• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Trunk seal problems-BJ-7

Share this page

R

robert_ellison

Jedi Trainee
Offline
I wonder if anyone else has encountered this problem. After installing the trunk weather strip on the trunk lid I have found that it causes my trunk lid not to close completely nor to allow the latch to fully engage. The lid now rides about 1/2" higher than the shroud.

I wonder if this might be a result of an improper seal rubber (I don't remember where I purchased it).

I would appreciate any input as well as suggestions where a trunk weather strip that causes no problems like those I speak of might be purchased.
 
Too thick of a cross section could be a problem, all the ones I've gotten in the past (SC Austin-Healey, AH Spares, VB & Moss) all looked pretty similar.

If you can manage to get the trunk latched, even if you have to raise the latch hook, leave it compressing the rubber for several days and see if you can make it look better afterwards.

Aren't Healey bodies fun (no need to answer)...
 
I had a similar problem and found two things. First the seal indentation didn't center on the lip of the shroud with the trunk lid closed. I had to re-position the seal away from the underside edge of the trunk lid at some points so the seal was centered on the lip. Even so the seal was too thick and firm at some spots to allow the trunk to fully close. I ended up using a razor blade to make the seal thinner as required.
 
Just asking mind you. Are you sure you glued the seal on the correct way. Theres a larger lip that should go on the inside. Here's a photo of my seal.
 
I think my seal may be non-standard since it isn't quite the same as the one in your picture. I put it in years ago. The newer ones may be more correct.
 
Wow if the inside of my trunk (boot) lid turns out as nice as Roger's (in the picture), I might just drive around with my trunk lid up!!

Cheers,
Steve Thomton
 
Hey, Roger, Moss catalog says larger rounded lip to outside??? Do they mean outside of boot deck or outside of edge meaning center of deck?
 
A lot of people seem to have a problem with the seal doing what you say. I read about it a lot and decided to try another approach installing the seal.

First, I placed the seal on the shroud beginning at the top with the flat part facing up, I used blue masking tape (the kind you can actually remove later without damaging the paint)to hold it in place (going crosswise from the shroud down but don't stick to underside of shroud), and the longer side of the seal hanging down on the inside as was mentioned. Once completed you can raise and lower the lid (carefully) to make sure it'll close properly. Then I used contact cement on the seal between the tape pieces not on them and then closed the lid. Once dried you can pull off the tape visible and then re-open the lid and make adjustments and of course remove the remainder of the tape.

Hope this makes sense.
:yesnod:
 
After spending 3 days removing old glue and prepping my trunk lid, I finally got the rubber seal glued in place. It fit good and looked good. However, when I tried to close my trunk I ran into the same problem as Robert, the trunk would not close. I checked everything out making sure the lip was properly seating into the seal, but it would not close without putting a ridiculous amount of pressure on the lid. I asked my father (who I got the car from) where he got the seal and was told it was purchased from Moss Motors many years ago.

Does anyone one know a good place to get the proper trunk seal? Thanks.
 
I'm going though this exercise right now. Water was leaking in the boot from a couple places, and I was not happy throwing towels in there before washing the car. So I decided to look into the leaking areas. The problem was the water channel lip of the shroud was not a consistent height. I tried moving it up and down to level it out, but it would only move so much, before I was afraid of the paint cracking. This leveling of the lip should have been done at the body shop, prior to painting.

I ordered two trunk seals. The one from Moss is about an inch wide. The one from BCS is about 3/4" wide. The BCS was not wide enough to reach the top of the channel lip if the seal was glued to the edge of the boot lid. There for I stayed with Moss'.

The problem I now have is the rubber is too firm. It pushes the boot lid up in some areas and it does not seal in other areas, because my channel lip is not constant. I'd have to do a lot of rubber shaving and adding of rubber in places. And then I may end up shaving too much, adding too much, etc etc.

The firmness of the rubber from BCS and Moss is the same. Seems too firm. I don't know if it is the correct firmness, or if it's changed over the years or because of out sourcing. Seems others are now having the same problem with the rubber seal pushing the boot lid up, not allowing it to be flush with the shroud.

To solve my problem, I searched for a softer hollow, bulb style seal. I did find one that's about the same size as the Moss seal. It is rectangular in shape. Being it is hollow, it compresses much easier and I think will not push the boot lid up, like the firmer seal BCS and Moss provides. Note that the seals BCS and Moss provides look correct in design. The one I'm going to try does not.

Photos of the Moss seal and the bulb type.
Equal pressure on both. Not much pressure. Both will compress more if I pressed harder. You can see how easy the bulb style compresses, therefore I'm hoping it will not press the trunk lid up like the original solid style. Plus being it is a bit higher, should fill in the low areas on the lip. All good, right?
 
