Front wing seal replacement - help?!..

[smallspeed]

i know, i know.. its only his second post and not only is he asking a question already, but its about one of those cars from the future

i have a 964 and the seals on the top of the front wing are shot. They've gone hard and crispy and the ends are shrinking inwards, so i decided to replace them.. I assumed (wrongly) that they would just be a push fit type seal, so imagine my surprise when I picked up the parts and they extend about 2" down between the pannels!..

I took a look at them over the weekend while I was replacing a couple of other seals around the bodywork, and can't decide how to get them out, unless I have to unbolt the wing. This stopped me in my tracks as I didnt want to undo the wrong bolt and then not be able to get the wing re-aligned again..

Are there any tips, tricks or inside knowledge you guys can impart on me that will help me replace these parts?.. Im assuming (again with the assumptions! ) that these seals are similar on most early 911/912 models so fingers crossed someone can help.

I have attached a couple of images below incase my description is rubbish, and await your collective wisdom!..

ben

[jtparr]

ben

I bought replacemens from Forest Fine, so not sure if they are exactly like genuine ones, if that s what you have

mine took a while to fit as I had to trim off some of the ridges on the main part of the gasket in places as the gap between wing and scuttle is not a constant gap

I also cut off the depth as you call it of the gasket in places

lots of trial fitting

I also softened them in warm water which helped ease them in

in fact I went through 2 sets by the time I'd finished, 1 was to test the shape and the other to do the job as I ended cutting too much off in places and it would not stay put, in truth this was party as I was reassembling the entire car, so I did not have the old ones as a guide, as you do you should just trim and profile to match the originals.....perhaps they will fit easier than mine did

if the gasket wont pull out its because its trapped by one of the 2 bolts at the back of the wing

the new gaskets have a slot not an actual hole so you dont need to take the bolts out completely

I also undid these top bolts to open up the gap between panels, this helped me to push the tight fitting gasket in place then trap it when re-tightening

you should have no problems if you only undo these 2 bolts as there are many more holding the wing

if your nervous, then try undoing them both a little at a time and watch what happens to the gap

if the wing is fitted with the none setting sealing strips you may find its holding in place so well it wont budge at all !!

give it a go and post again if you need more help

Jp

[stuby]

Ditto what JP says - with a bit of luck and a lot of patience you'll probably have it done by the time the road tax expires !! :lol:

Best of luck

Stu

[smallspeed]

cheers guys.. its one of the job's i need to get done this weekend (finished rs door cards and the seals for sill covers and shark fin's this morning) so will report back..

I brought mine from OPC, they were about £3 each so didnt see the point in going aftermarket. They have holes rather than slots (two oval holes about 1/2 way down).

I was going to cut some depth out of them to avoid removing the bolts, but i might just slot them if getting the bolts out is going to be a pain.. I will report back and let you know how I get one..
thanks again for the replies
ben

ps.. when i took the door cards off this morning, noticed there was some water inside the O/S wing (just a small trickle on top of the speaker housing) so think there might be another pair of seals (window) to add to the list to be replaced this year!

[jtparr]

ben
if you have water in the doors, make sure you clean out the drain holes really well, and then get yourself a spray can of clear waxoil, so you can douse the inside of the doors anywhere and everywhere, especially at the bottoms

or are the door cards on already....

jp

[smallspeed]

thanks for the info.. I cleaned the drain holes out, dried and cleaned any gunk out of the bottom of the doors, but didn't waxoyl and have fitted the door cards.. Its a 5 min job to remove them again, my plan was to waxoyl the inside of the doors and behind the sill covers in the summer when its dry and any trapped moisture will have had a chance to escape/evaoprate

ben

[Mike Smith]

I know Waxoil has become a generic term but I wish you guys would think Tectyl - It`s a better product

Mike

[sdelan]

Evening All -

Planning to replace the horrid painted over scuttle to wing seals on my car.

They is some very helpful advice in this thread.

I'm relieved that it appears unnecassary to completely remove the wing to fit the seals.

Does anyone have any more to add? Or any photos etc?


Thanks in advance
Sean