SLK R170 Roof to windscreen seal - HOW MUCH?!?
Discussion
Mrs C's beloved SLK230 needs a tidy up. Next month she will have had it for twenty years. Mostly it's good but it has a few areas that need sorting out. Only to be expected.
With apologies for the grimy corners, the roof to windscreen seal is an example.
Nearside, fine.
Offside, not fine.
As it got worse I assumed it was the edge of the roof and didn't investigate. The bodywork will be sorted in the paintshop. But it isn't, it's the seal. The car doesn't owe us anything so how about a new seal, if it's still available?
"Yes, it's available and it'll be £738."
"Blimey."
"Including VAT."
"Oh, good."
When you consider a ropey SLK for spares was £300 the last time I looked, that sounds expensive.
Does anyone have experience of a fix for this or anything similar. I can be quite neat when I put my mind to it and wondered about digging out the rusty insides and filling the void with black flexible sealant.
In this instance I wouldn't want a secondhand seal. It would probably be on its way out.
With apologies for the grimy corners, the roof to windscreen seal is an example.
Nearside, fine.
Offside, not fine.
As it got worse I assumed it was the edge of the roof and didn't investigate. The bodywork will be sorted in the paintshop. But it isn't, it's the seal. The car doesn't owe us anything so how about a new seal, if it's still available?
"Yes, it's available and it'll be £738."
"Blimey."
"Including VAT."
"Oh, good."
When you consider a ropey SLK for spares was £300 the last time I looked, that sounds expensive.
Does anyone have experience of a fix for this or anything similar. I can be quite neat when I put my mind to it and wondered about digging out the rusty insides and filling the void with black flexible sealant.
In this instance I wouldn't want a secondhand seal. It would probably be on its way out.
Looking at the rust coming through, I'll assume that there's a steel insert within the rubber for the purposes of keeping the seal in place, and in the correct shape. If it was my car then I'd cut open the seal in situ to investigate, with the aim of replacing the rotten insert with a stainless version, and finally I'd re-seal with vulcanising adhesive. It would be a very hands-on job and not for the feint hearted.
Alternatively there's a used one here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1816119562?thm=3000 but I don't know whether those thin seals are supposed to be separate, or the seal has perished and come apart.
Another here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1416096950
Alternatively there's a used one here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1816119562?thm=3000 but I don't know whether those thin seals are supposed to be separate, or the seal has perished and come apart.
Another here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1416096950
mwstewart said:
Looking at the rust coming through, I'll assume that there's a steel insert within the rubber for the purposes of keeping the seal in place, and in the correct shape. If it was my car then I'd cut open the seal in situ to investigate, with the aim of replacing the rotten insert with a stainless version, and finally I'd re-seal with vulcanising adhesive. It would be a very hands-on job and not for the feint hearted.
Alternatively there's a used one here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1816119562?thm=3000 but I don't know whether those thin seals are supposed to be separate, or the seal has perished and come apart.
Another here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1416096950
Thanks for those, mws, but neither of them look the right shape. Your fix sounds much like I had in mind, but with an insert rather than just goo, and both benefit from having the alternative of buying a new one if I mess it up completely. Alternatively there's a used one here:https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1816119562?thm=3000 but I don't know whether those thin seals are supposed to be separate, or the seal has perished and come apart.
Another here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/1416096950
DickyC said:
Thanks for those, mws, but neither of them look the right shape. Your fix sounds much like I had in mind, but with an insert rather than just goo, and both benefit from having the alternative of buying a new one if I mess it up completely.
Yes, afraid that I'm not too familiar with the model. I would try to recreate something from thin stainless plate with nicely chamfered and smoothed edges - the goo would be to re-seal the cut.Mrs C said she doesn't want her car to be a garage queen.
Firstly, where did she learn an expression like that? Secondly, good news for me, I can experiment.
With the roof down I cleared out as much rust as I could with a small screwdriver and a Stanley Knife. Then I slit the seal to expose more rust and cleared that. When I was happy most of it was out I squeezed a bead of black sealant where the steel former had been. Not too much, as I expected it to squidge out when I closed the roof. I put on some masking tape was a precaution. It was fine, it didn't go everywhere. With the roof closed, I squeezed in another bead of goo and made good.
The joint needed to be dry for the goo to set so I didn't wash the car first, if you were wondering.
Four quid or so from Halfords. I've used the Granville clear sealant before and found it to be excellent.
Saving £700 for a complete seal I won't mind doing it every so often if it reoccurs.
The only mod to the procedure I can think of would have been to have removed the windscreen trim, wrapped the end in clingfilm, replaced it, made the seal, taken the trim off again, removed the clingfilm and put it back on without the sealant bonded to it. It's not a big problem being bonded but on refection it would have been better.
Firstly, where did she learn an expression like that? Secondly, good news for me, I can experiment.
With the roof down I cleared out as much rust as I could with a small screwdriver and a Stanley Knife. Then I slit the seal to expose more rust and cleared that. When I was happy most of it was out I squeezed a bead of black sealant where the steel former had been. Not too much, as I expected it to squidge out when I closed the roof. I put on some masking tape was a precaution. It was fine, it didn't go everywhere. With the roof closed, I squeezed in another bead of goo and made good.
The joint needed to be dry for the goo to set so I didn't wash the car first, if you were wondering.
Four quid or so from Halfords. I've used the Granville clear sealant before and found it to be excellent.
Saving £700 for a complete seal I won't mind doing it every so often if it reoccurs.
The only mod to the procedure I can think of would have been to have removed the windscreen trim, wrapped the end in clingfilm, replaced it, made the seal, taken the trim off again, removed the clingfilm and put it back on without the sealant bonded to it. It's not a big problem being bonded but on refection it would have been better.
Edited by DickyC on Saturday 16th April 10:03
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