47-55.1 Soffseal door rubber

[e015475]

"It seems like the tightest part was near the hinges"

I didn't measure mine at the hinges, just around the window and down the side of the 'B' pillar.

The seal on the hinge side will have the most force to compress it and is unlikely to be the cause of the door not closing properly, so I'm not too worried about the clearance there.

"What do you guys think?"

I'm going to assume the measurements you posted are off one decimal point. For instance "1.92" is really .192"

Your dimensions vary more than mine - I didn't have anything less than .180" or more than .350"

The .435" measurement at the front of the passenger door concerns me with a 7/16" seal. 7/16" is .438", and if the gap is .435", that's only .003" of seal compression or about the thickness of a piece of paper - not much compression of the seal, less than 1%. Unlike most every other material on the planet, rubber contracts with heat (assuming the seal is rubber in the first place) and you might find yourself with a leaky door this summer.

I'd be tempted to buy the $28 Soffseal and see if you could make it work and if you had problems, rip it out and bite the bullet for the thinner Steele seal.

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by e015475

"It seems like the tightest part was near the hinges"

I didn't measure mine at the hinges, just around the window and down the side of the 'B' pillar.

The seal on the hinge side will have the most force to compress it and is unlikely to be the cause of the door not closing properly, so I'm not too worried about the clearance there.

"What do you guys think?"

I'm going to assume the measurements you posted are off one decimal point. For instance "1.92" is really .192"

Your dimensions vary more than mine - I didn't have anything less than .180" or more than .350"

The .435" measurement at the front of the passenger door concerns me with a 7/16" seal. 7/16" is .438", and if the gap is .435", that's only .003" of seal compression or about the thickness of a piece of paper - not much compression of the seal, less than 1%. Unlike most every other material on the planet, rubber contracts with heat (assuming the seal is rubber in the first place) and you might find yourself with a leaky door this summer.

I'd be tempted to buy the $28 Soffseal and see if you could make it work and if you had problems, rip it out and bite the bullet for the thinner Steele seal.

I agree about trying the softseal first as it is so cheap.

[jweb]

You really won’t want to do this twice it’s a pain to do.

If you’re going to try the Soffseal I would buy some double side tape to stick in temporarily to see how it works. Like this https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...e-1-2-x-60-yds

I hope ithe Soffseal works for you.

[MiraclePieCo]

The advantage to the self-adhesive door seals is that it is definitely possible to install behind the hinges without removing the door. I just put it into position with my fingertips, then reached in with a screwdriver handle to press it down.

[Zippi]

I thought long and hard about this last night and when It comes time I think I'm going to bite the bullet and buy the thin 7/16" seal from Steel Rubber vs the thicker 11/16" Softseal. I only want to do this once but I'm curious to hear how your guys Softseal works out.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Zippi

I thought long and hard about this last night and when I comes time I think I'm going to bite the bullet and buy the thin 7/16" seal from Steel Rubber vs the thicker 11/16" Softseal. I only want to do this once but I'm curious to hear how your guys Softseal works out.

I used the SoffSeal. It compresses nicely, BUT IT IS NOT THICK ENOUGH ON THE HINGE SIDE of the driver's door. I'll have a slight air leak there. Even in areas where the door is tight against the cab it scrunches down really well.

I used a 1/4" double sided tape except on the two curves near the outside door handle, where I used 3M black weatherstrip adhesive. The 1/2" double sided tape mentioned above would have worked better, I believe.

AFTERTHOUGHT: When I first installed the SoffSeal I used the push pins they provide, but I ground them down while holding them with a pliers. If you don't do this they are very difficult to remove. If you do need to remove them later, move the gasket back and forth and unhook it from the pins. Then pull the pin out of the door with a pliers. If you try to pull the pin out with the gasket you will tear the gasket.

The pins have another bad characteristic: If you push them in too far they distort the gasket, leaving a deformation everywhere there is a pin.

In my final installation I have pins on the hinge and bottom sides, and tape everywhere else except at the two small curves near the door handle where I used the 3M black adhesive.

[e015475]

"When I first installed the SoffSeal I used the push pins they provide.........."

This might be a little confusing. The 47-54 trucks don't have pins to retain the seal and just rely on adhesive to hold the door seal in place.

Great tip for the later model truck guys though

Still waiting for the UPS guy to show up with my Soffseals. Will report on degree of success once installed.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by jweb

You really won’t want to do this twice it’s a pain to do.

I dont even like doing it once

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by joedoh

I dont even like doing it once

Haha....Just what I was thinking. Whenever I open my door and take a look I'm hoping someone came in the middle of the night and put them on for me. I've gotta get them on as the wife won't take long trips anymore with all the wind noise.

e015475,

Let us know how they turn out. Pics would be great dude.

[jweb]

You probably already know this, if your truck is missing the door seals you may need to order the lower retainers also.
https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...tinfo/03-061/#

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by jweb

You probably already know this, if your truck is missing the door seals you may need to order the lower retainers also.
https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...tinfo/03-061/#

Is that the horizontal piece at the bottom of the door? This is what I have currently.

[jweb]

Originally Posted by Zippi

Is that the horizontal piece at the bottom of the door? This is what I have currently.

No, this piece holds the seal on the bottom of the door. I can take a photo of mine when I get home.

[jweb]

Here's a photo I found online.

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by jweb

Here's a photo I found online.

Thanks. I guess that helps hold the rubber seal on? I don't even have the screw holes.

