Infamous door seal leak

Gaspaszr

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Joined
Jan 9, 2019
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36
Location
Roseburg, Oregon
Living in Oregon which equates to RAIN. Tj passenger door seal leaks. My question is , I can purchase OEM door seals for $109.00 or after market door seals for much less. When I read reviews on after market door seals they tend to be inconclusive. What is the general consensus of other Tj owners on resolving this problem. Or, can existing door seal be “rehabbed”?
Thanks
 
I have no opinion about brands of door seals, but I do have some experience with my door seals. I'm assuming my seals are original, and my doors, when closed tightly don't leak.

Recently, I replaced my hinge pins. I removed the lower door hinges for this project. When reinstalling the door, I placed a few sheets of newspaper over the bottom of the door opening. My thought was this would space the door up a little, I thine closed the door, eyeballed door alignment to have even gaps and tightened down the hinges.

I soon discovered this method of door alignment allowed my door to leak. I loosened the both upper and lower door hinges and closed the door, retightened hinges and no more leaks.

If your existing seals are in good shape, try readjusting your door hinges. It mat solve the problem for 0$.

I edited this post to say I loosened both upper and lower hinges ( I forgot I removed the mirrors to get to the upper hinges). The upper hinges were loosened on the door, and the lower hinges were loosened on the body. Sorry if I caused any confusion.
 
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So, you removed and or adjusted the actual lower hinge itself ? I didn’t realize you could adjust “gap”, perhaps that’s all I need to do. My door seals appear to be in good shape. I will give that a try.
Thank you
 
I never touched my upper door hinges, only the bottom ones. My last adjustment, which is watertight, I loosened the bottom hinges, adjusted the door gaps, and retightened the hinges.

EDIT: Senior moment. I did loosen BOTH upper and lower hinges to make my adjustment.
 
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To elaborate on initial question, door leak is at right, lower front corner. Fortunately, it drips over lip and on to floor mat, no damage but aggravating to remedy.
 
I’m in the same “boat”. I can’t tell really where it’s coming in. But, like yours, it’s mostly on the mat. But, I have found it under my carpet kit. We don’t get much rain, but we did this week. I thought mine was leaking from the top front corner near the window where a lot of water drains off the top right past the seal. I’m seriously considering the OEM seals. Since they lasted 16 years, it may be worth it. Watching this thread to see what people think.


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Mine has been doing that intermittently for awhile. Bought new door seals but haven't put them in yet. Thought maybe the scuff plates I put on the bottom door sil's may have contributed to the doors not sealing in certain areas.. not sure. Hoping the new seals work tho because I have a new bedrug kit to go in as well.
 
I never touched my upper door hinges, only the bottom ones. My last adjustment, which is watertight, I loosened the bottom hinges, adjusted the door gaps, and retightened the hinges.
Just for clarification, did you loosen the lower hinge on the door, on the body, or both?
 
Just for clarification, did you loosen the lower hinge on the door, on the body, or both?

CORRECTION: When I adjusted my doors, after I installed new hinge pins, I loosened the lower body hinge AND THE UPPER DOOR HINGE. Not just the lower door hinge as I previously posted.
I will edit my earlier post.
 
Well mines been leaking into the front floorboard, drivers side. Got to looking at the passenger side and the door gap is tight and even. The drivers side was wider on the top than the bottom. Removed the mirror and got my wood working clamp and put it on the top of the door frame and against the windshield frame just tight enough to hold the clamp in place.
I then loosened the door hinges on the door side. Next I screwed the woodclamp tight untill the rubber had a good seal and the gap was even. Checked it aganst the passenger side and both looked even.
Tightened the door screws and reinstalled the mirror. Opened the door several times and it all works plus the door itself opens and closes much eayser.
Did not test it with water due to the cold temps.

Hope this helps.

Cisco.

Follow up:
Still leaks.
 
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I just installed the OEM seals. I figured the vehicle went for 10 plus years before they started to show signs of wear, so I wanted the best. I could close my doors with my pinkie because the seal had no pressure when closed. So, I installed the new seals the other night. It’s amazing how much tighter things seem to be when closing the door, it’s like closing a JK door now. The glitch now is that part of the seal remains outside the door, hung up on the soft top material. I took it by Jeep and he believes either the door is bent or it will work it’s way in. Both doors do exactly the same thing in the same place. I can tuck it in with a finger. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. We will see if the leak stops.
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We had a couple of really rainy days in a row. Mind you, I live in the desert and we get very little rain. The OEM seals seem to have done well. A little bit of water on the floor mats, like drips, but not what was going on before. So, for me, it has helped significantly.


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I just bought my Jeep last month. There is a significant leak on the drivers side floor board. I ordered new seals from extreme terrain. I hope this helps. I also hope the seals I bought worked. Mostly good reviews but a few people complained they didnt fit. OEM was like $115 for each door.
 
I just bought my Jeep last month. There is a significant leak on the drivers side floor board. I ordered new seals from extreme terrain. I hope this helps. I also hope the seals I bought worked. Mostly good reviews but a few people complained they didnt fit. OEM was like $115 for each door.

Come back and let us know how those new seals work out for you!
 
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Living in Oregon which equates to RAIN. Tj passenger door seal leaks. My question is , I can purchase OEM door seals for $109.00 or after market door seals for much less. When I read reviews on after market door seals they tend to be inconclusive. What is the general consensus of other Tj owners on resolving this problem. Or, can existing door seal be “rehabbed”?
Thanks

Living in Oregon which equates to RAIN. Tj passenger door seal leaks. My question is , I can purchase OEM door seals for $109.00 or after market door seals for much less. When I read reviews on after market door seals they tend to be inconclusive. What is the general consensus of other Tj owners on resolving this problem. Or, can existing door seal be “rehabbed”?
Thanks
If the door catch was ever broken as most have been and the wind caught it or someone slung the door open to wide then the hinge may be slightly bent, if so close the door and look then strike the hinge with a rubber mallet untill it's level.