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MG MGB Technical - Exhaust fumes coming in GT tailgate

My recently restored car is sucking exhaust fumes back under the tailgate into the cabin. I see the new seal that goes all round the door doesn't actually touch the body lip at the lower corners. I tried tightening up the lock staple, but couldn't then get the lock to latch. How can I improve things?
Mike Howlett

Seal in the slot on the hatch, I presume? In that case the only thing seems to be to dress the body flange upwards at the corners to meet the seal, or to dress the bit between the corners down a bit to allow the 'gate to go a little bit lower for the corners to meet which would probably be easier. Unfortunate on a newly restored car. Is this a new seal or old? Compared it with old/new?
Paul Hunt

Its a new seal. The old one was much too far gone to re-use. Looking at the lip on the body, it is less tall at the lower corners than it is along the bottom edge, so there is a definite gap and of course the lower left corner is right above the exhaust. I've tried putting a short piece of edge strip round the body corner, but that distorts the hatch and a gap opens up elsewhere. I really don't fancy taking a hammer to a just finished 6-year restoration.
Mike Howlett

Mike

You may find that the top edge is too far in causing it to tilt.
Move it out a bit on the top hinges and see if it makes it better.

Ste
Ste Brown

If you need to move the body flange you could use a couple of adjustable spanners to carefully bend the lip (from memory - been a few years since I owned my GT).
Simon Jansen

There is some adjustment at the hinges. If you took the hatch off, that may be it.
Bruce-C

Thanks for your comments. What I've found is that if I pad out the existing hatch seal by pushing a narrow piece of rubber strip about 3/16" thick between the seal and the hatch, around the corner and part way along the bottom, the gap is closed up. This seems to work, doesn't fall out when the hatch is opened, and so will do for the time being.
Mike Howlett

That is one of the secret fixes used by many body shops when doors and body panels don't allign perfectly. RAY
RAY

This thread was discussed between 06/05/2009 and 09/05/2009

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