and they have several different styles with technical drawings including sizes. I would need to measure to try and find the best one. At $50 to $70 I would get a roll that is enough for all 4 doors but i am still concerned about gambling that much on non-application specific.

7) Vegetable oil or Vaseline on the rubber strips. Saw this used to cure T Top leaks before.

8) Rotate the existing seal so that the mating surface where the leak is, is at a different pinch point and possibly stop leaking. Still need to keep the seam where the ends butt together, on the horizontal plane of the rocker.

9) Swap Left and Right door weatherstrips. The idea being similar as above, that the curved A Pillar section would now be on the flat vertical door latch side and the smooth and best portion of the seal would now be on the arc of the A Pillar.

10) Get some Goldfish and just let the floors rust...

I figure if the driver's side is already leaking the passenger's side is next. I am not sure I am ready to break over and stomach another $200 fix for both sides.

 

I'm interested in hearing some responses - my 2000 XJ is leaking at the top of the drivers door as well.

 

Oil eats rubber, so I can't imagine that's a good solution at all...

I'm pretty sure you can just buy rolls of weather stripping, and cut it to fit. Shouldn't be too hard.

 

I was wondering that too since Vaseline is petroleum jelly but vegetable oil might be a different animal, any chemists want to weigh in?

 

Silicone grease is compatible with those seals.

HoneyGoo has an aerosol product named "Rubber Care", I think it's a type of silicone spray. Tried some on my doors and wind noise and creaking decreased. For the cost of a can might as well try it.

 

What I did on a couple of vehicles that I have was I pick up some of the spray foam insulation. Not the high expansion but the low expansion. Then I ran a hose that fit into the weather stripping as far as it will go in then filled it up with the spray foam. I have never had a leaking weather stripping once I did this. BTW, It can be pretty messy if it comes out of the other end when you are spraying it in. The second one I did I clamped off the end so it wouldn't come out.

 

Here comes Honey Goo Goo LOL. It appears to be a Canadian product and available at Canadian Tire but I am in the US. On a side note, when I was is Mississauga for several weeks on business, back during the time Eaton's was closing, I loved Canadian Tire.

You got me thinking about various rubber & vinyl dressing products to explore.

 

Heh, thats not a bad idea. What's an example of the low-expansion stuff?

 

Oh it is? Odd, normally we're the ones that don't have your products! (Plasti-Dip arrived a month or two ago for $20/can)

 

The the spray foam that I have used is called Great Stuff made by Dow. The high expansion stuff will usually say high expansion on the label and it does expand a lot . The one I use says that if will fill gaps up to 1". I did use the other by mistake and it made the weather stripping swell up to much in some of the weak spots. I tried to post a pic of the can that I have but for some reason it won't let me.

 

Nope I know the stuff you're talking about, I've seen it on the shelves. Thanks!

 

Well I tried repositioning the seal this evening. I moved the seal around the loop and Made the seam about one inch from where the driver's rocker curves up into the B Pillar. Along with that, I cleaned the seal, cleaned the mating surface on the door and wiped the seals down with vegetable oil.

Improvement but not a cure. I still have the carpet out and I hand washed the truck. Ran plenty of water on the driver's door. I had about 1/4 a cup of water in the floor pan.

I am afraid to swap left and right seals since the passenger side is currently water tight.

I have been pondering the spray foam idea. My experience with Great Stuff foam is that when it cures, it is hard as a rock. Do you let the foam set up with the door open or closed???

I am leaning towards ordering the eBay seal from "rockriders-jeepstore" and give it a chance. It is nearly 1/3 the cost of an OE seal (even half compared to my friend pricing).

I looked at the seal design closely and am not confident of a reasonable match to the rolls of seal options.

 

Have you tried bending the top of the door frame towards the chassis? I did have an issue on the passenger side and that fixed it. Roll down the window first tho.

 

I looked at the door for damage or mis-alignment but saw none. I also checked the door hinges for issues and some have said older ones have weld break issues w/door hinges. I also do not believe there has been any accident damage or bodywork lurking to be the source of the problem.

I don't think I have a bent or mechanical door problem, I think the seal is worn and deformed from time.

After deliberation and the internal conflict with spending more money, I have decided to go the route of a new seal. Weighing the OEM vs. aftermarket cost, I have ordered a new seal today, the after market one I found on eBay. I will update with part quality, fitment and if it solves the problem.

 

Has anyone thought of or priced house door weather strip or even frig strip?
My '93 pas door leaks n I have bent that door every direction i could think n still rain drips in at top of door