My series 3 door seals are pretty chewed up and seem to be letting in more water then usual. I spoke to a guy at the spares shop and he said that a lot of people use a one piece Defender seal although he didn't have any idea how difficult a fit it is. Has anyone done this? was it worth it?
TheSmiths88
New Member
90/110 single piece door seals fit well although you have to do a little bit of trimming if you have the old type pre-anti-burst locks. some folks grind the lip off all the way round but with a bit of jiggerypokery the seal just about goes over the lip. looks 100% better than the series seals - but you'll still need a dob of silicone in the top corners where the roof meets the windscreen. think I paid about £12 each for mine from paddocks a couple of years ago.
I have started fitting the one piece seal and have come across a couple of problems!
1, The rivets that held the old seals in place are now holes which will not be covered by the new seal.
2, If I try to fit the seal . The lip on the edge distorts the seal quite badly.
I suppose that I will have to fill the holes in, would it be best to use sealant or filler?
If I grind the lip away to fit this seal then I will go past the point of no return.
Any advice would be most welcome.
1, The rivets that held the old seals in place are now holes which will not be covered by the new seal.
2, If I try to fit the seal . The lip on the edge distorts the seal quite badly.
I suppose that I will have to fill the holes in, would it be best to use sealant or filler?
If I grind the lip away to fit this seal then I will go past the point of no return.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Well I have fitted it and it seems good. I filled in the rivet holes with fibreglass paste then painted over. I did grind the edge off the frame because it seemed to distort the seal. The only problem was that the top had a slight gap. I layed a piece of brazing rod along the frame and then refitted the seal. This pushed the seal down a bit more onto the door and it all seems to seal. When I do the other side I will try to bend the top edge straight rather than grinding it off to give me the extra needed.
