Installing Top Cat whiskers - not good

[Verse]

I tried installing the Top Cat whiskers in my 66 Newport, but it is not going well. The clips are not grabbing. The slot areas are flat. The original whiskers clips were grabbing really well.
Any tips?

 

[mr. fix it]

Are the clips the same style?

 

[Verse]

The clips are the same. The other side worked really well.

 

[thrashingcows]

I have run into this with window sweeps for my 1st gen cummins truck(s). The company that manufactures the clips is cheaping out and using plain tin for the clips instead of the spring steel/tin. So when the clip deforms to slip into the slot on your door it does not spring back into it's original shape and now the sweep just wobbles around and is not held tight.

 

[mr. fix it]

It's not something silly like the sweep being upside down & backwards is it?

 

[Verse]

Well, blame it Mopar. There is a reinforcing plate behind the flange the whiskers clip on to. It has holes punched roughly at the slot locations. I mean roughly. The misalignment is preventing the slips from opening up. I have to put something through the loop of the clip. Other clips I could pull through from behind.

 

[QQE]

Well, blame it Mopar. There is a reinforcing plate behind the flange the whiskers clip on to. It has holes punched roughly at the slot locations. I mean roughly. The misalignment is preventing the slips from opening up. I have to put something through the loop of the clip. Other clips I could pull through from behind.

 

[QQE]

Try using a small pair of needle nose pliers to make the v portion of the clip bigger and it may hold. When the holes in the sheet metal get deformed the cat whiskers don’t always go in like they are supposed to.
Dave

 

[mr. fix it]

Did you find a solution?

 

[thrashingcows]

I still think it's the issue I mentioned in my early response. Check out the clips on the new whiskers compared to the ones on the originals....bet you can easily bend the clip on the new one and it will not hold it's shape, not likely that happens on the OEM unit.

 

[QQE]

So if I read this correctly one side ok but other is not?

 

[mr. fix it]

I still think it's the issue I mentioned in my early response. Check out the clips on the new whiskers compared to the ones on the originals....bet you can easily bend the clip on the new one and it will not hold it's shape, not likely that happens on the OEM unit.

I discovered that my current ones are half the width they should be and they were siliconed into place...

 

[Verse]

So if I read this correctly one side ok but other is not?

That is right; one side is ok. The reinforcement plate behind lines up properly.

 

[Verse]

Well that was a disaster. I worked on the passenger door this morning. The whisker seemed to clip in nicely, I checked that all the holes were lined up. But the last hole was not quite right. The metal behind was partly blocking the slot. I carefully tapped the strip back. But then I had clips pulling out of the strip, and then I noticed that the strip was not lining up to the top edge of the door.
I noticed one clip anyway did not have a bend in the tooth tip so I don't know how it is to be held or hooked in.

 

[Verse]

Did you find a solution?

I have a replacement coming. In the meantime I have held the strip tightly against the metal, and from underneath applied silicone to the clips. I used DAP. So the clips are buried in silicone. DAP get quite hard and now the strip is staying nicely in place. I have to decide whether to leave this in place or replace it.

 

[mr. fix it]

I have a replacement coming. In the meantime I have held the strip tightly against the metal, and from underneath applied silicone to the clips. I used DAP. So the clips are buried in silicone. DAP get quite hard and now the strip is staying nicely in place. I have to decide whether to leave this in place or replace it.

Thanks for the update! I would leave it and keep the others as a spare set if you have a replacement on hand.

 

[Verse]

Just to update: Nigel sent me a new outer set (no charge!). All eight are all installed and working nicely.

 

[mr. fix it]

Thanks for the update
Mine installed pretty well and I had to glue one corner in the right 1/4 window

 

[Builder]

Thanks for the update
Mine installed pretty well and I had to glue one corner in the right 1/4 window

 

[Builder]

good read guys thanks going to do mine and will know what to look for bought them so long ago, before I retired