Just curious if anyone might happen to know where the front door window weather stripping/rubbers might be found? Its the rubber that pushes up into the window channel when checking courtesy it looks like it may be part # 80830-85E00 or perhaps the window run part# 80330-96E60 not quite 100% though after doing some searching those parts look to be discontinued through courtesy aswell as others though so im just curious if anyone might happen to know where it might be available?

 

Read your post a few times and not sure what you mean. The actual door weatherstrip goes around the entire perimeter of the door (80830-85E00).

The run rubber is merely the rubber "channel" that the glass itself slides up and down in (80330-96E60).

Which are you speaking of?

Regardless, unfortunately it's all discontinued. I bought all four door run rubbers four or five years ago thank goodness and installed them on my blue car just a few months ago when I overhauled it. I tried to buy another set a few months ago for my other VE and they were all discontinued and obsolete.

The actual weatherstripping for all four doors I managed to piece together a full set a few months ago as well. All four doors are officially discontinued and obsolete but Nissan had ONE of the doors still in stock with the other three unavailable. Then, conveniently, Nissan Japan had the other three with the North American-sourced one obsolete in Japan. Very lucky in that regard.

I will say the actual door weatherstripping seems to hold up really well.

It's the door run rubber that is very concerning going forward. They shrink up, get rock hard and crack out, and even if you find it in a donor car the very act of trying to remove them can very easily tear them. My blue car original ones broke out in rock hard chunks about an inch long.

 

Hi James, I just wasn't 100% but it is the 2nd part you mentioned i believe. Its the window run rubbers. It was actually just the passenger side i tore in one spot when pulling it down to put in some in channel visors but otherwise they weren't too bad condition wise. I was able to reinstall them no issues but just the fact that its tore in that spot i would have liked to have gotten another but i was lucky in the way i was still able to fit it together and the window still opens and closes o.k.

 

People really like to misuse the word "obsolete" these days. Parts might be obsolete specifically to the manufacturer, if the car is no longer in production, and obsolete in a business sense, but sure not obsolete for people using the car. And the fact that there are still countless units out there, parts shouldn't even be obsolete in a business sense. Of course to be fair, I doubt many owners are looking to buy brand new door seals. If I called a dealership or partszone, and they told me a part for my car was "obsolete" I would at least have to ask what they mean when they say it.

I pulled into the dealership parking lot awhile back to pick up a part. Didn't get 20 feet into the lot before some salesman comes running out talking to me about "upgrading". So I took the time to explain, and show him why if I were to do that, it would be a downgrade. Even people on the road are more prone to honking or having instances of road rage just for the simple fact you are driving an older car. Just today, I had to brake check some hothead old man in his little Mini Cooper, after he overreacted to a situation that he essentially caused. I'm not positive it was caused due to disrespect for an older car, but there definitely are times where you can just sense it.

Anyway, I believe there are times that Nissan has made runs of parts that had previously been out of production. For example when you see brand new parts for old cars in modern packaging. It is usually rubber parts, lighting, and emblems. Either that, or it is simply old stock and Nissan doesn't care about maintaining the integrity of its past models, which I find hard to believe. Not that they are going to reproduce anything for us anytime soon though..

 

Nissan no longer produces them and no longer has any stock of them for purchase. They are obsolete in the sense that they are for all practical purposes totally unavailable. If a dealership you try to order from does not randomly and conveniently have a complete set in their personal stock, then all of these dealers just try to order from Nissan North America directly. Nissan tells these dealerships there aren't any left and no more will be produced. Dealership then refunds your money and tells you you're SOL.

Having said that, of course there are almost certainly multiple dealerships across the country that have these parts sitting uncataloged and forgotten in their own parts rooms. There's just no way for customers to get to them because they aren't indexed in a central searchable database for us to see. Unless I suppose you personally called every single dealership in the country and begged them to check their own stock - if you did that you could probably round up a set.

Although I have found many dealers completely unwilling to manually look through uncataloged stock. I ran into this repeatedly when trying to buy the little front windshield molding pieces and transmission shims. Most would claim they had to look later on and call you back (and then never call you back) or would put you on hold for like 10 seconds and claim they just searched but clearly didn't and just lied about looking. And then of course many dealerships just flat out trash this type of stuff which I also ran into a few times. One dealership tossed a bunch of transmission shims literally a week or two before I called them.

Most of the Japanese manufacturers are weird in that they don't continue to reproduce parts - especially viral rubber parts - for their cars very long. Not only that, they will then legally go after aftermarket companies who try to reproduce them. Honda has sued and shut down multiple aftermarket companies reproducing parts for CRX's etc. The domestics on the other hand you can walk into a Chevy dealership and still buy all sorts of crap for classic cars. Or if not, GM actually allows and encourages aftermarket reproductions through LMC Truck and the like.

You say you find it hard to believe Nissan doesn't care about maintaining the integrity of its past models but Nissan's behavior says otherwise. Just think of parts that have huge need and demand - Datsun 510 weatherstripping and rubber parts for example. Obsolete from Nissan. Lots of Z32 stuff obsolete now too. If Z32's and 510's can't get ongoing parts runs from Nissan they certainly won't do it for Maximas.

 

I may have found a dealer here in Canada and one online so hopefully one of them can come through. I was reading on one dealers website even though they're discontinued there may be a few that still have some stock. Im going to continue searching but i just figured if someone happens to know or comes across the front 2 window runs perhaps they could just give a headsup. Thanks.

