Guy's it's very important to rinse the cars off often, including the wheel wells. Rinsing will remove dirt and mud that causes the rust.

Also i've been in touch with the big wigs including Doug betts about our problems of the door rust. They've contacted me a few times asking me questions, but they have'nt arrived with any solution as of yet.

I'm on the Chrysler customer advisory panel, and it looks like Chrysler is really trying to change and make better vehicles, and fix problems.

 

Antonio311
Do you think the gaps in the seal retainer at the bottom font and bottom rear of the door allow water to get behind the seal?
I put up post #252 and I have had no feedback from it really. Maybe some people have not bothered to add their opinion or nobody cares to much. Some people complain a lot, but do nothing and expect the dealer to fix it. I think most dealers would say they expect a little rust, I tend to agree. On items like this you have to be pro-active and stop the rust before it starts or before it has gone too far
I do not have any rust, so I intend to delay the start of rust.

 

180, to answer your question, I don't think it matters whether there are gaps at front or back of seal..........I believe that if you sprayed water along the bottom edge of door, the moisture would still creep behind the 'seal' that is not sitting in the track very tightly. It basically is a cushion for when the door shuts and does block out some water from the door frame.

 

My seal is pretty tight, when I took it out is was quite hard to get back in. Is it possible that some cars have a loose fit?
I remember seeing on this site somewhere that these seals were falling out of the channel on some vehicles. Others have said that it was tight and they still have water behind the seal.
If we say the water comes in from outside the seal, I can only see it getting in those gaps or at the top ends but not around a tight seal in the channel.
Water can get in those gaps, at the front it has the water going towards the rear of the car due to the cars forward motion. At the rear of the door, any water running down against the edges of the seal could roll into the gap.

 

Ok guy's this is going to be a long one so here it goes:

Way back in this exact thread I also thought the gaps at the front and rear of the weatherstripping retainer / holder was the reason the water was getting behind the stripping. So back then i did seal up those gaps with some industrial strength Black tape. There was no way the water could enter in there through those gaps.....Guess what, the water still got behind the stripping. So I believe its best to leave those gaps unsealed, so the water can get out, and the air can circulate.

Next, I do believe that the water is coming from the top of the doors and going down and behind the weather stripping. I still have not found a fix to this. There was a post from a gentleman from England who posted this is indeed where the water is getting in there, and he tried to explain how to seal up the place where it leaks. But I couldn't follow his fix.

Next, I did scrape out the rust that was there and treated the area with the por 15, it seemed to work. But time will tell.

Lastely, when ever my car does get rained on, or I wash my car, I always remove that damn weatherstripping, and I use an air comperssor to dry out the area, the outside of the weather stripping, and DO NOT forget to dry out the inside of the weatherstripping. The only way i've found to do this, is to insert the nozzle of my air compressor into the holes of the weatherstripping and blow out the water. This is a major pain in the ***, but it keeps the area dry. And without moisture no rust can form.

Hope this helps.

 

What would be the downside to just remove the rubber seal and leave it off the door forever? Would that be a bad thing to do?

 

No seal would mean you would hear the noise of the air rushing around. Also water would get on the sills of the car.

 

In my post #252 I show in photo's 1 and 1a the area that the water is diverted into the inside of the door. They show evidence of water below the rectangular drain, underneath the trim piece and below the trim piece where the seal and door meet. Water running down this seam between door and seal puts it inside the car and it will eventually lie on top of the seal at the bottom of the door. Water likes to keep moving because of gravity, so if any slight gap exists it will flow through it. In this case it would be behind the seal. Some of it may keep going but some will just sit there because of surface tension.
Some will also follow the same path but on the outside of the seal and this flows down until it has to cross the gap between the channel sections. Some will pass over the gap and some will flow behind the seal.
Without taking the rubber moulding that contains the drain off, I cannot be sure that the water cannot get behind the seal at that point, I suspect it can. The seal goes into a blind hole on the molding, so that should be OK. I cannot see why water could not go behind the molding and directly into the seal channel. Unless it was caulked I cannot see why that could not happen.
The front edge of the door is similar but without the drain.
Although I had washed the car a few days before taking the pictures, I found no trapped water and the weather had been cool. Water had been around the seal as shown by the marks but none was trapped anywhere.
I found evidence of water marks behind the seal when I took it off, but no water and no rust.
Water can sit for a long time in tight spaces without drying as it has nowhere to go in a hurry.
I think a good spot to look for entrance is behind the rubber moulding with the drain in it. With no rust on my car I am not about to disturb it.
The front of the door should also be looked at.

Steve-UK should join the discussion, maybe he has some more thoughts, as he also did some of the early groundwork. My thanks to andrew, antonio311 and mbepic et al for the heads up on this and their input.

No animals were harmed in any way in this production.

 

Guys, no matter what you do with the front or back of the seal, you have to assume that moisture is going to get in behind that rubber. Leaving the rubber off completely or removing the rubber everytime you wash the car does not seem practical to me.

