I have a 1997 Cavalier Convertible LS. The weatherstripping around the top has hardened and cracked to the point that the car leaks. I went to the Chevy dealarship and found out that the parts alone are $1000
I searched, but I was unable to find anywhere that sells reproductions or anywhere to buy them cheaper. Does anyone know of anywhere I can find the weatherstripping that goes around the top, other than the dealership? Thanks.
-Susie
I'm in the same boat except the dealership near me quoted me $600 CDN for it. Mine hasnt completely cracked yet but there are about 3 spots (1 on each of the ends and one in the middle) where it has cracked and water seems to come through once in awhile.
I think the only way to get it is either through GM or luck out and find a wrecked convertible with it intact. Even then I'm not sure if its the kind of thing that can be pulled off a used vehicle and re-attached.
I'd love to know the answer to this as well... there MUST be an aftermarket source for it somewhere.... I've been watching Ebay, but only used ones come up.. and only every 6 months or so..
<a href="http://www.lenkorules.com/"><img src="http://s93165229.onlinehome.us/images/zm/sig/LRDCsig3.jpg"></a>
I got mine from
http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/ $221.91 + about $50 for S&H Part # 12335401, also part #'s for the side pieces 12362938,12362939,12362940,12362941 $65.48 ea. for the first two , $57.43 for the last two. I don't have the part #'s for the rear side window pieces but I can get them if needed...
"The FACTS are always subject to CHANGE once the TRUTH is applied"
"In the entire history of man the only stupid questions are the ones that don't get asked"
BTW it took me about an hour and a half to replace the front seal around the windshield frame. Just need a small tube of weatherstripping cement.
"The FACTS are always subject to CHANGE once the TRUTH is applied"
"In the entire history of man the only stupid questions are the ones that don't get asked"
Sorry for digging up an old thread but I thought it was better to post here than to start a new one.
My weatherstripping around my windshield is peeling apart. Black layer is sticking to my windows when I open the door and then peeling off. This is very very frustrating. I don't know of anyway to stop it from happening other than replacing the worn out stripping.
John, I see you replaced yours. Thank you very much for the part number. What is involved in this replacement? Are there fastners I should be worried about? Do you just "peel" the old one off and put the new one on? Looks like it's about $300 shipped to my door from the link you provided.
Is there any chance i can find this in a junk yard and if so would it be worth replacing mine with?
Thanks guys.
~The Flash~
Joshua Richardson
I looked up these parts numbers and can't find the back two. With only those four it comes up to 420.22 shipped. I called my dealer in town and they said that they are discontinued and can't get them. Does anyone have any info on where I can get some? It's for a 2000 Sunfire. Thanks a lot, Drew
i was actually going to make a post about this problem but look i don't have to now . Thanks john317 i have been looking around for quite awhile trying to find the weatherstriping. mine has a crack o nthe side and it rain's inside on both me and my passanger b/c it's soo badd.
Properly replacing the weatherstripping (particularly the infamous windshield piece) on a 3rd gen J convert while not a massive job is also not a simple "two hours in the driveway" one. The old weatherstrip and ALL the adhesive needs to be removed (get ready to spend some quality time with acetone or 3M adhesive remover and a stiff brush) and the replacements need to be glued properly (full, unbroken seam of adhesive, especially critical on the windshield piece at the points where the A pillars meet the windshield top) or they will leak.
I was looking at those, what ones out of those have you seen people use successfully?
depends on application you want to match the strip your changing (most likely front windshield) with the closest thing/common sense. In most cases it will work well. You just need to make sure to buy the glue for one of those strips separately since one comes with it is pretty crappy. Trimming those fit-all strips will be required.
The front windsheild is okay, looks new. I was thinking #3 looked like it might work for the sides, but i'll have to compared it when I can look at it.
let me know how it does with pics
if anyone buys the generic stripping and has success, they should post it up and let us know what kind they used, etc
Wondering how the stripping turned out. Looks like some of the styles are no longer available. Nailed a sweet '97 vert for $300. Runs good, and looks pretty decent. Just looking for some good values on repairs. Stripping, window regulators, cloth top, etc... any suggestions would be appreciated!
Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
Sorry I can't help you. Got sick of looking for something that would work and traded the car off for an 03 beetle.
Barrett Welton wrote:, window regulators...
I've spent a lot of hours on the 'vert doors and have some notes. (First though, did you download the 'vert service manual supplement that's at the top of the Third Gen forum?)
The 'vert doors are proprietary and share almost nothing with the coupe doors.
The window regulators are unique to the 'verts and are not available on the aftermarket. (The 'vert regulators have a few more teeth on the main crank gear giving it a bit more up/down travel as the 'vert glass is taller than the coupe.) You can change the motors on the regulators, but my recommendation is to use OEM GM motors. I don't think GM sells the motors separately (they're riveted to the regulators), but you can easily get good ones at wrecking yards. (I would get a passenger or rear door motor as the drivers door motors get the most use and wear.) I would not rivet the motors on or the regulators in as all the examples I've seen where this has been done resulted in loose rivets, creaking noises and wear over time. Most people don't have the tools to do the riveting correctly and bolts are not difficult to source and install. There are instructions on this forum somewhere on how to replace the regulators, but they talk about removing the glass and such. I've found that you can save a lot of work by not removing the glass. Just unbolt it from the regulator, pull it up above where the regulator is mounted in the door, and secure it at that point with a C-clamp at the front and rear (with the glass between two pieces of rubber) that keeps it from falling back into the door. This worked really well for me.
