RPSN
New member
The left-hand side door window glass on my car was recently making a scraping noise when opening/closing it so I decided to give the waist seals a deep clean to get rid of any stubborn dirt/debris etc. Since doing so the window operation is smooth as silk.
For those who haven’t done it before it’s easy enough to do. Fully lower the door glass then pull the rubber back at the rear end of the waist seal to expose the torx screw (T25). Remove the screw being careful that it doesn’t drop down behind the rubber. Push up the end of the waist seal by hand and work along it towards the front. Once it’s up carefully pull it backwards so that it comes out from under the exterior door mirror. Use a small brush or toothbrush to remove any loose debris from it then thoroughly clean it with a damp/wet cloth. I also used a vacuum cleaner to remove any dirt/debris from the channels in the rubber seal that remains in the door.
When refitting the waist seal start to insert it a few inches back from the exterior door mirror and carefully slide it in ensuring the rubber lip fits over the door aluminium channel. Once it’s all the way in work along it towards the rear whilst pushing down to fully seat it. The rear end of the waist seal should align with the edge of the door. Hold it down and secure it in position with the torx retaining screw.
Whenever I wash the car (mostly by hand) I make a point of getting any crud out from the waist seals. However, this is the first time I’ve removed the seals to give them a deep clean and it was definitely worth it. In future I’ll be doing this more regularly!
Here’s some pics from the job...
For those who haven’t done it before it’s easy enough to do. Fully lower the door glass then pull the rubber back at the rear end of the waist seal to expose the torx screw (T25). Remove the screw being careful that it doesn’t drop down behind the rubber. Push up the end of the waist seal by hand and work along it towards the front. Once it’s up carefully pull it backwards so that it comes out from under the exterior door mirror. Use a small brush or toothbrush to remove any loose debris from it then thoroughly clean it with a damp/wet cloth. I also used a vacuum cleaner to remove any dirt/debris from the channels in the rubber seal that remains in the door.
When refitting the waist seal start to insert it a few inches back from the exterior door mirror and carefully slide it in ensuring the rubber lip fits over the door aluminium channel. Once it’s all the way in work along it towards the rear whilst pushing down to fully seat it. The rear end of the waist seal should align with the edge of the door. Hold it down and secure it in position with the torx retaining screw.
Whenever I wash the car (mostly by hand) I make a point of getting any crud out from the waist seals. However, this is the first time I’ve removed the seals to give them a deep clean and it was definitely worth it. In future I’ll be doing this more regularly!
Here’s some pics from the job...