[joedoh]

zippi chances are the screws were stuck and ground flat. that portion of the door is prone to rust. gorgeous interior by the way.

my soffseal arrived today, it looks thicker than the precision I just installed but is mushier, if that is a term. if you are waiting for a ship notification email, which they say you will get when it ships, you may get the seals before the email. haha

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by joedoh

zippi chances are the screws were stuck and ground flat. that portion of the door is prone to rust. gorgeous interior by the way.

my soffseal arrived today, it looks thicker than the precision I just installed but is mushier, if that is a term. if you are waiting for a ship notification email, which they say you will get when it ships, you may get the seals before the email. haha

Thanks for the comment on my 49. The wife calls it Ruby. Musher is a term but I only use it when I go across the bridge to Kentucky haha. How much do you think the Softseal will mush down?

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by e015475

"When I first installed the SoffSeal I used the push pins they provide.........."

This might be a little confusing. The 47-54 trucks don't have pins to retain the seal and just rely on adhesive to hold the door seal in place.

Great tip for the later model truck guys though

Still waiting for the UPS guy to show up with my Soffseals. Will report on degree of success once installed.

Thanks, E015475. I never owned an AD truck. I'm stupid on those. (You could always drill holes in the doors and gaskets if you need more nightmares!)

[MiraclePieCo]

Here's the latest word on the SoffSeal:

I ordered SoffSeal cuz I am vehemently against encouraging the price gouging of auto enthusiasts that Steele Rubber Supply commits. No way should it cost $175 for door seals. I'll go without before paying that much.

My SoffSeal arrived. The wide side is 11/16. At first I was discouraged. That's too wide for my truck; the doors would never close. Finally the GENIUS SOLUTION occurred to me!!!!!

The door seals have two points - a wide point (11/16") and a narrower point (1/2"). Just because the YouTube video says you should install the seal with the wide side at the top doesn't mean you are required to do it that way! If your doors are tight, you can flip the seal over so the narrow side points toward the cab! It's essentially reversible to accommodate wide or narrow door gaps! It will allow you to easily close your doors yet still seal great. And unless you're doing a concours points restoration it will be virtually undetectable.

Here are some pics of the SoffSeal, with the tape measure at the wide point. I will actually install it just as I'm holding it, with the narrow point on the top. I'll let you know how it works but, having done these door seals a couple of times before, I anticipate it should work great.

[sstock]

Used the cheap stuff from a major supplier, it took about 3 months to make the doors close correctly, my advise is to do your door seals right before you put your truck to bed for the winter and leave your doors shut, come spring you will be golden, I agree Steel rubber is good stuff but their prices are ridiculous, they need to be reading this thread.
There is a door seal that I found that others have said works well offered by the filling station as an alternative,, https://www.fillingstation.com/detai...L_THIN_12.html

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by sstock

Used the cheap stuff from a major supplier, it took about 3 months to make the doors close correctly, my advise is to do your door seals right before you put your truck to bed for the winter and leave your doors shut, come spring you will be golden, I agree Steel rubber is good stuff but their prices are ridiculous, they need to be reading this thread.
There is a door seal that I found that others have said works well offered by the filling station as an alternative,, https://www.fillingstation.com/detai...L_THIN_12.html

I just checked out the Filling Station. They sell their thin door seal by the ft. just like Steel Rubber and at the same price. The thicker seal is $2 a ft. Plus this is not peal-N-stick. I'm going to have to have the peal-N-stick since my doors are still on.

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Here's the latest word on the SoffSeal:

I ordered SoffSeal cuz I am vehemently against encouraging the price gouging of auto enthusiasts that Steele Rubber Supply commits. No way should it cost $175 for door seals. I'll go without before paying that much.

My SoffSeal arrived. The wide side is 11/16. At first I was discouraged. That's too wide for my truck; the doors would never close. Finally the GENIUS SOLUTION occurred to me!!!!!

The door seals have two points - a wide point (11/16") and a narrower point (1/2"). Just because the YouTube video says you should install the seal with the wide side at the top doesn't mean you are required to do it that way! If your doors are tight, you can flip the seal over so the narrow side points toward the cab! It's essentially reversible to accommodate wide or narrow door gaps! It will allow you to easily close your doors yet still seal great. And unless you're doing a concours points restoration it will be virtually undetectable.

Here are some pics of the SoffSeal, with the tape measure at the wide point. I will actually install it just as I'm holding it, with the narrow point on the top. I'll let you know how it works but, having done these door seals a couple of times before, I anticipate it should work great.

I'm liking the SofSeal more and more and the option of flipping the seal. Can you show a pic of the seal against your door both ways? Thanks man.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Zippi

I'm liking the SofSeal more and more and the option of flipping the seal. Can you show a pic of the seal against your door both ways? Thanks man.

Sure, but it will probably be a week or two before I get around to doing it.

[Zippi]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Sure, but it will probably be a week or two before I get around to doing it.

Thanks man. I'm going to wait until it warms up around here to order mine. I want things to warm up a bit. It would be like trying to stick it to an ice cube.

[Zippi]

Any update on the SoftSeal door seal install? Is it one continuous piece or two pieces? I've read that it takes a little less than 14' per door.

[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by Zippi

I'm liking the SofSeal more and more and the option of flipping the seal. Can you show a pic of the seal against your door both ways? Thanks man.

Assuming I can remember this from now to say 1/2 hour, I'll get you pictures and post em for you.