Subaru door seal repair! Now with working clips!
SG Foresters are well known for their terrible wind noise at highway speeds. Much of this is due to the terrible mirror gusset design that tears and leaks air at even mid range speeds. I had noticed a few Foresters coming into the shop with door seals hanging out of the door.. Opening my driver’s rear door showed that it wasn’t fairing so well either. A few of the clips weren’t holding and a couple had broken off.
Clip and hanging seal. Look closely and see the torn seal.
A recent cold snap with freezing rain made for an incredibly difficult to open and broke a few of the clips off. Making it difficult to shut the door afterwards. The seal was no longer lining up and was getting in way of the door shutting. Taking a look on Amazon I found the lowest priced and quickest shipping option to take care of the problem. Mtsooning 20pcs Door Weatherstrip Clips Rubber Seal Trim Gasket Fasteners run 7.99 and with prime shipping if you are a member.
Half of the clip broken off.
Looking them over they are very similar and only have a slightly shorter top. Which doesn’t appear to make a difference with how the clips perform or hold the seal.
Comparison shot.
My tools for the job were a pocket screwdriver and pair of side cutters. Most of the damaged clips were no longer attached making them easy to spot and repair. A few were found by giving the seal a slight tug letting the clip break free. Clips are located 6 inches in between each other and fairly easy to locate.
Another old broken clip. Plastic’s finite life given weather changes.
The clips slide into a hole within the seal. A few of my clip holes on the door seal were torn, I decided to test out my Permatex 1 minute gasket maker to take care of those. It dries very quickly and after moving ont another door I returned to find the clip holding up well.
Gasket sealer ready to roll!
Gooped up and no more tears!
In my Forester the driver’s side doors clips were in the worst shape and I used 14 clips on it. A quick zip down the a nearby highway showed quite improvement from prior road trips. If you have replaced your mirror gussets and still hear a bit of whistling or see the seals hangs free of the door give this a try.
New clip installed!
Links for products used on Amazon: Mtsooning 20pcs Door Weatherstrip Clips Rubber Seal Trim Gasket Fasteners