Windscreen seal 116 671 00 20

[marku]

Any one ever bought one of these? MB says it is correct but it is nothing like the original. Much bigger in section and would sit proud of the surface with nowhere for the chrome strip. Or am I missing something?

[gavin116]

Hi Mark


I bought an original seal that came from Classic Centre - Irvine, same part number.  According to the company who fitted the seal, it was the seal that ultimately let me down.


So, as you well know, you need to marry the glass to the seal, and then the chrome trim to the seal that is already on the windshield glass  before inserting the whole assembly to the windshield aperture.  You should then conduct a leak test using a hose to ensure the seal is doing its job.  I also think the windshield is easier to marry to the vehicle if you remove the A-pillar trims.


The problem with my seal was that the join was along the top edge of the windscreen, and this made for a slightly uneven fit.  According to the installer, MB usually place this join on the bottom edge, where there is only one piece of trim rather than multiple pieces as along the top edge.  Ultimately the trims worked their way out of the screen at high speed unbeknownst to me, and one piece was completely lost, the other was badly miss-shapen from the action of the wind and having to pull it free of the seal.


Ensure that the seal has the join along the bottom edge before you go any further.  If not, reject this seal!  I feel aggrieved that MB can manufacture a seal that will let you down, and now not only will I have to replace this seal at some point, but will have to buy both top/side trim pieces and three joining clips at an incredible cost...


So to confirm, yes the seal does look quite chunky, but with the trim pieces fitted, you do not notice that the seal is quite so beefy.  See my picture below. (You can click on the image itself to make it larger.)


Hope this helps,


Gavin

[TJ 450]

I don't have a parts catalogue, but make sure it's not the rear seal, and yes the join should be on the bottom side. Even the genuine seal is very difficult to fit.

You're supposed to fit the anodised moulding before fitting the windcreen/seal assembly to the car too.

Tim

[s class]

I have recently fitted many front 116 screens (I supply classic MB windscreens to the South African market).  I have used both URO seals, and genuine MB seals.  BOth are now of the type with the extra lip over the aluminium trim.  Without exception, I always find the URO seals to be easier to fit, and finish up with a neater result.  Not sure about the long-term durability of them though.

[marku]

Gavin, Tim and S Class

Thanks for your advice. Yes it is the right one and is now fitted to the screen. The trim is difficult to get under the rubber - any tips?  Had to apologise for claiming they had supplied the wrong one but it did look very different.

[wbrian63]

I'm afraid the trim should have been installed before the rubber and window were reintroduced to the chassis. I don't know if it's possible to do it any other way.

[s class]

Correct Brian, If the rubber/glass is installed without the trim, it becomes impossible to introduce the trim afterwards. 

[koan]

BOth are now of the type with the extra lip over the aluminium trim.

That extra lip, should it go over or under the Chrome trim?

My new seal was installed with the lip over the trim, the lip folds up at all four corners and looks untidy.

I was told the lip should be under the chrome.

[marku]

I have not put the screen in to the car yet but have been struggling to fit the chrome trim. It would seem that it should go under the rubber lip but I can't see how to do it. If the lip goes under the trim it would help but will it actually stay in place? It would look much better not covering up the trim but then what purpose is the rubber lip?

[marku]

It would seem that the answer is to position the trim on the seal and with some soft nose grips and force the trim into the seal on top of the rubber lip taking care not to scratch it. Then you can tease out the lip from under the trim which then sits on top OK. You must make sure that the trim fits the curves of the screen because if it doesn't it wont stay in the seal and you can't make it fit once you have started. No doubt there is a much better way of doing it but this is all I can come up with having tried several other ways that I couldn't get to work.

[s class]

BOth are now of the type with the extra lip over the aluminium trim.

That extra lip, should it go over or under the Chrome trim?

My new seal was installed with the lip over the trim, the lip folds up at all four corners and looks untidy.

I was told the lip should be under the chrome.

The extra lip on the new seals is supposed to go over the trim.  I have the same untidiness issues though.  THe URO seals (surpsisingly) gavce a better result in this respect. 

[marku]

It does seem obvious but what is it really for? I suppose to help retain the trim but did any one report trim coming out of the old seal? Having tried both now, under and over, over does look a bit untidy. If the trim is pressed very firmly into the seal its grip is quite strong so I am going to opt for having the rubber lip under the trim. More trim is exposed and it is more central on the seal. The car will hardly be on the road as it is and then only locally and certainly not in the rain!

I had been meaning to do this for some time as the previous owner for some reason took the trim out and then I suppose found he couldn't get it back.

[marku]

I hope I do not have to do that again. A real struggle. The trim needs to go under the lip as it will not go far enough into the seal. Can't imagine who thought it up. The old seal was much easier.

[KenM]

Not sure if this is relevant, but a year or so back I bought a 123 front seal from the classic centre, I ended  up with a seal that had a part number 1 digit different from mine and Tom said at the time that it was a US market versus the ROW thing. I got the US seal and had some local windscreen guys fit it, they are pretty experienced with older Benzes and they said they had never seen a seal with this extra lip, must be same as being discussed here. They put it in with (as far as I can tell) this lip under the trim and it worked fine. My point being that both seals with different part numbers were available, don't know whether this would be the same for the 116 or not. 

[marku]

You also have to make sure that the trim is far enough into the seal so that the various sections of it actually meet - where the connecting pieces slide over. If you don't then the seal is too big for the recess in the body. Trying to adjust it is really hard work but it can be done. Back to over or under I originally thought it looked much better and was very much easier to have the trim on top of the lip but it proved difficult, almost impossible, to get it to fit flush in the seal round the corners. The part number for the seal is A116 671 00 20 and came from the Classic Centre so I guess it must be right. A real struggle and I would not recommend it to any one to do and if the previous owner hadn't taken out the trim I wouldn't be doing it. I would put up with leaks first.