Door window seal. - How to adjust

One problem with the F/TF is water ingress around the driver and passenger windows.

Signs of leaks are wet carpet (normally under the carpet), water marks on the door card or speaker grill



Or water pools on the top of the door card.



Getting a perfect seal is something of a black art, or even luck. I spent a whole afternoon just doing the passenger window and I’m not sure whether it was luck or skill, but I have managed to get a pretty good seal now.

There are many adjustments that can affect the seal on your window, and it is a combination of small adjustments and patience that will get you a good seal.

The best way to test your seal is to use a hose. Set it on a rain like spray pattern and try to simulate the rain coming from an angle slightly above and in front of the car. If you set it to too strong a spray and direct it straight at the window it WILL leak, but won’t represent real rain.

The first thing you need to do is remove the door card http://www.the-t-bar.org/en/forum/22-cjjs-guides/2164-door-card-how-to-remove

Once the door card is off you need to lower the window so that it is not up against the stop.



Next you need to adjust each of the 2 upper stops to achieve a good seal. Hopefully you will have seen where the leaks are and know whether to raise or lower the stops.



The bolts that secure the upper stops are 10mm bolts.

This shows the front stop, which is recessed through a hole in the door.



Loosen the bolt and slide it up or down to suit. Try small changes first to see if the leaks improve.



Adjusting the front bolt will also affect the alignment of the window at the rear as well. You will need to play around with both stops to get the optimum seal. It really is a case of trial and error.

You might find at this point that the window seems to be OK at the front, but showing gaps at the back, or vice versa. This could mean that the window is not central.

If this is the case then carry out the following:

With the window in the up position, loosen the nuts in the positions shown below.



The 2 circled on the left and centre are 10mm nuts





While the position on the right is part of the window regulator system.

Lower the window about a 1/3rd of the way and you should see a 10mm nut and an 8mm nut. Loosen these and you should now be able to hold the window and slide it forward or backward to centralise it.



The window should now be at the correct height and centralised.

Now you need to move the top of the window in or out to get the right positioning. This may take a bit of trial and error, but the window top should be pushing well into the seal so that it deforms it and hangs over the top of the window.

To change the tilt of the window, you need to adjust the two points shown. You can adjust them independently to get the best result.







They are locked in place by a 13mm locknut, so first unlock (loosen) with a socket or spanner.



The screw in the centre can be screwed out to tilt the top of the window towards the car, or screwed in to move the top of the window away from the car.

The wind cheater (or where the mirror attaches to) is also adjustable.

If you loosen the 2 bolts at the base of the cheater it will slide backwards and forwards with a little persuasion.



Slide the cheater towards the window with it in its fully up position so you get a snug fit.

Also the seal around the cheater can deform over time. If you need to you can buy some silicone tubing and feed it into the recess to push out the seal a bit.







Another thing to remember is the door striker plate. This is adjustable and can cause the door to close more and hold a better seal. Loosen the 2 torx bolts (T40) and slide the plate in to tighten or out to loosen the door closure.



Now set up your hose so that it is giving a good cover of rain coming down onto the roof and over the window you are testing.

Let this “rain” fall on the car for a good 10 minutes and go back to the car and check for leaks. Readjust if necessary.

To check for leaks open the opposite door and check (after switching the hose of). If you open the door you are testing, the water will fall off the roof onto the seats etc and you won’t know if the water has leaked in through the seals or when you opened the door.

You may also find that the cantrail seals that the windows seal against are badly spaced leaving gaps between them. These can be moved to get a better seal.

hi thx, but this doesn't show me how to change motor, i can't lower window as motor as gone, do you have a guide to just changing the motor, as I know how to remove the card, but thx for your help!!!

Try this...from The Dark Side!

http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=219690

Thx John and Sue

Seems a bit to complex for me to try, I don't want to break it so I think I will give it to my local garage who put it in, in January. Hopefully he won't charge too much!!!!

No probs.
May reduce the labour cost if you take the door card etc out ready for the work?

I did think about that. I have had this off so many times as have a handle plastic lug problem, David has kindly offered to send me the plastic lug to fix. So I may as well leave the card off and then I can put card back myself afterwards. Thx again

Hey all, firstly I would like to thank everyone for their posts as these have been a great help. I have only recently purchased the MGF as a cheap deal to get my first convertable sports car and I love it.

I am having trouble with the alignment of the drivers window nd cannot for the life of me get it right. I am currently stripping the interior to dry the underlay, cure the fuel tank panel rust and seal up the common heater box leak. Once i have donw them all I will look at a new carpet for her.

does anyone do or know of someone who can help?

I am in the Devon area and just need this doing so I can finish the inside and then concentrate on the 52mm alluminium throttle body upgrade and new throttle cable!

Many thanks. Tim

:welcome2:

How far are you from Poole? MGF reborn will be able to help you.

Hi, thanks for the reply. It's a good 2 hour drive from me. I'm in Crediton, just outside Exeter but if needs must and all that!

I have tried the above guide but with no luck, I believe my window cheater is sticking out at the top away from the car by about 4mm yet the front top of the window is ok, its about halfway back that it just sits against the seal rather then under it.

I have tried adjusting the cheater but with no luck and cannot lower the window anymore as described above as the bolt is all the way down but I still think it is to high.

I can get a good seal by lowering the window and going into passenger side to put it up and turn of ignition etc. Bit of a pain in the *** every time i use it!

Getting the windows adjusted correctly is a 'black art' to be honest.
I usually start by adjusting the cheater to fit properly against the front seal. Then I start adjusting the window to that.:shrug:

Yeah probably my best bet. Thanks again.

Hi Clive do you have a picture of the window when its sitting correctly?

Mine is l leaking and I am not sure how it should sit 😔

Thanks