How hard is it to change Pontiac Door Seals?

Question

My friend needs new door seals for her Sunfire. Where would she be able to find them and are they had to replace. Her's are cracked and her doors freeze shut. I think the easiest way to fix it is to replace the seals since her's are hard and don't have the softness to them anymore.

Also what tools do I need to to tackle this job?

It is a coupe 2 door think she said is was a 2000 model. I wont see her till mon I will make sure and get back to you.

Answer 1

It's fairly easy
1st don't go to a junk yard to get the parts they aren't that expensive.
You don't need any weather strip adhesive the trim around it and the way the strip is designed don't require it.

The door weather strips for a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire 2 door coupe

Part #22612749 (left and right are same part number)

MSRP $41.04 X 2 =$82.04

Found online(attached link) $61.51 for two - includes shipping

The weather strip starts and stops at the bottom center of the door opening. you will need to remove the plastic panel at the bottom (step trim)(no tools snap together) there is a retainer on the driver side by the hood latch(easy to remove) there is no retainer on the passenger side.
Once you have removed the step trim grab one end of the old weather strip and start pulling as your pulling watch how it lays in the door, once you have seen how it comes out you can not mess up putting it back in.
You may want to use a plastic pen to aid getting the weather strip under the front and rear trim panels.

Still not sure?
A dealership will charge .5 hours each side 1.0 hour total.

$82.04 parts
$85.00 Labor(going rate at Dealerships in Houston,TX)
$15.00 shop supplies and tax.
=$182.04

or $61.51 and about an hour of your time.

To prevent the new seals from rotting - GM sudjest using
Dielectric silicone grease GM part #12345579 Aprox $10.00
once a year.....a little bit goes a long way, use spairingly. It works.

any other questions feel free to email me.

GM World Class Technician - Body and Service
ASE Master Technician
15 Years Experiance

Answer 2

Boy oh boy, that doesn't surprise me. My daughter has a Sunfire and she always has problems with the door seals. Tell your friend to take the car to a mechanic to do the job. We took ours back to the dealer and it didn't cost that much. It's easy to get a professional to do it, and fast.

Answer 3

i own a repair shop ,and there isn't many tools needed to do this job with,but you,ll need new seals or good ones from a junk yard for it,and they just pull off of it,but when you go to put them back on use some 3-m weatherstrip glue on the new seal if it needs it,,some of them just stick on to the lip that sticks out on it,and some have to have a little glue to help them stay on good,i hope this help,s.good luck with it.,,you might need a good crew driver to remove a few screws with,that's about it,,good luck.,,new seals aren't that bad if you want to get new ones for it.

Answer 4

jcwhitney.com is a good source for those type parts. Also any auto body repair shop can order the pieces she needs. Email me with the year and model (sedan or coupe) and I can probably get you the instructions and the tools required. But send me your actual email, so that I can send the instructions to you as attachments.

Answer 5

Another quick fix is to coat the seals with vaseline. This keeps them from freezing to the door jam.