I started to wonder if the skritching from the studs might be coming through the _rear_ door seal, mere inches away from the front seal I've been working on. So this morning I stripped off the rear driver's-side door and B pillar weatherstrips and replaced them with the good used ones I had procured. The old door seal was pretty ratty and came off in pieces, though all four plastic retaining clips did come off intact. (As did the ones in the junkyard.) The worst bit was where the screw from the rear quarter window comes through the frame, trapping the seal. I managed it without having to dig into the door to pull this screw. The main secrets to removal are to use a thin putty knife to slice the glue along the front edge up to each clip then twist the knife to pop it out, and when pulling the strip out of the channel to give it a twisting action that pulls the inside edge first easing the strip out of its channel. Installation is similar, the strip is tucked in outside-edge first and then the putty knife is used to push the inside edge in. You have to make sure that all the corners are started first then fill in towards the middle, otherwise natural stretching can cause you to have a lot of slack at the end, too much to go anywhere. (Then you get to pull it and start over. BTDT.)
Unfortunately there is a fair amount of rust along the door bottom. Not enough to prevent the seal from attaching like on the front doors, but more than I'd like. Sad. I wonder if I should go back and get those other two doors at the junkyard? I hate to invest another $45 in 'maybe' on this car, plus it's just more crap to store. The front doors are clear losers, especially the driver's. But the rears...? Now that the 'new' seal's had a chance to take a set, the trunk closes much better. -- Jim
