Front and rear windshield seal recommendations?

[Avanti]

Originally Posted by pmax

UROParts,

If anything, kudos for keeping it technical in this technical forum. I wish all vendors could do the same.

Now if you can just fix the ...

Red fuel pump relays? 😀

[3Ddesigns911]

There was also a recent thread about this and as a result URO offered to send me the new seal for a review. I am having it installed next week (just talked to the installer yesterday), and when it's all done I'll write up a review.

[tdskip]

Keen to hear how this goes.

Kurds to Uro

[universeman]

I'm curious about the width of that windshield opening, but as I sit here and think about it, I'm not 100% positive my sketch is correct in that area, because I don't know if I would have opened the seal up to see that fully for my sketch. Can't wait to see how it installs.

Question for URO - does Porsche restrict you from copying their design, or can you make a perfect replica of it, legally speaking? The reason I ask is that it seems all of the "OEM" parts have a tiny bit of variation in them always, and I'm wondering if that's mandated by Porsche (since the OEM supplier also supplies the actual Porsche-branded part) or something else.

[universeman]

PS - Kudos to URO for posting here. Big step up and gives us some real confidence that you guys are behind your products and paying attention to quality.

[911 SLANT]

URO. I would also look into changing your rubber compound on your rubber boots for steering rack. I only had mine on for 2 years and they just crumbled apart. I ended up buying the original from porsche.

[universeman]

Seems like all the URO rubber has this issue; the quality of the rubber used by Porsche seems to be much superior. I noticed the same in the "drape" of the rubber windshield seals from URO and Porsche side-by-side. One more thing to look into.

[UROParts]

Originally Posted by Avanti

Red fuel pump relays?

Unfortunately those will probably continue to be a commodity item in the aftermarket, since the cost to design one from scratch and tooling for all the little internals is rather prohibitive. We did improve DME relay 99361522701 for '89-'98 911 with modern modular design however, and assemble it using Surface Mount Technology (SMT) for quality consistency and long-term reliability. See this thread.

Originally Posted by 911 SLANT

URO. I would also look into changing your rubber compound on your rubber boots for steering rack.

Thanks for the tip 911 Slant, we'll have our engineers do a review on those boots.

We use in-house FTIR (Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy) analysis to compare the rubber in final products to what we specify (which is based on analysis of the OEM rubber), sometimes rubber suppliers will try to dilute the mixture slightly with a filler. Since "rubber" is a mixture of many things, it's a challenge to keep the final product consistent while keeping the price down, as everyone knows given the wide quality variations in the aftermarket vs money-is-no-object OE rubber.

We've actually just released some coolant pipe repair kits for BMW that include silicone hoses, because even the OE rubber hose sections are failing after only a few years. Hopefully the repair kits are successful and our use of silicone increases as we evaluate demanding applications.

[tgage]

I recently tried to use the URO seal on the rear of my 1988 and gave up. The cross section was correct, but the profile was rotated 90 degrees from where it should have been. One had to roll the trim 90 degrees to get the seal to insert over the edge of the window and this caused a major wrinkle in the corner that would not flatten out even with heat. The point where I gave up was when I bent the new aluminum trim pieces trying to work the corners. I then went to the local porsche dealer who gave me wholesale price on the OEM seal and new trim pieces. No offense to our hosts, but it is also best to get the trim pieces locally as the ones I received in the mail were bent on arrival.

[UROParts]

Originally Posted by 911 SLANT

URO. I would also look into changing your rubber compound on your rubber boots for steering rack.

Have an update for you 911 SLANT: We had our engineers analyze the current rubber used for those boots, and have specified improved material from our supplier for future production runs.

Originally Posted by tgage

I recently tried to use the URO seal on the rear of my 1988 and gave up. The cross section was correct, but the profile was rotated 90 degrees from where it should have been. One had to roll the trim 90 degrees to get the seal to insert over the edge of the window and this caused a major wrinkle in the corner that would not flatten out even with heat.

