Defender overhaul: new seals

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uhm yeah that makes perfect sense - not sure why then the upper seals are the same across station wagon and hard top...

so it's just a matter of lenghts measures in your opinion but the material and width/height of the seal should be the same right ?
 
To be honest, as the vehicle is a custom build I would be tempted to look for rolls of adhesive backed foam like this LINKY You're going to have to cut and join a 'Land Rover' seal anyway.
The roof is fixed with bolts and so will tighten down on to any seal you put in very easily.
The bottom of the side panel to tub top are fixed with L shaped brackets and mine were a right bugger to tighten while trying to compress the seal. Being custom built, yours might be fixed differently and so worth checking. If you look along the seal gaps, you might be able to see joins, especially on the roof one as it will more likely be solid rubber. If the bottom one is foam, a join might be harder to see. Whoever, built the vehicle may have improvised with those seals anyway as they too would not be able to get originals.
 
yeah good point - so you I could get any foam-type seal for the bottom-one which is our uncertain bit:

I have loads of Kaiflex EF I bought for insulation (Elastomeric foam based on synthetic rubber, Cell structure Closed cell), this are the benefits of the product (attached):
  • Formed from thousands of independently water resistant cells, Kaiflex insulation is naturally resistant to moisture ingress and requires no additional water vapour barrier.
  • With an inherent resistance to moisture ingress Kaiflex insulation keeps pipes dry and helps to prevent corrosion under insulation
  • By effectively preventing moisture ingress, Kaiflex is inherently resistant to the microbial and mould growth that otherwise compromise indoor air quality.
Would it be suitable for this purpose?

the one I have though is 20mm thick - I would need to half it to fit it there - or better buying something the right measure from the onset?
 

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If it's water proof and compressible I can't see why not. The thickness of it is a potential issue. This is why I mentioned the fixing methods for the roof to side panel and the tub to side panel. The roof bolts pull down and will clamp/compress whatever you use. The tub to side panel L shaped brackets are harder to fix while compressing the seal. So, the thickness will become more important here especially if it is a bit too thick. I would check how your Landy is constructed.
 
Thanks, very helpful - so could cut in 2 the kaiflex to make it fit? or by cutting it I damage its water resistant properties in your opinion?

I had a look at Wheely and it looks like at the moment there is no seal between the roof and the panel (the two are just bolted to each other) and on the outside there is just something like sikaflex...(as per pic)....

Given this I am now a bit perplexed whether there is the need of the upper seal or not at all - besides leaking inside is there any other downside by not having the seals ?
 

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I don't know what you mean about cutting it in two as I don't know the dimensions of the Kaiflex you have. Cutting it won't affect the water resistant properties as every minute cell that it is made up from is a waterproof little unit in itself.
I would think the other benefits of having a seal between the panels would be to reduce noise and sound transmission.
 
vasimone said:
apologies, I meant cutting it in half so that from 20mm it becomes 10mm ;) what's the purpose of the foam seal compared to the rubber seal used in different parts of the landy?
Click to expand...
Don't know what LR were thinking. However, I would guess that the top seal can be firm rubber because it can be clamped tightly with the roof bolts. The lower seal might have to be foam rubber as it will be easier to clamp with the different clamping method. Just guessing. Suppose the softer foam will suppress sounds more too.
 
Aha, yeah good guess :) I am learning a lot, thanks very much!

and my last questions I promise :), on the part books I see that the upper seal is MCX3677 and MCX3676, but then when I look in the various parts websites (lr-series, lrdirect, brit-car) it says that it's for the 90 rather than the 110. I think I shouldn't be bothered since anyway mine differs from both and so I can go anyway with it, unless the shape of the roof of the 90 is different than the 110 (besides being shorter) - what do you say?

Since at the back I don't have a door but shutters, hence I don't have the door seal (MTC4290) but rather a panel of steel is sikaflexed to the roof (where the carmichael badge is). As I am stripping it all down for the paint-job, shall I put also there the extra rubber seal that I have from the upper seals (MCX3677 and MCX3676) since points 4 and 5 are shorter than what a normal 110 would be.... thoughts?
InkedWP_20161126_17_24_37_Pro_LI_3.jpg
 
The numbers you have there are for the 90
The 110 numbers are MXC3684 and MXC3685 But, as you say, yours is different to both the 90 and 110

How is the 'Carmichael' panel fixed it, just with sikaflex? If so, and it has been working, I would do the same. I wouldn't be bothering with cutting up a Land Rover roof seal for it. In fact I'm more coming around to the idea that if it was mine I'd be improvising a roof seal from a bought strip or the Kaiflex you have it it's dimensions are suitable.
 
I like the idea of improvising a lot :)

The carmicheal bit (which is a frame all around the shutters, not just the top bit) seems that its just attached with some sealant (which actually is crumbling off) - see pic

So starting with the fact that currently there is no seal between roof and panels putting some kaiflex would anyway provide some benefit, especially in terms of squeaking right?
The only reservations I have on Kaiflex by looking at its TDS is that:
1-is not UV resistant: what implication does this have? will this lead it to crumble at some point?:eek:
2-it says in the shelf-life remarks to keep it at a temperature of 0<35 degrees - I am travelling to places >40 and when I will be back in Europe it will go below 0 --> would this be a problem?:oops:

kaiflex.JPG
 

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UV damages and fades stuff quickly where I am in the North of England, so it's gonna hammer materials more quickly where you are.
 
oh ok, I get it... no problem, we'll find another way out :) Would the original LR parts then be UV resistant?

A friend of mine is coming from italy to ghana on wednesday, he could bring me something - would a neoprene tape work it out? this one in the description ( in italian :D ) says that it's made for house windows and that is water and sun resistant - what do you say?
 
vasimone said:
oh ok, I get it... no problem, we'll find another way out :) Would the original LR parts then be UV resistant?
Click to expand...
You never know with Land Rover :)

vasimone said:
A friend of mine is coming from italy to ghana on wednesday, he could bring me something - would a neoprene tape work it out? this one in the description ( in italian :D ) says that it's made for house windows and that is water and sun resistant - what do you say?
Click to expand...
If it is water and sun resistant it sounds perfect. I would be looking for something like 20mm wide by 10mm thick.
 
Great thanks, found the 10mm x 20mm as suggested - 10 meters costing about 20 quids with next day delivery - will take pics once I am on the job - thanks so much for all your support today!!
 
vasimone said:
Great thanks, found the 10mm x 20mm as suggested - 10 meters costing about 20 quids with next day delivery - will take pics once I am on the job - thanks so much for all your support today!!
Click to expand...
Are you using it for the roof seal too? If so, you'll probably need more than 10 meters. That's a lot less money than buying all of the original type seals and chopping some of them up! :)
 
Bought the original LR for the roof seals to be on the safe side, but now that we are stripping it down it's confirmed that it wasn't having any prior - it'll be a nice upgrade hopefully..

The strip-down has began and in the coming days I will change the seals - few questions on the replacement process:

1) do you recommend to replace the foam seals of bulk-head/windscreen, rear-tub to panels, etc.. prior to the paint-job or after it? the workshop that is doing the job here recommends to replace earlier the seals. rebuild and spray the car all assembled up to prevent any scratches during the rebuild process. Since I am painting a 2k PU paint (Raptor) I would be concerned that the foam seals would get compromised by the paint-job...thoughts?

2) when replacing the window seals shall I put some cavity wax on the window frames or it is not needed?

3) to strengthen the windows I read on some other posts that it was recommended to put PU seal between the new seal and the window - what are your thoughts on this?

Thanks a lot!
 
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