Targa bar seal

[schulr]

Due to an accident last month to the right rear fender, the body shop had to remove the rear window, major job you don't want to go through, and the seals to repaint the area. They did a great job, shop recommended by R22Tech, however, they had to contract out the window removal ane restall to a local glass company. To make this short, they had to redue the job as the seals they installed and the trim needed to be readjusted. After three days, I just picked up the car so I could finish the job myself.

The problem is,
- the fabric portion of the seal is too long as it impeds with the door closing by pinching the fabric.

How is the fabric portion attached to the frame of the targa bar? It looks like it is just glued however, the installer said that it is adjustable by some screws??

Any help would be appreciated as info is not in the archives or in Bentley.

Bob

[stormcrow]

Hi Bob,

Here are a couple of pics of my seal


Hope this helps.

Steve

" A Porsche does more then just go fast in a straight line"

[AirCooledExcellence]

Hi Bob,

It's just glued on (apart from the 4 plastic rivets at the top), no adjusting screws AFAIK.

Cheers

[Bones]

bob ...i've done this job a few times....not for the faint hearted!!......there are no adjusting screws don't believe a word from the person who told you that.......if the seal is pulling away from the bar at the bottom or has just been glued incorrectlyas both mine have then the seal needs to be unglued and trimmed back at the bottom of the thick fabric covered section.......unstick the bar seal at the thinnest point where it meets the vertical door seal....you'll see a horizontal join......then position the bar seal where it doesn't interfere with the door and glue it (not an exact science) then when firmly glued stretch the thin lower part of the bar seal to meet the vertical door seal and superglue together (check the door is still not fouling the bar seal before you do this final procedure).....if you get stuck call me....send an email or PM and i'll send the details.....good luck

[Sean Hamilton]

Steve, FWIW, your seat belt pic reminded me of the first mod I made when I brought my Porsche home. Like yours, the seat belt was twisted so as to orientate the buckle end pointing toward the door pillar. I wondered why they did this? The Audi is the same - is it a German thing? I found it to be a pain when putting the belt on and the PO obviously didn't care too much when taking the belt off and throwing it buckle end first into the pillar and door trim and glass over the years leaving obvious trim damage that I've had to attend to.

I unbolted the lower anchor point, bent the anchor plate in the opposite direction to the same opposite angle away form the door sill and twisted the belt outward so as to orientate the buckle end inwards toward the seat and occupant. The belt now sits nice and flat against the pillar and is easier to put on, without any twists.

[schulr]

Thanks everyone, nice pics Steve. It clearly shows a better angle on how it should be glued.

Bones, does any of the interior trim need to be removed before pulling the seal away from the glue? Any majic on how to remove without tearing the fabric or the seal?

I am assuming that when I remove and clean the old glue away, I can reposition the seal and re glue front and backand scrunch it together so it clears at the bottom. If it can not be scrunched together, can the fabric and rubber be trimmed with a razor? Will this cause the fabric to fray?

Need to try the seatbelt mod as well, good idea.

Thanks

Bob

[Bones]

bob.......no trim needs to be removed but you can take out the screw holding the interior trim in place shown in the photos above..... i removed my Targa bar side seals (the whole front seal is in 3 pieces incase you didn't know) by pushing the seal as far back as possible by hand and inserting a razor sharp knife blade in there to 'unpick ' the glue it should come away if you persevere unless it's been superglued....which i doubt......then it should be possible to loosen it further until it's free and can be placed back in place with the glue....it won't fall off as it attached to the Targa bar higher up......take your time and experiment with positioning until you are happy it's going to work....maybe make a deleteable mark somewhere......i used an impact adhesive but you have to be quick and precise in placing the seal.....try and get black colured glue the brown stuff i had squeezed out and had to be trimmed off when dry.....when you've put on the glue and seal and are happy don't shut the door for as long as you can ...if you don't need to drive leave it in the garage for a few days if you can......shutting the door will put pressure on the glue and if there is even slight friction with the door it will pull the seal away from the Targa bar at the bottom.......be patient .....if that fails you can trim the seal (thick part) with a sharp blade without ruining it i have.....i don't think there is a workshop fix for this it is probably just experience that gets a good job done.....mines not as good as it came out of the factory......still good though...... but I don't notice the difference anymore.......keep us posted

[old_skul]

My targa bar seal, which was just replaced by a body shop as well, was installed so that the edge which appears to be pulling away from the bar on your door is very tightly glued onto the bar. Your seal shouldn't be pulling away like that. They attached it to the bar in correctly. I'd take it back and show them and demand they fix it.

[schulr]

Thanks Mark and Bones, will try the fix later today. Not going back to the shop as they will want to keep the car again and I have lost confidence.

Bob