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New Tailgate Window Felts Causing Major Problems

Massboy

Massboy

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Been working on my restoration and went to install my new inside window felt and outside window wiper on my tailgate. No matter what we did we couldn't get the outside wiper to "clip" in correctly. It seems the felt and wiper are just to tight on the window. If we got it even close the window was bound just about solid and wouldn't move with the motor and using a drill you could tell it was bound pretty solid. What have others done when replacing those two felts. This is an aftermarket tailgate so I'm not sure if this is the cause of the problem. I have a OEM one that needs work that I picked up way after I had this one ready for paint so I didn't do anything with it. I will look and see if there is a difference between the two to be causing the problems I'm having.

Thanks in advance for any help that is offered.
 
GM or aftermarket felts?
Repos do not fit right, just close. And they fit tight. See many a window slowed down to nearly zero movement by repo window wipes.
I've had to tweak the metal inside the wipes to force it to bend away from the glass.
I'm sure you greased the rails, replaced the slides so other than the wipes, it couldn't be much else esp if it's binding with a drill.
 
Yup, should have mentioned that too. The felt and wipe is aftermarket. Didn't think of that. The inner felt appears to be too stiff or too thick and tight as the wipe can't be made that much thinner than it already is. I have replaced both window guides with OEM ones and so is the sash. Regulator and motor is also OEM. The tailgate shell and the two felt/wipe is the only repo items.
 
Since you've got both, I'd check for things like the width of the opening where the window and "seals" fit...see if they made it too narrow.

It sounds like the window is equally tight against the seals on both sides, so it doesn't seem like it would be something like the tracks being in the wrong place, correct?
 
The tracks/guides line up correctly in the opening on both ends and the window works fine without either of the felts in place. If we install the inner felt the window will work but is somewhat hard going but not impossible. Trying to put the wipe in and get it to clip in is impossible. We decided to remove all but the end clips (because we can get those in due to the window's shape and no window in the way to rotate the wipe a little to get the clips in. We are planning to glue the wipe in with polyurethane adhesive because the clips would just not go in. So, with that said, we put the wipe in place without the glue but even then, it was almost impossible to get the wipe down where it belongs. Then, when we got it close and tried to operate the window it would barely move and needed to be assisted quite a bit by hand. Just really strange but like Irish said, it's probably due to the fact that they are aftermarket and just not the way they need to be. Going to get my OEM tailgate out of my shed and compare them.
 
Like Dorian said, measure the window gap on your GM gate and then aftermarket one with no felts on. Repo one might be narrower causing felts to jam up the glass. The side tracks have a little adjustment but not much.
 
i just put new tailgate and felts on my 76. im happy i have new felts but like i said when i did it, all of my windows are so tight with new felt im glad i have manual windows. i did all new felts and seals in november, and the tailgate is much better its still tight and doesnt go all the way into the uper groove. my door windows really suck, but are getting better.

i used lmc felts, seals, tracks, and guides
 
BTW, if you got parts from someplace reputable like LMC, and you find an actual problem with the part, they've been pretty good to me in taking care of the problem with either a credit, or talking to their "engineering" folks, whatever. Had some mis-made seals for the side, they just gave me my money back and didn't want me to ship the parts back, as a for-instance. No idea if my comments and suggestions made it anywhere as I've not re-purchased the items, but I like to think they did.

These aftermarket companies are increasingly the only option for parts, if we don't tell them what problems the parts have, we'll be stuck with junk. Not saying anyone here isn't interested in making things better, but just kind of "help us help ourselves" for the future.
 
Try leaving the guide bolts loose and see if the window works any better. It has some curve to it so even if you think you have them adjusted right they may be off just enough to bind up. The other thing you need to check is how the tailgate lines up with the top, if may. E ok without the wipers in but when you install them it may not line up correctly with the top channel. Lock the latches with the tailgate down and see how well the window will come out without going in to the top. This can give you an indication if it's the wiper seals or maybe how it lines up with the top.
 
Is the trouble that you can`t put Both the felts in with the glass in? can you put the inner and outer in then the window.?
 
Hi Guys,
First, thanks for all the suggestions and interest. Got home from the body shop at 9:40 tonight and then I ate spaghetti and meatballs. Had to visit with the wife and let all the food settle. LOL. Anyway this is what I found when I brought in my OEM tailgate to compare the two. The top opening on the repo tailgate was only slightly narrower at the top than the OEM but the two flanges that hold the felts were angled too much. The inside flange on the OEM has a slightly less than 90 angle to the tailgate top and the rear flange is pretty much 90. Now, on the repo the inside flange was about 75d and the rear flange was about 80d so the window gap was an extreme "V" shape compared to the OEM tailgate.
Unfortunately, the flanges are doubled for strength so changing the angles was somewhat of a challenge. Where I could reach up and under from the tailgate opening, I was able to use a pair of sheet metal vise grips to bend the flanges to the correct angles. On the ends and tailgate center sections using the vise grips was not an option. If the tailgate hadn't been painted it would have been easier. What I had to do was using a body filler spreader as protection for the painted top edge, was to hammer the flange back with a cold chisel. Doing small areas at a time I was able to bend the complete flange to the needed angle for a proper opening measurement.
Filed off any burrs and put the felts back in and the window now works fine. The felts are still tight and the window is slow going up without any help but that's to be expected when the felts are brand new.
 
Not sure if my buddy can look that up. I bought it about 4-5yrs ago, it came in, he repaired some shipping damage, primed it, then stored it for me. I only took possession of it until these past few months. I'll ask him but it probably came through Keystone as he uses them often. I know he did tell me when he ordered all my sheet metal back then that he used a company that usually gave him the best of the repo stuff. He also said most repo stuff is bad and even the best is only good.
 
I don't expect that any of it will be OEM quality, it sounded like with even just the plain tailgates the metal wasn't nearly as thick as it was originally. We cause our own problems, we buy the cheapest junk out there, so get used to low prices, which leads us to buy substandard stuff. :(

Was just curious if it was LMC or someone else "big", that might have some say as to how the parts were made. I often wonder if all this stuff comes out of the same factory, just going through a different middleman, thus a different box.
 
It wasn't LMC or any other mail order type company. He owns a body shop and ordered all the repair panels from his supplier. Of all the pieces I got; fenders, inner fenders, doors, tailgate, patch panels, etc. the tailgate absolutely needed the most work. The opening was too narrow. The seams were not welded at all, just bent over and came apart easily. So I tigged all the edges so it wouldn't come apart. The two metal tabs that go into the holes as the top of the bed posts were so far off I had to bend them considerably to get the gate even to come close to closing. The overall shape of the tailgate was not even on both ends either and didn't really match the body lines well. Reworked the tailgate with a dolly and body hammer to get a better shape out of it. Got it to fit well and look right so it got painted but I never tried the window felts in it until recently, after it was all worked and painted. It was a real pain trying to rework those flanges while not causing any damage to the paint.
 
dyeager535 said:
I don't expect that any of it will be OEM quality, it sounded like with even just the plain tailgates the metal wasn't nearly as thick as it was originally. We cause our own problems, we buy the cheapest junk out there, so get used to low prices, which leads us to buy substandard stuff. :(

Was just curious if it was LMC or someone else "big", that might have some say as to how the parts were made. I often wonder if all this stuff comes out of the same factory, just going through a different middleman, thus a different box.
Click to expand...


as for body parts, i ordered some parts from lmc and some i got localy, the parts and part numbers are all the same they all came from the same mfg.
 
Man, that is a lot of work for a "new" part. :( Certainly would seem like paying $200 (or more) additional to eliminate all that work would be worth it.
 
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