The reason I recommend OEM motors is that many of the aftermarket motors are better and more powerful than the OEM. If this sounds strange, remember that the power window motors don't just shut off when the glass reaches the up or down travel limits. Instead, the motors are stopped dead in their tracks by up and down limit stops. In the case of the coupes and sedans, the window frame limits the up travel and it's strong enough to stop the glass without difficulty. On the 'verts, there are no window frames and the glass is stopped on the up-stroke by small plastic clips fastened to the front and rear bottom corners of the glass that engage in stops with matching plastic clips fastened to brackets bolted to the front glass run channel and rear glass run guide. The problem with more powerful aftermarket motors is that the up-stop brackets are not terribly robust and they actually will bend under the constant pounding of the motors over time. Stronger aftermarket motors really tear them up. I've seen this on more than a half-dozen examples and once bent, they more easily bend again. Un-bent ones are not easy to find, so keep any you run across.
While the door glass is reasonably supported at full up (by the limit stops) and full down (by a large rubber stop at the bottom of the door), there's very little support in between. Part of the problem is that there's only one glass run channel (at the front) and the glass is only guided in this channel by two small U-shaped plastic clips (one at the top and the other at the bottom of the leading edge) that quickly fall out and end up in the bottom of the door. In the half dozen or so 'verts I've worked on, I've yet to find one with these clips still intact. This appears to be because there's enough slop in the regulator to allow the glass to rock when in mid-up/down position. The clips then hook on the front channel (or pass below it at full-down) and snap off. The result is slop in the glass at the front and loud rattling noise as the glass bangs in the channel when the door is closed. (The rear guide isn't much better, but at least it doesn't fall out in normal use.) I solved this by eliminating the clips altogether and using a length of felt coated glass run channel I bought from JC Whitney. It actually supports the glass reasonably well at the front and prevents it from rattling. The stuff I bought is 7/16" wide and 5/8" deep. The channel in the door itself is about 1" deep, but the 5/8" deep rubber channel grabs enough of the glass to take care of it. I only needed a piece about 28" long for each door.
Many of the window adjustments are frustrating and it's easy to tell that the doors were engineered on a strict budget. There's a special screw with a flange on it that's used on the lower mounting points of the front glass run channel and rear glass guide to adjust the in/out angle of the glass (at the top). The two flange screws are different, with one being longer and having a larger flange than the other. Unfortunately, the one with the larger flange interfered with the inner door stamping and didn't seat properly. I ended up swapping the screws and using the one with the larger flange where it wouldn't interfere (I forget if it was the front or the rear). Be careful though, as the other screw is longer and can interfere with the rear guide if it's screwed in too far and not allow the glass to go up. (I was able to get them both to work with a little fiddling.)
Of course, your method may vary. Hope this helps. - Mark
Edited 3 time(s). Last edited Monday, July 20, 2009 11:10 AM
Something to add to Mark's comment: You can use aftermarket motors from O'Reilly's or wherever, you just need to be careful. I replaced the driver's window motor 3 times in my 'vert and I learned after the second time why it happened. When you go to aftermarket they don't seem to have the same stopping ability as the stock ones do when it comes to the auto roll-down. If you roll your window down and let it go down by itself the aftermarket motors won't stop and will burn itself out (smells quite nice btw) so either make sure you hit up on it just once so it stops or don't use the auto roll-down feature.
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* Student of the University of Oklahoma. Go Sooners!
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Thanks Mark! Good info! By chance, you haven't replaced your weather stripping too? Or anyone else in this forum? I'm really interested in the stuff that was suggested in the think, but I don't know which style fits what part. I also would like to know about tops: vinyl vs. cloth, and the differences between pinpoint vinyl and euro vinyl, and sailcloth vs.stay-fast cloth. Thanks everyone, big help!
Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
FYI: The right side top rear piece (the one at the back of the quarter glass) is no longer in production and is pretty much impossible to find anywhere.
Barrett Welton wrote:Wondering how the stripping turned out. Looks like some of the styles are no longer available. Nailed a sweet '97 vert for $300. Runs good, and looks pretty decent. Just looking for some good values on repairs. Stripping, window regulators, cloth top, etc... any suggestions would be appreciated!
As for a replacement top, I recommend going with cloth (if you can afford it, a Robbins). Unlike vinyl it won't shrink over time and also looks better.
http://store.convertibleparts.com/weatherstripping.html
ANYONE KNOW IF THIS STUFF LOOKS RIGHT?!?!?!
IHOPEIHOPEIHOPEIHOPE!!!!
Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
Barrett Welton wrote:http://store.convertibleparts.com/weatherstripping.html
ANYONE KNOW IF THIS STUFF LOOKS RIGHT?!?!?!
IHOPEIHOPEIHOPEIHOPE!!!!
No, it is not - while that website does offer replacement top weatherstripping for certain older GM convertibles, the 3rd Gen J body verts are
not among the models they cover. And no, you can't substitute stripping designed for other cars; it won't fit due to the relatively unique (high bows, short lateral run) design of the top frame on the 95-00 Cavs and Sunfires. And if you try to modify the molded pieces designed for other verts (ergo, cut them to force a fit) they will start to disintegrate within months due to their exterior skin being broken.
Bottom line: anyone here can search the web all they want, but there is
no aftermarket source for the weatherstripping for our convertibles. Further complicating things, GM has ceased to manufacture one of the seven pieces (the right rear) required and the NOS supplies of that particular section have completely dried up.
