Purchased new doors/cab seals to fit my 1st55.....seals are to stiff causing miss alignment.....body shop could adjust doors....real bad door alignment. Need suggestions for replace the seals that work or how to soften the seals.
Are they Taiwanese rubber ? if so they'll take some time to take a proper set , moreso in this cool time of year . Seals out , adjust the door to proper fitment , remembering how poorly these doors fit when new , adjust to no bind and best closing , maybe a little rattle then install the seals and slam the door shut , leave it closed for 24 hours min. ~ that should get you to a starting place . Steele Rubber Co. has the very best rubber , not as many problems like this .
Nate hit it on the head! I've been down that same road with a variety of different seals, from different vendors. Having alignment problems after you first install the seals is a GOOD sign.....if they are "just right" initially, a year down the road they will be too compacted and you'll be hearing a lot of wind noise. You've just got to be sure you've installed them correctly and give them some time to compact. The initial door fit on old trucks was not of major importance and you'd be amazed how easy it is to use a hi-tec 2X4 and spring the hinges into near-perfect fit. It just takes some time and effort. It's best done after the door seals are set (compacted) and the 2X4 can be wrapped to protect the paint. Once you get the door as good as you can with the bolt adjustment, you can "kick" the offending area in or out by blocking the door WHERE IT fits, and gently applying pressure to the offending area. You'll have to go PAST the correct alignment to compensate for "spring-back" but do it in little increments and you can lick most any problem. Dave
