Installing New Door Corner Seals

[Reds89]

IMG_1684.JPG

One of the most annoying things about Z31 ownership has got to be these door corner seals. Most of us probably didn't even think about them until you see that first piece of plastic fly off as you open a door, or the plastic finisher piece inside starts to crack. What is most frustrating is that the corner seal itself that goes around the mirror is no longer made by Nissan. With my passenger side had become totally trashed, and the driver side corner seal was beld together by epoxy. A fellow forum member had a work trip to Japan and the right contact to give him a tour of the Proudear shop, and he came away with a few of these corner seals. So I'll take you through the steps of how I replaced mine.

Parts Needed:
Nissan Part # 80331-01P00 - Rub-Frnt Door Corner (2)
A can of PB Blaster (always)
Phillips Screwdriver
Proudear Front Door Covers http://autostyle-usa.com/?pkey=item_...r_url=proudear
Proudear CF Finishers (optional) http://autostyle-usa.com/?pkey=item_...r_url=proudear


First off, here is what I was dealing with on the passenger side: fullsizeoutput_2.jpeg

The finisher is long gone, and the corner seal has turned from a flexible rubber to hard plastic.

The first thing to do is spray some PB Blaster onto the door mirror screws to help make sure I don't strip them out when removing them. Next, completely remove the door panel. You'll need to do this to unhook the mirror. Pull back the plastic liner and undo the power mirror harness here: IMG_1685.JPG




Pull the mirror back from the mount and this is what you should see: IMG_1682.JPG

[Reds89]

Part 2:

Notice the rubber gasket that goes in-between the mirror and the door. Carefully remove that and clean it up, slather it in armor all, and give it another decade of life. Side Note: There is also a small foam strip under the mirror, probably to keep the mirror from rubbing the body of the door. Mine was shot on the drivers side so i cut a thin strip of sticky felt I had in the house as replacement. Sorry, forgot a pic.

Now take the time to remove all of the leftover corner seal assembly. Be sure to pay extra attention to removing all the old seal from the weatherstripping on the outer door that stops just under the mirror, as your new window guides will tuck right behind it.

This is the aftermath of cleaning out the old seal: IMG_1683.JPG



Here are the new pieces of Flexible rubber. And thankfully they are flexible, as you will have to massage the door corner seal into the window guide seal. Start with putting on the corner seal first, then the window guide. These two must fit together the right way so use the other door for reference. You can see here that I didn't get it on right the first time. IMG_1686.JPG



This is what it should look like: IMG_1688.JPG



If you got the finisher, it is real carbon fiber, press fit. Not my #1 choice for an 80's car but these pieces are no longer available from Nissan, and good luck taking them off of another Z without breaking them to pieces.
IMG_1691.JPG

Reinstall your door panel and you're good to go.

The verdict: Wind noise cut down drastically!

[jaqattack02]

Good write up, though I doubt many people on here will be willing to shell out $500+ to get the parts to do this. I don't mind spending money on my car, but that's just nuts.

[Reds89]

It is nuts, I agree. Hopefully someone in North America can get with an auto supplier to reproduce these seals for a much lower price. It should be somewhere in the $100 range for all this IMO.

[Raven]

If you don't mind telling, how bad did Autostyle hit you with shipping? It shows $109 for the rubber and $117 for the carbon fiber pieces on their website. Don't know why they think EMS shipping is so much. They are also are charging $50 more than the parts are listed on Proudears website.

With what they are charging you could ship a 15 lb. item from Japan to the US with EMS air (for only $104). I really need to do this to my Z the pricing is just ridiculous.

[G-E]

Yea and who's going to invest the thousands in tooling to do it ?

[Reds89]

Raven,

I don't understand Autostyle's shipping quotes. I occasionally ship out internationally and if I were shipping this stuff out from US to Japan it would definitely be under $100 from USPS. I got them from my co-worker who is also a forum member here. He was already traveling to Japan for work and knew someone there who knows the guy who runs Proudear. So he got a tour of the shop and got the corner seals in person.

[Raven]

Thanks Reds89,

It seems to me Autostyle is all about the money. Visit Proudears website and they have the parts listed for $82 (CF door plates) and $195 (rubber covers), where as Autostyle has them for $97 and $231, respectively. Then they still want to charge outrageous pricing for EMS air mail...it just doesn't add up. A $50 premium on parts and $100 dollars worth of shipping is a huge turn off for this repair, on Autostyles part. Thanks for putting this up though.

[Reds89]

Updated 9-19-2017, uploaded the photos directly to the server.

I checked this post due to the Photobucket issues, but my pictures still show up. Someone PM me if they disappear.

Also for searching purposes, this is a how-to on installing Z31 Door Triangle Seals or Door Window Triangle Seals.

For reference, here are the Nissan part numbers that are NLA.
80961-01P00 CVR DOOR FRT LH DOOR TRIANGLE SEAL
80960-01P00 CVR DOOR FRT RH DOOR TRIANGLE SEAL
80963-01P00 CVR-HOLE FR DR DOOR TRIANGLE SEAL COVER
80962-01P00 CVR-HOLE FR DR DOOR TRIANGLE SEAL COVER