Thanks for your feedback tgage, that seal must have been positioned just right in the packaging to take a bad set during storage in the warehouse. We would have been happy to exchange that seal for another one that was positioned differently, but since you no longer need it, please PM me (or email "sales @ uro parts dot com", remove spaces) with your purchase details so we can get you taken care of, if you haven't already been refunded.

Not only are these seals notoriously difficult to install (even by shop techs with decades of experience), the packaging and storage of the seals can make it even trickier. Most Genuine OEM seals come in a HUGE box so that the seals lay flat during storage and inventory, but that costs a fortune in boxes, storage space, and shipping. With an aftermarket seal that costs a fraction of the OEM price, those luxuries aren't feasible, so the seals are wrapped into a loop and bagged. The vast majority of the time it's not an issue, but please contact us if you get a seal with a bad set and heat doesn't help.

Regardless of brand of aftermarket seal, we recommend removing the seal from the packaging upon delivery and laying it out flat so it has as much time to return to its original shape as possible. Laying it out in the sun on a warm day (or two) is ideal, and consider untwisting sections and holding them in place with weights as needed to help orient everything prior to installation.

[DonNewton]

Who in San Diego are you using?Every body shop I've talked to refuse to reseal the windows. The excuses of "why not?" are myriad.

[cpcooper]

Lots and lots of posts on OEM windshield seals vs aftermarket, always seems the OEM Porsche seal is the best. I'm about to replace the windshield in my '78 SC. Windshield was replaced using aftermarket seal about 3 years ago when I painted the car. The guys who installed it thought the seal was OK, but would have worked better with some packing in the upper corners (old windshield cracked the next day) Anyway, will probably go for the genuine Porsche one this time unless there is something as good aftermarket. Hope to have better fit in the upper corners. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Craig

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by cpcooper

Lots and lots of posts on OEM windshield seals vs aftermarket, always seems the OEM Porsche seal is the best. I'm about to replace the windshield in my '78 SC. Windshield was replaced using aftermarket seal about 3 years ago when I painted the car. The guys who installed it thought the seal was OK, but would have worked better with some packing in the upper corners (old windshield cracked the next day) Anyway, will probably go for the genuine Porsche one this time unless there is something as good aftermarket. Hope to have better fit in the upper corners. Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Craig

This is a common issue. You need to pull up the lip and use a wood block and hammer to GENTLY massage the corner into position.

[RDM]

The lie in the corners seems to be mostly a function of your metal trim. Hence HarryD's advice to use a wood wedge to move that corner out.

That said, I used genuine Porsche seals and have had no complaint. Backed up with 3M glazing compound.

[cpcooper]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to tap on the rubber or the aluminum trim. Seems like it would be the trim to get it to hold the rubber out a little further into the corner. Is that it? I guess I have little to lose as I'm replacing the windshield anyway and probably the rubber seal with genuine Porsche.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by cpcooper

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to tap on the rubber or the aluminum trim. Seems like it would be the trim to get it to hold the rubber out a little further into the corner. Is that it? I guess I have little to lose as I'm replacing the windshield anyway and probably the rubber seal with genuine Porsche.

After you pull out the folded in outer edge, You tap the inner rubber edge. The seal and the trim move as a unit.

[RDM]

The wedge slips between the seal and the glass.

[Jonesee]

For the URO rep on this forum. I am having a problem with my rear window seal on a 1975 911s .
Your part number 009766. Where does the seam of the seal go on the bottom or the top of the window . Looking at the seal laid out on the floor only two of the corners are visible. when i get it on the window after much frustration two corners seem to fit but the other corners the outer lip does ny sit on the glass.
Sorry Pelican i purchased these through summit racing because of their free shipping to Canada policy.
URO guy you can reply to me here or email me at joneseeboy@gmail.com
Thanks.

[UROParts]

Hi Jonesee, just sent you an email with our contact details, you might want to delete your post before the spam bots find your email address.

Thanks!

[dailydriven911]

Just did my front windshield using OEM GERMAN brand and it came out perfect. No more wind howling and water getting in when it rains lol. I'm sure URO is good too and for the price I would of tried it but I bought this last year and finally had it installed.