300ZX (Z31) Forums Dedicated to 84-89 ZCars otherwize known as the Z31's

My Fix for Leaking T-tops

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Old Sep 7, 2017 | 01:38 PM
  #1  
TcC's Avatar
TcC
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My Fix for Leaking T-tops

Hey Z owners, I Made a video on what i did to fix my t tops from leaking. I feel like this a problem lots of us have.

Old Sep 7, 2017 | 03:41 PM
  #2  
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Good video. Very clearly presented. Makes sense. Well done! Thank you.
Old Sep 11, 2017 | 09:00 PM
  #3  
86tcoupe's Avatar
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From: east KS
If I remember right back in the late 80,s the door/TOP seal was $165 each .... jc whitney made a by the foot seal .. that could be fabricated unless the curved inner hooks are tweaked 1st step is replace the seal or try adding RTV to it
Old Apr 7, 2020 | 08:42 PM
  #4  
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From: Florida
Very good idea. I did not think of that. What I did was get some black RTV sealant (Room Temperature Vulcanization) otherwise known as liquid rubber or used for gaskets from AutoZone. What I did was, clean off the weatherstripping and mask off the edges of them to not get the RTV on the paint. With rubber gloves on, I used my fore finger like a brush to smear/paint a thin layer or RTV on the entire weatherstripping, all of them on the car, like painting them, being careful with the over smearing and keeping weatherstripping as smooth as possible before they dry. This leaves a new blacker layer of rubber and makes the weatherstripping look newer. It also builds up the weatherstripping slightly thicker and in the case of the video above, would have corrected his gaps. You can always add a little more to build up to completely stop the leak.

My 85 Z31T with 310,000 miles on it in New Hampshire still has its original weatherstripping, with no leaks. I did the RTV trick 10 years ago and it permanently fixed the issue. It might have been possible to do the adjust window trick to fix my original problem, but now I still have new looking stripping and still no leaks.
Old Apr 16, 2020 | 09:28 AM
  #5  
Z Pal's Avatar
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From: Bozeman, MT
I have leaky windows so I checked the gap, like your video showed. Sure enough, there was a gap where the water could leak through. Thanks.
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