I think the answer is to protect the area where the rust tends to start, between the door and the welded rail. If that was all one piece, likely there would not be any rust problem at all but since it is a spot welded piece, this area needs all the attention. You need to seal/silicone/caulk, whatever between the welded strip and the door.

I will let you know the results of my 'fix' in the spring.

 

I agree, besides limiting the places for water to get in you have to protect the area in general. I love silicone and duct tape the handymans best friend. How did we survive without them before.
I think silicone will work best here, as duct tape will look a bit out of place.

 

No question in my mind that 'clear' silicone worked very well on this application. I fully expect that when I see the results in the spring, the results will be positive.

 

Tell me? Did you treat the area with a rust preventor then put the silicone over that?

Did you put the silicone on, and then before it dried put the weather stripping on, or let it dry 1st?

I already put on a rust preventor, but putting silicone on over that would be hard to remove if I have to retreat the area.

 

I'm just going by my memory now because it was summer 2007 when I did it. I have never thought of checking it since.

I cleaned the area, brushed a rust preventor on and let it dry; I then put a thin layer of clear silicone over the welded track sealing where the rail is welded to the door, and then let that dry. I then put the rubber back into the track using a popsicle stick and my fingers.
I then popped the two plugs at either end of the door and sprayed as much WD40 inside the doors and along the bottom of the door where the rubber/track is. Spraying inside the door was done just in case the moisture was leaking from inside the door but sounds like that really is not the case.

I will try to remember to recheck both doors when the car comes out of storage this spring.

 

Got Ya, Let us know how its holding up.

 

Just checked mine... They look like crap!!! Luckly I have a pint of the paint your all talking about, I painted a guitar with it They say its super strong and wont chip!?!

 

OK! You have my attention. I read the entire thread last night and went and looked this AM. I have a 2007 coupe in Arizona BUT it gets cold here. It was 15 degrees last night. The car is garaged all winter November thru April. Hand washed and does not get driven in the rain. I am the second owner so I can not speak for its prior life in Arizona.

Well drivers side is dry with NO rust BUT the passenger's side has no rust but I can see and feel the wet.

Questions

1. Should I take off the seal for the winter?

2. What can I put on it to protect the door when it has NO rust on it. I want to provent it.

Thanks

Joe

PS I have always had a two seater -- MG - TC, TD, Midget, B and A as well a TR-6. So I am very familiar with the ravages of rust. This car is a true pleasure. I laugh to my self when I read about the poor creature comfort, etc. Anybody remember wood floors and adjusting carbs. This car is a true pleasure to cruise in.

 

I would leave the seal of as long as possible, disconnect the battery and leave the door open. Wipe down the wet seal and check that no water is inside it.
Let it all dry out then coat the doors behind both seals with silicone grease or similar before replacing the seal. Once in a while re-check the area for rust, beating rust depends on keeping it at bay for as long as possible.

I would check to see why one side is wet and one side is dry, maybe you can solve the problem of were it gets in.

You have had some fine but finicky cars.

 

I was scoping out where the dragstrip is in my area. Found the road, or horse path, and proceeded to weave around the potholes full of muddy water. Couldn't miss them all so got plenty of mud splashed on the passenger side. When I went to clean off the mud after getting home there was mud in the most surprising places. It was between the two rubber strips on the door sill. This was on a sunny day with muddy water slashed up from potholes. (It rains 2 minutes here and then the sun comes out again) It's easy to see why rust starts under the weatherstrip because water gets trapped between the two and can't get out. I wish I had taken a picture. When it happens again, I will.

I found this thread before I purchased my car and I dry the underside of the doors carefully after getting the car wet. I think its a good idea for everyone.

Les

 

Like most owners I have been concerned about the same problem. What I have done is to not wash the car too frequently. I place a tarp over it in the garage when not driving it. The amount of dust and pollen in the air is amazing here in Michigan. When I do wash my car I pull out the seals along the bottom of both doors to let the water run out. I leave it that way over night to make sure everything drys out. I then snap the seals back into place. It is easy enough to do. Along with the other suggestions to apply a rust inhibiting paint should be enough to protect this car.

Dennis

 

The answer to your question is in Andrews post #41 and 42 of this thread. It doesn't matter if you find any rust under the seal or not. All Crossfire doors, 04 thru 08 are designed exactly the same, and they will all trap water behind the seal at the bottom of the door. (when the car is washed, or left out in the rain) The best way to prevent the rust from starting, or effectivly repairing the rust after it happens, is to seal the area with a paint like Por15.
This won't stop moisture from getting under the seal, but it will keep it from reaching the exposed seam where the rust will eventually start.
I think after using this repair/prevention method, it would still be a good idea to pull out the seal and clean off and dry the area occasionally, because it will continue to get wet, and will collect rinsed off soap residue.
I don't believe pulling out the drain plugs in the bottom of the door is necessary because unless your drain holes are plugged up, there shouldn't be a problem, and it's totally unrelated to the trapped water behind the seal. But if it makes ya sleep better at night, then by all means go for it.