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2001-all Door Seal Mod

4169 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  fotojack
The hatch on PUTT has been making noise for some time now so I did one of my old truck mods on the seal and it has stopped all the squeaking a banging noises from the hatch. It is a easy, kind of, fix for all hollow seals that just don't seem to do the job. Go to a home improvement center and get what is called "backer rod" or sometimes "caulking rope". Take the seal off the body pinch weld, tape up the vent holes on the seal with tape (you might have to clean the seal with something to get the tape to stick), use either air to push or a vaccuum to pull a string through the length of the seal, tie the backer rod to the string and pull the rod back through the seal, reinstall the seal, close hatch/door firmly.

Helpful hints: You may need to enlist the help of some kind soul to either blow air, or use the vaccuum to apply suction to the end of the seal as you pull the backer rod through. Leave the rod a bit long so you can make it jump the gap in the ends where the seal ends met.


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PUTT :D :D :D
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just tried this myself. My biggest problem was to get the string through the whole thing to start. I ended up tying a string to a bolt and working it down through the rubber gasket, tying it to the rope caulking stuff and then pulling it back through. I found i had to put one end of the gasket in a vice and pull it into a strait line before i could pull the cauling through. Adding a little grease or silicone will help it slide through.
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