Yo!
I've done 5 or 6 of these seals over the past few years. I have actually
remained friends with 2 or 3 of the people that helped! :-)
What has worked best for me is straight dish washing detergent. ( I have also
tried spray silicone, a mix of water/detergent, Castrol brake grease, et
cetera.) Liberally apply detergent to groove and/or seal. Be prepared for
slippery hands. Have one person feed seal into groove (I start at the small
opening about 2" from the end of the frame) while the other friend (sometimes
soon to be ex-friend) maintains a steady but gentle pull on the seal. (If you
do not have callouses on your palms now, you will have after this repair!) As
you both work the seal through the frame, be certain that the seal actually
stays in the groove! (More than once, I have been within 6" of the finish
line only to find the seal has popped out half way down!) Numerous
applications of detergent will ease the job (and if you use Palmolive, you
can have hands that look like Madge's!). It also helps to hold your tongue
like this:
:-Q
Every once in a while you will find a seal that is out of spec by either a
BCH or an RCH. This will make the replacement frustration level unusually
high.
My first attempt at seal replacement took two days, three friends, and
numerous Bass ales. The last attempt, using the above approach, took 45
minutes. I remain friends with my co-worker.
I've also found it beneficial to use a DIFFERENT set of friends to assist in
the reinstalling of the windscreen to the body!
Cheers and good luck!
p.s. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITH YOUR SIGNIFIGANT OTHER IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN
IN THE RELATIONSHIP!
By the way....the workshop manual is COMPLETELY USELESS in this repair.
To quote Haynes: "First remove radiator."....."Installation is the reverse
procedure".
rick ingram #0-134
chairman - NAMGBR
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