c4 window felts replacement
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 760
Likes: 242
From: All Over The Place
Allow for plenty of time (and patience) on the door panel removal. DO inspect the window guides if your C4 is later, since you will have line of sight. You will need a pop rivet gun and a drill with a small bit to remove/install the new door panel strips.
TC
TC
Racer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 384
Likes: 62
From: Chicago Illinois
The OP. I just did both doors on my newly purchased 89 convertible. I will be posting some details and photos of the before and after once it stops raining here and I can pull the car outside for more light. The outers can be replaced without completely removing the windoiw glass, but be careful when removing the old seal or you run the risk of chipping the paint on the outer edge of the doors. There are three (3) rivets holding that outer seal in place. I bought a cheap swiveling pop rivet gun from Harbor Freight that came with all the rivets I needed to do both doors and door panels. Are you planning on replacing both inner and outer seals?
I only ask becuase the the outers are pretty straight forward and the worst you can do is not line up each and every clip before pressing the seal down. If you miss a clip, you wil have to start over again. I saw a Youtube video where a guy used some plastic push in panel clips instead of pop rivets which I don't feel would hold it tight enough and you will have a loose outer seal after a few months of use. Just my $,02.
For the inner seal, you have to remove the door panel which is not difficult, but since it is over 30 years old be careful removing it or it can crack. I discovered the lower door panel screws completely rusted and had to be drilled out. I also took the opportunity to go thru all of the door assemblies and lube the locks, replaced the lock cylinders, rebent and rerouted the lock and latch rods, re routed some misrouted harness wires and adjusted the windows. Make sure you look down in the bottom of each door and confirm the rubber window stop is not knocked loose and rolling around inside the door. That needs to be reattached to keep the window from rattling around and lowering past the factory stops. Take this time to stick a vacuum down in there and suck up years of leaves, broken plastic clips and odd screws that somehow made it in there and make your door sound like a coin in a coffee can every time you shut the door.
Once you get the panel free, the inner seals are held in place by thick, heavy duty staples that you need to be REALLY careful removing or you will literally destory the upper edge of your door panel. I used a really small thin plat blade screwdriver to pry open the staples. I even tried to reuse the staples, but had no reasonable way to pound them tight without cracking the door panel. I decided to use the pop rivets and secure the inner panel every 4 to 6 inches and it held tight with no gaps. Just take your time and don't install the first rivet until you have everything lined up perfectly -- there are cutouts on both the seal and door panel that you can line them up before you drill. Don't forget to check the four scrw clips that hold the top door panel pad in place. They are usually loose and I ended up putting some quick set epoxy on the backs of those clips to keep them tight.
I hope to be posting my photos and details of my restoration shortly.
Good Luck!!
Ted
I only ask becuase the the outers are pretty straight forward and the worst you can do is not line up each and every clip before pressing the seal down. If you miss a clip, you wil have to start over again. I saw a Youtube video where a guy used some plastic push in panel clips instead of pop rivets which I don't feel would hold it tight enough and you will have a loose outer seal after a few months of use. Just my $,02.
For the inner seal, you have to remove the door panel which is not difficult, but since it is over 30 years old be careful removing it or it can crack. I discovered the lower door panel screws completely rusted and had to be drilled out. I also took the opportunity to go thru all of the door assemblies and lube the locks, replaced the lock cylinders, rebent and rerouted the lock and latch rods, re routed some misrouted harness wires and adjusted the windows. Make sure you look down in the bottom of each door and confirm the rubber window stop is not knocked loose and rolling around inside the door. That needs to be reattached to keep the window from rattling around and lowering past the factory stops. Take this time to stick a vacuum down in there and suck up years of leaves, broken plastic clips and odd screws that somehow made it in there and make your door sound like a coin in a coffee can every time you shut the door.
Once you get the panel free, the inner seals are held in place by thick, heavy duty staples that you need to be REALLY careful removing or you will literally destory the upper edge of your door panel. I used a really small thin plat blade screwdriver to pry open the staples. I even tried to reuse the staples, but had no reasonable way to pound them tight without cracking the door panel. I decided to use the pop rivets and secure the inner panel every 4 to 6 inches and it held tight with no gaps. Just take your time and don't install the first rivet until you have everything lined up perfectly -- there are cutouts on both the seal and door panel that you can line them up before you drill. Don't forget to check the four scrw clips that hold the top door panel pad in place. They are usually loose and I ended up putting some quick set epoxy on the backs of those clips to keep them tight.
I hope to be posting my photos and details of my restoration shortly.
Good Luck!!
Ted
Last edited by tfvesquire; Apr 8, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
