By: GEO
DISCLAIMER : TeamSol of Washington or persons submitting the information here will not assume responsibility, nor be held liable for damage resulting from the use or misuse of any information contained on this page. In other words, any information you find here is used at your own risk.
Well start with a little history. As with all new cars there are problems that dont show themselves till its been out for public consumption even though its been thoroughly tested and this holds true with the targa tops cars as the del sol, some Porsche models with the targa option and Nissan's 300 ZXs etc. To add to the problem our cars have lots of body flex which compounds the problems with leaks as the cars ages so some adjustments have to be made to prevent this (this will be addressed later in this article). The seals were updated I believe first in Japan in 94 and then here in states for the 95 model years. You also have to remember just replacing to the new style seals doesnt always fix the problem. NOTE: Even with the new seals installed there still can be leaks at the front corners of the windows etc. (this seem to be the most prominent problem heard about and comes up most of the time).
Tools needed:
Phillips Screwdriver
Flat Screwdriver
3M Black Weatherstrip Adhesive
Towels
Soft blanket or bath towel
Wash cloth
Dish washing soap or car soap
A clean working area
Di-electric grease (sourced locally or Honda part number #08798-9013)
Factory service manual (which is nice as it gives step by step instructions,
but is not necessary for this project)
Parts needed:
Front Seal ('95-'97) : #461229
Side Roof Seal Left side '95-'97 : #85191-SR2-033
Side Roof Seal Right side '95-'97 : #85141-SR2-033
Rear Seal ('95-'97) : #453030 (If needed, but not covered in this How-To)
Instructions:
Replacing the seals:
Start with removing the roof top and storing in the trunk for the time being.
Start with removing the front seal clips, two of them, one each at the bottom
of the pillar then two more are the top outside corners each side below the
roof guides, then remove the four screws, two each side holding it to the front
pillar above the roof guides. Now you can start removing the seal starting at
the bottom peeling it carefully off with the help of a flat screw driver working
your way up the side (it does have some sealer behind it in places, bottom and
where it wraps around at the top, carefully loosen it, as to not to scrap the
paint under it). Now gentle pull it up and you will find a small rubber tip
on the bottom that holds it to the front top sheet metal rail about two inches
or so in from the sides, pop it out with the flat screw driver. Its now time
to clean it up for the new seal, you can scrape off most of the black silicone
sealer and then clean it up with soap and water till every things clean, sparkling
and dry. Remember If you dont have the factory manual make a drawing with the
measurements as to where the black silicone sealer was placed so when your installing
the new seal back in youll know where to place the new sealant. Start by putting
the black silicone sealer at the corners, then putting the two rubber tips in
that hold the front seal to the front sheet metal rail then work your way down
the sides (the new seal will have some plastic covers over the sealant that
has to be removed as you work your way around). You may have to add some sealant
at the bottom of both sides to hold it on and make it fit flat. Make sure the
rubber lip fits over the plastic trim pieces at the edges. Now you should be
finished with installing your new front seal.
Now you can start on the roof top by laying the top on its back on a soft blanket
and start removing the four screws that hold it on each side, two at each end
then peel it off it track that holds it in. Clean off the old sealant and wash
it up and dry. Next start putting the new seal in using a small flat screw driver
to get it to fit under the metal lip/track, peel off the plastic covers on the
sealant and press it against the ends and put the screws back in, repeat the
same for the other side. Now you should be done with installing your new seals.
One other thing to note is sometimes the windows will need to be adjusted so
they fit snug and seal so no water can get in (I wont get into how this is done
with this article).
Hints:
This last part will concern the maintenance on/for the seals, etc. Lubing the
seals should be done on a regular basis, the same as washing your car to keep
them fresh, clean and new with dielectric grease or silicone grease as it commonly
known (NOT SILICONE SEALANT that comes in a tube for windows on a house). This
includes cleaning and lubing the seals, the locking pins and spraying the blow
out clips (the small metal rubber covered clips at the back of the top) with
silicone spray. Another thing you can do to help prevent leaks is when installing
the top is to center it on the car by moving it back and forth to make sure
its centered on the car before latching it down.
Now well talk about shimming the top for a better fit, you can put shims under
the latch holders front and back to make it fit better so it wont rattle, the
thickness can be 1.2mm (0.05 in) or 0.6mm (0.02 in) this requires you to take
off the plastic trim front and rear to access the lock catchers, when done the
roof should fit flush with the other body panels, not below it or you may have
new problems with water getting in. For more on the care of the top/roof look
under 'Care of your Tara Top' on our How-to's pages
Also for every ones information even the new 95 up seals can leak some and there
also have been some horror stories about people taking their cars to the dealer
to have new seals put in and still having it leak, you have to understand that
there are not that many of our cars out there so they dont have that much expertise
working on this part of them.
Well I hope that this answers some of the questions that has been posed about the seals, clears up others and explains how to take care of them. Enjoy.
By: GEO