Roger, does your boot lid line up with the body properly? Is it the original lid? I've never had a problem nor have I heard of it. With the channel going around the opening, the water should be drained away. I used a BCS seal. They told me they had a new one coming if I wanted to wait (this was two months ago) I didn't want to wait so I used the one they usually use. No problem even when we got dumped on in Oregon at the Rendezvous. Last year I had a leak from around the gas filler gasket and I used the 3M putty like sealer and did just fine.
TH
 
tahoe healey said:
Roger, does your boot lid line up with the body properly? Is it the original lid? I've never had a problem nor have I heard of it. With the channel going around the opening, the water should be drained away. I used a BCS seal. They told me they had a new one coming if I wanted to wait (this was two months ago) I didn't want to wait so I used the one they usually use. No problem even when we got dumped on in Oregon at the Rendezvous. Last year I had a leak from around the gas filler gasket and I used the 3M putty like sealer and did just fine.
TH
Click to expand...

TH, yes, lines up fine. Who knows with these old cars and how many owners along the way, if it's the original lid. Even if it was, they never fit perfectly from the factory anyway. You've never hear of this problem? I guess you haven't been reading the threads? The water is only going to be drained through the channel, if the rubber seal makes contact with the top of the channel lip. If the seal does not make a constant water tight contact around the lip, then water passes though into the trunk. Remove your seal, pour water on the shroud and you'll be amazed how much water gets past (over) the channel and into the boot.

There are a lot of area to look into.
The two hinges may not be level in regards to the shroud and trunk lid. There by raising or lowering it in that area. The lid may not have the correct curve to line up with the shroud. The shroud channel lip may not be consistent, therefore not making contact with the rubber seal. (My situation) The lock may not be pulling the lid down enough. The lid may not be centered. The gap around the lid would show that.

Trust me TH, I'm all over this. You've seen my car, do you think I'd settle for good enough? :smile:

At the moment, I'm pursuing a softer seal. I'll keep you guys up to speed once it comes in and I attach it.
Cheers,
Roger
 
Funny how this thread popped up again. I was watching "My Classic Car" yesterday (I think :crazyeyes:) and saw an ad for Steele Rubber. They don't seem to have much on their website, but they do have a 576 page catalog. Might be worth ordering, for those that are having a problem that is...
 
anyone ever have a person lay in the boot with a flashlight while having another person poor water around the outside of the trunk lid?, i did, if you think what moss sells will ever fully work on all of our healeys youll need more luck then skill, for those folks that wouldnt mind having a couple of points shaved when being "judged" or those that dont like being "judged" and want a dry boot, i bought 3/4" flat rubber sticky on one side from home depot applied around lid, done, story over, move on.. :tired:
 
anthony7777 said:
anyone ever have a person lay in the boot with a flashlight while having another person poor water around the outside of the trunk lid?, i did, if you think what moss sells will ever fully work on all of our healeys youll need more luck then skill, for those folks that wouldnt mind having a couple of points shaved when being "judged" or those that dont like being "judged" and want a dry boot, i bought 3/4" flat rubber sticky on one side from home depot applied around lid, done, story over, move on.. :tired:
Click to expand...

Why yes I did Anthony. :yesnod: My neighbor is 9 years old. I asked him if he likes adventures. Here's a flashlight and a shammy, in case (you will) get wet. Let me know where the water is coming in. :rolleyes:

I first tried running chalk along the channel lip to mark where it made contact with the rubber seal. Then addressed those areas. OK, pat myself on the back button everything up and run water on it for the final time. What? Water is still getting in? Hey, 9 year old neighbor, you like adventures?

Anthony, I am familiar with that rubber sponge you speak of. I was using that under the Moss seal to raise it in the areas where the seal did not make contact with the channel lip. The rubber seal I have on order now, looks closer to the original than the one you reference. The Home Depot seal shows the small holes in the foam, were the Moss and the one I'm going to try, has the outside finished smooth. I do agree with you, that if you're not going for looks and just want to get the job done, quick and easy (already has the glue tape on it) that foam may do the job. That foam is a little softer than the Moss, but does not compress as easy as what I've ordered.

Here's a photo of the foam (1/4" Ace brand) Anthony is referring too.
Here's a photo starting from the left, the one I'm going to try, Moss, Ace.

Cheers,
Roger
 
GregW said:
Funny how this thread popped up again. I was watching "My Classic Car" yesterday (I think :crazyeyes:) and saw an ad for Steele Rubber. They don't seem to have much on their website, but they do have a 576 page catalog. Might be worth ordering, for those that are having a problem that is...
Click to expand...

Right on Greg! Thanks for sharing that link.
 
Here's my follow up.
I received the rubber seal from CS Clean Seal, inc.

You order it by the foot. It comes with or without the 3M tape attached to the bottom. I ordered it with the tape. I applied 3M contact cement to the outer side of the seal and the edge of the trunk lip.

This seal is much softer than the V shaped seal. If one did not know the V shape is the correct shape, this seal fits and looks like it's the right one.

The last photo shows the impression the rail rail makes in the seal.

I may start another post about where to get this seal, etc. if anyone is interested.
Cheers,
Roger
 
I realize the forum topic is a few years old but thought I would ask if you tried out the bulb seal on your healey boot .
If you did how well is it working?
Does the boot close flush with surround?
and is it water tight?
I think I found the same seal you have,is it part #2770 from clear seal?
Thanks a ton !
 
Back
Top