[tamathumper]

I'm looking into a drip/leak on my wife's VW EOS, which has a fantastic number of doodads and seals and gizmos that make the top go up and down. VW recommends their seals be conditioned periodically with magical "G.052.172.A2", $75 for 4 oz. or something like that...



Is there a recommended conditioner for our seals on the cab top, or what do you use otherwise? Nothing but adhesives are listed in the Porsche 944 S2 Sealing Body (Cab Top) Service Manual.

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[DaveN]

I know a couple of walrus' that use seal conditioner but that's another story <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[tamathumper]

So this penguin is driving through the desert and his car starts acting up. He reaches a town with just a garage and a store, and pulls into the service bay.



The mechanic says it will be a while so he suggests the penguin walk across the street to the convenience store. The penguin waddles over and since he's so hot he crawls in the walk-in freezer and falls asleep in a tub of vanilla ice cream.



He startles awake several hours later and hurries across the street to see what's wrong with his car. The mechanic says "Well, it looks like you blew a seal". Embarrassed, the penguin wipes his face and says "No, that's just ice cream."

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[DaveN]

Crap! I think I just wet myself! It takes a lot to make me laugh. Now I know what retirement is going to feel like <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[tamathumper]

I called the dealership and the guy didn't have a Porsche part number or recommendation, other than silicone products or "an Armor-All wipe". If I ever apply an Armor-All product to my car, you have my permission to bitch-slap me.



There's a lot of conflicting information on the damage silicone does to rubber, but it appears that it's really the cleaners and/or propellants in the silicone products that can do the damage, and that silicone is basically inert, so I may try one of those after some more research. Looks like Zymol or Meguiar's are silicone free either way, so if they're locally available I'll try those first.



There's a good post on silicone-based rubber conditioners here.



And to quote a good excerpt later in that thread on treating EPDM (perhaps the actual material our seals are made of)?

Maybe not a surprise, but no longer are a car's rubber seals made from `rubber'. To keep the inside of your car quiet and dry, car makers use a specialized synthetic material called EPDM, (ethylene propylene diene monomer). Real rubber, or blends containing real rubber, just cannot endure the direct exposure to sunlight(ultraviolet light) and the harmful-to-rubber oxidizing gases in our atmosphere. To quote from the engineering specs, EPDM is "Ideal for outdoor applications because of its excellent resistance to ultraviolet light, ozone, oxidants, and severe weather conditions". EPDM is great stuff, but it has some downsides. It's tear resistance is only fair, so sticking & tearing is not uncommon. And just like real rubber, it has extremely poor resistance to solvents(petroleum distillates) and oils. "You mean I don't have to `protect' my car's door & trunk seals?" That's right, and treating your seals with a leading-brand "protectant" is almost always exactly the WRONG thing to do to your seals. Any chemical product that contains oils or petroleum distillates is incompatible with EPDM. TIP: NEVER apply any rubber or vinyl treatment that has an oily or greasy nature or contains petroleum distillates. READ THE LABEL! If a product contains petroleum distillates, do not apply it to your rubber seals. Though its powerful UV screening benefit is not needed in this application, 303 Protectant is great for cleaning EPDM seals and to keep them clean. 303 Protectant makes EPDM seals look like new and PREVENTS sticking and tearing. Because it is safe for EPDM and prevents sticking & tearing, manufacturers exclusively recommend 303 Protectant for this application.

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[flash]

what's a penguin doin' on the tele?



i use this purple stuff from mequiars. i call it gorilla snot. i'll look it up and find out what it is, but it's the best stuff i've ever found for rubber seals

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[tamathumper]

Thick and gooey? Probably silicone grease...

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[flash]

it doesn't say on the bottle what the ingredients are



meguiars gold class endurance

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[tamathumper]

Looks like that is a tire product, and tires are a very different material than the seals on the rest of the car. I'm going to go with straight dielectric silicone grease, available from any hardware store, and I'll report back after a while. These seals are NLA, so I'm a bit leery about it, but silicone is pretty inert stuff.

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[flash]

i don't use it on tires. doesn't work well. works great on the rubber gaskets and seals at the windows and such though. been using it for 9 years now.

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[tamathumper]

Soaky soak soak. This will supposedly (according to the BMW forums) get rid of cab squeaks, too. Makes sense. Thankfully I haven't had any cab squeaks in a while, although this does remind me I need to do something about that tiny squeak in the steering wheel when I turn it slightly to the left. Maybe some of this stuff...



Now if only there were a way to straighten out my slowly warping A-pillar trim.

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[Mark]

I use Shin-etsu silicone on my seals, left over stuff I was given with my S2000. Works well.

I don't know if Gummi-flege is still around or not but I know several people who swear by it. I'm sure Porsche makes something for the Boxsters at an outrageous price.

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[tamathumper]

Many posts say the Gummi Pfledge isn't available anymore, and go on to recommend the pure silicone grease. I let it sit overnight and wiped it all off this morning. Took about 10 minutes to do a passably neat job.



One thing I *did* notice is that my top clunks again going over railroad tracks. I had put the sticky foam down along the top channel, per another thread, and that held it tight, but now I've gone and greased it. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[daly]

303 protectant is pretty good stuff. I have been using it for a couple of years and rubber on my original cab top is all in good shape.

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[fleetwood]

Gummi Pflege is still available and does work very well. I've used it on my rear hatch and sunroof -- stopped both from squeaking.



http://www.amazon.com/1Z-Einszett-Rubber...mmi+pflege

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[bombfactory]

Flash I use the Maguire's Endurance tire stuff too. It comes in two 'formulas' - a thinner mix that comes in a pump spray bottle, and a thicker one, almost but not quite a gel, that comes in a squeeze-type bottle. I've found the thinner mix does not last very long on tires, but the thicker one is great stuff and will last for about a month unless you get caught in the rain.

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[tamathumper]

Update: We had a pretty hard rain today for 10 minutes, and zero leaks along the windshield. I'd like to see a good, soaking rain for a couple hours before I claim it's licked, but I'm happy with the results so far.

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