Hi,
I am going to replace the window channel rubber/felt in the window frame of the front doors of my 3.8 mk2.
Do I need to strip the door, remover the glass etc. to do the job, or can it be done with the glass in situ and door fully assembled?
Thanks
Dave
Strip the frame out from memory, did my drivers door about 1 1/2 years ago, gives you a good chance to look inside the door.
Hi Dave,
Window frame goes down inside door as much as it is visible. So you can not install window channel felt without taking frame out. Also glass needs to be taken out, you can’t put felt between glass and frame otherwise.
After I put new felt to channels, windows went very hard to wind up/down. I had to put candle stearin to channel for lube and even cut some parts of felt away to make channels wider. I hope your felt works better.
Like Robin said, it is good to check and lube locks and windows mechanism while everything is open.
Köpi
Hi Dave,. Just like KopiK I put new felt in, and it was too thick. This jammed up the glass and made it really hard to wind up and down
You may be able to remove and thoroughly wash the old felt rather than install new.
Jon
I had exactly the same problem on my BMW coupes (1969-75), where currently available, newly manufactured felt seals made the electric motors really struggle to open and close the windows. Halt the speed compared to the old.
Might well be the same manufacturer😰
So I need to strip the doors and glazing. Is it a difficult job?
with respect to stripping doors, what I do is follow the Service manual closely,
but also take sequential photos and videos, so I can follow reverse order, identify all fasteners, and certain items need to be withdrawn at an angle, so a short vid with commentary will aid you upon assembly
My XJ6 has new felts in all windows. The motors struggled when first fitted. The “breaking in” was aided with WD40 Silicon Spray. No issues now! Paul.
I recently went through this exercise on my S-Type but decided not to replace the Bailey channel as they never seem to be free enough I can add a few comments
You don’t need to take the glass out if you are just doing work on the frame or the Bailey channel for the models with removable frames. However it is recommended that you do so to check the glass winder channels and guide wheels, and to pre-test the fitting of the glass in the new Bailey. These parts should be cleaned of all old dirt and lubricant, and regreased.
The glass is tapered so it is easy to remove and refit the frame. New sealant must be applied to the contacting faces between the door shell and frame.
Having gone this far, it is worthwhile replacing the other rubber seals - the quarter vent and glass wiper strip - as they are usually hard or perished and the latter can let a lot of water in. These can only be replaced with the frame out. I had trouble finding replacement wiper strips but bought E-Type units from Barratts. They are a perfect fit for the chrome bead channel and press perfectly against the glass. However it is a double wiper moulding (one above as per original, and one below) and needs the secondary (lower) strip cut off close to the retainer part. It might work with both blades in place but I didn’t want to add more drag on the glass.
These E-Type strips are quite long but unfortunately they are a few cms too short to get two windows from one length, so you need to buy one per window.
One other hint. The two bottom anchor points have packers which act as shims to correctly align the frame laterally against the body rubber. The manual refers to these as wood packers but mine were very thick and sad water-damaged fibre washers and I replaced them with thick rubber. To ensure a good water seal at the top of the frame, do a test closure with the packers in place. When the door shell is correctly aligned in the body, the upper frame should just contact the body rubber slightly before final closure - i.e. between the first and second ‘click’ of the lock.
I hope this helps from my recent door refurbishments experience of my S-Type.
Seem like good tips. I’m not familiar with the term"Bailey channel". Would you mind educating me?
It’s a generic name for the U shaped insert used for door glass frames. It was probably invented by someone named Bailey many moons ago and the name was adopted by the general industry for ease of description.