Driver’s side window outer rubber weather-strip on my ’93 W124 is shot and binding the window on lowering. Can I replace it without pulling the door panel off and removing window glass to get to it? (The inner rubber felt-lined rubber strip has three or so clamps that fasten it to the door panel.) My local MB dealer’s parts guy says the outer rubber weather-strip just “snaps” into place, but if past experience is any guide I’m a little anxious about prying the old piece out and then being stuck with no way to get the new strip in! Can anyone help? Many thanks!

Mercedes call it a "sealing rail" and it appears to snap onto the door body. If you can remove the old one with the window down then you should be able to snap the new one in place.

__________________
'86 300E 5 speed
'71 Triumph TR6
'46 Cushman Scooter
'41 Ford 9N tractor

First - I assume you're trying to replace the felt channel that the glass tucks into when closed,right? If so - click here to read the factory procedure. Here's some more tips:


DO NOT remove the outer sealing rail, the long/flat rubber piece at the bottom of the glass, on the outside of the door! Don't touch it. You do not need to remove the window glass, or even loosen the bolt shown in the factory procedure, just roll the window down. Remove the door panel as shown here. Remove the *inside* sealing rail at the bottom of the window glass, after the door panel is removed (it may come off with the door panel, if not, it pries off easily).

Now pull the old felt channel out of the metal window frame. Make sure you bought the right part... early cars have 3mm window glass, later cars have 4mm, the felt channels are different for each. Lube the back side of the new felt channel with a soapy solution, or spray lubricant, or something similar to help it slide into place. Install the vertical section first, then the top "corner", and work your way down the curved side. The hard part is getting the felt channel all the way down into the guide inside the door. I use a long (3-foot) piece of thin metal bar from Home Depot, about 3/4" wide and 1/16" thick. This slides down the window slot and you can use it to push the channel down to where it goes past the glass. You will need a flashlight to see inside the door. Make sure the felt channel is fully seated and not buckled, or it will jam when you try to raise the window.

When it appears to be fully in place, slowly raise the window a few inches at a time, checking with the flashlight each time, to make sure the felt isn't moving. It should stay in place until the window is fully raised up.

Then re-install the inside sealing strip, and the door panel.

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

and after all that, I just realized you may be referring to the rubber strip I said to not touch, lol! If so, yes, that just pulls off. It will deform when you remove it and it's almost impossible to straighten out and re-use, which is why I said to leave it alone. The new one snaps into place. Use some lube to make it a little easier.

If you have any wind noise from the driver window, then a new felt channel should cure it, as described above...

Thank both you very much... Yes, it's the weather-strip (outer seal)... Part #A-124-725-01-65 that I've been sweating about trying to replace... You've given me the courage to try it and will soonest -- right after I get the blower regulator - which just failed - fixed next week.

I was hoping I could also replace the driver's door lock actuator if I was into the door panel, but given your last post, I'll just try to replace the rubber weatherstrip from the outside and hope for the best!

Door lock actuator evaded me last time I tried to get to it... Couldn't seem to get an angle on it with which to work.

Thanks again for all the help! I'll let you know how the weatherstrip replacement goes...!

(Been chasing so many small issues, haven't had a chance to move ahead on the elective stuff -- Euro headlight and wiper conversion, paint-body clean-up and seat-heater retro-fit...)

so where did you buy from and how much was it?

Migtek -- if you mean the weatherstrip, I'm embarrassed to write I went to a local MB dealer and coughed up $57. for it...

thanks, I'm looking for some cheap replacements.

If you find a better source, please share it... I've got three other needy windows!

It's a dealer-only item. Your only other option is to buy from a dealer who sells at wholesale via the internet (or phone / email). MSRP is $50 for the front window outer seal (124-725-01-65), you should be able to get those for about $40 plus S&H. The rears are a buck or two cheaper, and are side-specific (124-735-01-65 left, 124-735-02-65 right). It's relatively rare to have to replace these.

Many thanks for the help... I will look for a better price on the others... and you are correct, the rear strips are not nearly as bad. For as much as I've been at my local MB dealer's parts desk over the years - with 6 other older Benz's at one time or another (!) you'd think they'd be nice to me, but every time I come in they treat me like just another street sucker with a VISA card... Little to no advice -- and even less curiosity about the respected marque they represent in the US... and from the prices you've quoted, what they charge here in the DC area seem even inflated beyond MSRP!! Thanks again.

Some parts guys are helpful, others are useless. If there's another dealer nearby, it wouldn't hurt to try elsewhere. Otherwise, get the EPC (electronic part catalog that the dealer uses), look up the part numbers yourself, and buy online at wholesale.



That is very common. Most dealers mark up the prices beyond the MSRP (set by MBNA). It's usually small (if any) on high price items, but it can be significant on little things. For example, while a $1000 part may have no markup, a $10 part could be marked up 50%-100%. It pays to be informed on the pricing... problem is, pricing changes every few months, so it's tough to keep up (although not all part prices change - just some of them). Click here for the latest price list I have, April 2009. It's a 2MB Zip file, it unpacks into a text file you can open with Notepad. Remove the dashes when searching, i.e. you'd have to search for "1247250165".

Many thanks for the help -- and the price list! I will use it and try to hunt out better deals. Have decided to really bring this old '93 W124 back up as close to perfect as possible, but many of the smaller repairs (this year seems to be A/C, fuel injector return lines and rubber replacement; 3rd brake light was crumbling to dust - thank goodness found a repalcement on eBay -- and in my color - blue) have kept getting in the way of the more immediately gratifying stuff - ding removal and spot professional repainting of the lower panel mouldings, etc. As the bills mount up, one has to ask oneself... and if "one" doesn't, the spousal unit does!

Thanks again... Still hoping to get to the Euro headlight/wiper conversion and retro-heated seats sometime before the cold weather sets in (no garage).

Just a heads up to a guy who is determined to get his W124 back to pristine condition: it appears that you have blue interior, and for some reason, blue dashboards seem to be more susceptible to deterioration. Particularly bad without a garage. If your normal maintenance/detailing doesn't already include care of the dash, you may want to start a regular treatment regimen (Lexol, Leatherique, et al).

__________________
1988 California version 260E (W124)
Anthracite Grey/Palomino
Owned since new and still going strong and smooth
MBCA member

Past Mercedes-Benz:
1986 190E Baby Benz
1967 230 Inherited from mom when she downsized
1959 220S Introduced me to the joys of keepin' 'em goin'

There are only 10 kinds of people in the world--those who understand binary and those who don't

Arguably the best vinyl protection out there is Formula 303... I use it on my dash, and other vinyl/plastic/etc items as well. The UV protection is excellent. It's not particularly cheap unless you buy larger quantities (quart, gallon, etc) but it lasts quite a while.

http://www.303products.com/

Order their free sample kit if you want to try it out.