I have been fixing a few of the smaller cosmetic items on the 97 OBW in anticipation of the new powerplant going in next Monday. Each winter the door weather strips, or seals, whatever they are called, tend to freeze to the car at night and rip loose in the morning when you open the door. I've typically been able to reattach them to the little clips that hold them to the door, but at this point that's not working any more.

 

I'm looking for any suggestions for either repairing, or replacing them without spending $75 per door through Subaru. Any ideas?

3M weather strip adhesive. Ask for it by name.

3M weather strip adhesive. Ask for it by name.

How about Goop? I find that it solves nearly all of life's problems. Well, at least the one's for which duct Tape is ineffective.

go to a junk yard and pull the weatherstipping off a car where it's still attached to the clips. the reason being, after being ripped off and put back on so many times, the holes in the rubber on yours are probably huge now, so it'll come off much more easily.

a replacement will have original-sized holes to stay on better, then use the 3M weatherstipping adhesive as a second line of defense, just to be sure it doesn't go anywhere.

another thing I heard on this forum (or another one...don't remember) that will help once in use, spray the area of the body where it will contact with a quick coating of PAM cooking spray (or generic equivelant). that will keep water off it, and make a nice slippery surface the weatherstipping can't stick to.

go to a junk yard and pull the weatherstipping off a car where it's still attached to the clips. the reason being, after being ripped off and put back on so many times, the holes in the rubber on yours are probably huge now, so it'll come off much more easily.

a replacement will have original-sized holes to stay on better, then use the 3M weatherstipping adhesive as a second line of defense, just to be sure it doesn't go anywhere.

another thing I heard on this forum (or another one...don't remember) that will help once in use, spray the area of the body where it will contact with a quick coating of PAM cooking spray (or generic equivelant). that will keep water off it, and make a nice slippery surface the weatherstipping can't stick to.

Unfortunately the nearest junkyard is 80 miles away, with no similar cars. Yup, the holes are worn out, I will try the adhesive.

 

I had read on this forum to spray the area with silicon spray. I did that, but it had absolutely no effect. I never tried PAM. This happens when the daytime temp is a little warmer so there is some liquid splashing up, or when you knock snow off your boots getting in and it melts. Then it drops to 20 below at night and freezes really hard. Sometimes it is almost impossible to open the doors in the morning. For some reason the Subaru is really bad about this. I'll try the PAM on one door and see if it works.

another thing I heard on this forum (or another one...don't remember) that will help once in use, spray the area of the body where it will contact with a quick coating of PAM cooking spray (or generic equivelant). that will keep water off it, and make a nice slippery surface the weatherstipping can't stick to.

 

Silicone spray should do the trick, too.