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Rubber Seals Rant

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glemon

glemon

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I generally am pretty happy with the state of the availability and quality of parts you can get for LBCs in general and Triumphs in particular, but there is one thing that gripes me bit.

Not evey part mind you, but over the years I have gotten a large number of ruubber parts and seals that are JUST TOO DARN BIG! Trunk Seals, Door Seals, the latest the new scuttle vent seal I just installed on my TR250.

Parts that you have carefully fettled and fiddled with so that they will fit perfectly suddenly stick out half an inch when you get them on. Very irritating.

Can't blame any one distributor, but I wish a little more exacting standards would be used on these, and yes though I haven't I will send a note to the place I got it from and let them know.
 
Rubber seals tend to shrink if they are not held into place. Would you rather they made the seals just right. Then when you go to put them on, the seals end up being too short. A perfect example is the TR8 trunk seal. In place it retains it's length. Remove it. Set it aside to paint the car. Go to put it back on and blammo- it's an inch and a half too short. Put it in the sun and play tug of war with one of the kids to make it the right length again to reinstall it. Same deal with door seals.
 
So are you saying that the new windshield gasket i have sitting in trunk of my spitty for last 5 years has shrunk? I think i can win a tug of war with my 7 year old. :smile:
tom
 
For proper seals and weatherstripping on any LBC we rely on MacGregor in Canada.
 
Indeed I was very happy with the seals I got from him for my Stag.

But I've also been reasonably happy with those from TRF. The ones from other vendors are frequently OK in size, but too stiff to fit properly.

An occasional coating of silicone spray will help keep them from shrinking in service and prolong their life.
 
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