Tonneau cover rubber seal

[ukbiggles]

Hi all

My tonneau cover rubber seal is completely loose, though it has been glued into the channel at some stage in the past. All of the glue remains in the channel. Anyone got any suggestions on the easiest way to get this off?

And any suggestions for an adhesive to use with the new rubber. Something simple like Evo-Stik?

Regards

Gord

[martin]

Hiya, petrol should get the old stuff off, and yes, Evo-Stik. Martin.

[jleyton]

Hi Gord,

There's been lots of discussion about this subject on here but I personally am very dubious about gluing it.

It's supposed to be a drain channel - hence the drain tubes - and I reckon that anything that impedes the flow of water may contribute to corrosion in the channels (I know, mine were badly corroded when I got it). I'm working on something that will provide a neat finish but allow the water to drain away easily.

Anyway, if you do want to glue it then I'd use Evo-Stik and you can buy Evo-Stik solvent that may well remove what was there before.

Cheers

Julian

[ukbiggles]

Martin, Julian, thanks

I confess I thought it should be glued in as it was before. But if it isn't glued in, will the seal (still need to buy one the new one) stay in place without any fixings? The old seal looks pretty tired and every time I open the tonneau, the rubber comes out of the channel and I have to put it back in its channel before closing up again. Hardly a big imposition, but one I'd like to avoid if I can

Gord

[jleyton]

Hi Gord - and anybody else who may be interested in this subject (Drew?) - sorry to hijack your thread

Mine was, sort of, glued in place but, as I mentioned, the channel was pretty well corroded and this led me to come up with an answer to a problem that may well exist on other cars.

I've rectified the corrosion in the tonneau cover drain channels, but I believe mine is not an isolated case and indeed the car featured in the Practical Classics renovation, several years ago, had also suffered the same problem. The trouble is that the consequences can be far reaching with water entering the underseat area as well as around the B post area leading to considerable corrosion.

I know that the whole subject has been discussed in earlier posts but it still seems to me that the purpose of the drain channel is rather obscure

If, as its name suggests, it is to drain, (and surely the drain tubes indicate that this is its purpose) then you’d think the water should be free to drain away easily. However the standard seal seems to impede the flow, causing a build up of water that then leads to the corrosion.

I have a modification that I have carried out on my car and which I think resolves the issue. I've fitted a Woollies 'mud flap' trim that you can see in the picture. The profile is such that it folds over under the tonneau cover to form a neat seal yet if any water does get in then it can run away easily through the channel.

I'd be interested to hear anyones thoughts on this and I'd be happy happy to hear if anyon thinks I've overlooked anything.

Cheers

Julian


IMAG0076.jpgIMAG0075.jpgIMAG0074.jpgIMAG0071.jpg

[ukbiggles]

Hi Julian

Thanks for the photos etc. Seems like a neat solution. Where did you get the rubber trim? Woolies? No longer, surely?!

Cheers

Gord

[DJT]

Would that be this one Julian?: http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/p-1364...p-push-on.aspx

Dave

[jleyton]

Would that be this one Julian?: http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/p-1364...p-push-on.aspx

Dave

Yep, that's the one Dave.

The only problem I had was that I had to 'persuade' the flap into a slightly shape to its natural one. Originally I glued the trailing edge to the deck panel but now it has assumed the correct shape - I've still got to get all of the (now unnecessary) glue off

I've also put a couple of washers between the tonneau cover and the hinges to lift it up, just a fraction, as it was just too tight originally.

I reckon it's a pretty neat solution.

Cheers

Julian

[ukbiggles]

Dave/Julian, thanks.

Prior to starting this thread off, I had already ordered a new seal from JP. When it arrived, it has a completely different cross section to the existing seal, and isn't as tall. The new one looks too small to fit in the channel properly, theough I guess the smaller footprint would allow water to drain away easier.

Just wondered if anyone has used the new type seal, and if it is effective. It just doesn't seem tall enough to me. Is there a difference in the channel heght between Mk1 and Mk 2?

I haven't fitted it yet as I have some other issues to deal with first - see painting problem thread.

I uploaded my poor drawings of the new seal cross section and the existing seal cross section. They do look quite different.

Gord



ttonneau seal2.jpg

[jleyton]

Hi Gord,

There's been loads on here about different seals and which way to fit them in the past. If you do a search - I seem to remember dasadrew and, possibly?, Dieter contributed - I'm sure you'll find lots more comments and advice.

Cheers

Julian

[ukbiggles]

Cheers, Julian, will do

Gord

[dasadrew]

http://www.stag.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?11749-Tonneau-seals&highlight=tonneau

[ukbiggles]

Hey, Drew, many thanks for saving me having to do the search. Wasn't being lazy, had to go out to walk the dog

I hadn't figured on the new seal going on its side compared to my diagram (!)

A lot of differing opinions in that thread, but I can see the wisdom of trying to create a drain channel for the water to get into the drain tubes.

I think I will try it your way, with the anvil on its side to the outside of the car. Only think I'm not sure of is whether it needs to be glued in; will wait and see how tight the fit is, once I finish touching up some paintwork in that area

Gord

[dasadrew]

Keep us posted!

Drew

[Moraystag]

I am at work at the moment and obviously can't check my car, but there was a long debate about this as Julian said.
However the one that I replaced which was supplied by J.P. was a tight fit and I used no glue.
My reason for this was as Julian has said it's a water channel and I was'nt happy to have water getting trapped by glue ridges bellow the seal.
My train of thought is that if it is'nt glued in, it's easily removed and the channel can be dryed out regularly. I have found that the replacement seal fits back into the channel easily as it now has more or less formed itself into the shape required. The old one had been glued into place and I removed the old glue using a small amount of Cellulose thinners
hope this makes sense

Mike