 

I've also searched for that part and found its no longer in stock, at least in North America. It may be worth calling Conicelli Nissan in Philadelphia, their site states "discontinued" however they have been really good with me as far as sourcing parts. They were the dealership that sold me (what we believe to be) the last set of OEM VTC assemblies.

Surprisingly, that weatherstripping seems to hold up very well on some cars, and poorly on others. I live in Philadelphia where we get very cold winters and hot summers, but the 3rd gens I find at the junkyards here have really good rubber. So I've pulled several nice sets to keep for future use. There is also a seller on ebay, I believe his username is "maximasalvage," it may be worth a shot reaching out to him.

 

Thanks Joey, Im in Canada. I don't know if they'd ship to Canada but its worth a shot i guess. If you decide you want to part with one of yours let me know the ones on my back doors are in really good shape its basically just my front passenger side window run but if the opportunity popped up to get the front drivers side window run too i'd probably get both. I tried checking with a couple leads today but nothing. Though i spoke with nissan in Quebec and they said they may be able to source some but may have to be shipped from Japan.

 

I know how the parts division works man, just saying I'm not a fan the word "obsolete" in general. To me, whether or not something is obsolete is completely subjective in most cases. I think it is absolutely the wrong word to use for something that is out of production or discontinued. It may be out of production, but it sure isn't obsolete to people who appreciate it. This goes for technology, car parts, anything.

Yes, I did say I find it hard to believe that they don't care about maintaining the integrity of past models. That being if demand were high enough. Obviously it is high enough for belts, hoses and maintenance parts that are not model specific. And they do care about their history, far more than a lot of other manufacturers. I also made sure and note that they aren't going to produce additional runs of any part specifically for a 3rd gen. I was not insinuating they are, or that there is hope for that. But they seemingly have done it before, for example the Datsun Sports, and early Z cars, Patrol, Cedrics, ect. Regardless of the answer you get from the Nissan Parts Zone, Courtesy, or another dealership that is regurgitating what their computer is spitting back at them. Over the years, I have seen several examples of brand new parts in modern boxes for older historical cars, usually extremely expensive. The z32 is far too modern for them to care, at least at this point. But if it's a matter of preserving a few old cars that are left over, they have done it. Whether or not these parts were targeted to consumers, or for heritage cars they are trying to preserve, I don't know. Again, it could simply be old stock that has been repackaged in modern boxes, but I have also seen an example straight from Nissan, where they stated that they reproduced headlight assemblies complete with glass from the original molds, for some wacky car they produced after the war. Granted this was an internal preservation, but still, it shows they do care about their history. Regardless, It wouldn't be that hard to mount negatives and make a run of rubber seals, so yes it's pretty strange that they aren't often available for old cars. And this goes for countless brands. Injection molding isn't difficult, it's a matter of demand. Carmakers aren't going to bat an eye to the few people who would be interested in new door or window seals for an old model that is "obsolete" to them.

 

man that drip rail molding...that's getting a lot of abuse from the elements and i wish they make another run of these.

 

 

Considering im in Canada they've actually held up o.k. atleast the 2 rears are still good and the front drivers is fair but the front passenger side i broke in one spot while pulling it out to install some avs window visors. Though i was able to fit it back together in the channel and not have an issue with the window going up or down i'd still like to replace it but i didnt realize they were going to be that hard to get. Call me picky but i guess just knowing i have that small tear is having me wanting to replace it and do both fronts at the same time. I found the rears weren't an issue or problemsome at all really.

 

Sooo after doing some more searching i had a local dealer nice enough to look into it and the window runs are not in stock at any dealerships here in Canada either but he did tell me he could still get some BUT they would have to be ordered directly from Japan and would take approx.10 days to arrive. So i may have the dealer order them toward the end of the month or early May. I hope he's right in the fact he can still get them. If and when i go through with the order i'll post back to say whether or not they infact can still be ordered. If anyone does have some in good shape and intact in the meantime pm me or reply to my want ad in the classifieds and let me know. Thanks.

 

I tried to order from Japan just this past December and while they weren't officially discontinued in Japan at that point, there weren't any in stock and there was zero ETA on if and when any more would be produced.

Maybe by now they've produced some more and there is actually some stock of them.

 

Im not sure but im going to keep my fingers crossed this dealership will come through. I also was just actually lucky enough to find a new set of oem mats never installed through a local who sold his 3rd gen back in the day and never installed the mats. Guess he forgot to put them in the car when he sold it. I'll keep you posted as to whether or not the dealer comes through with the window rubbers but i probably won't get back in touch with him until im ready. Hopefully end of month or early may.

 

I got a package in from Japan today

 

Nice James. I just ordered the drivers and passenger s side window runs from Japan aswell. What are the other 2 you've got there? Are those the door moldings? My door moldings are still o.k i think they hold up alright. Let me know how you make out with the window run install and if you find you have to remove the glass or not. Im hoping they're not too much of a pita.

 

I got the window run rubber for all four doors.

I have already installed all new window run rubber on my blue VE back in December, and yes I pulled the glass out. This new set of window run rubber is just to protect against future obsolescence. I also have new weatherstripping for all 4 doors set aside as well.

I suppose in some alternate universe it could be possible with the perfect amount of continuous contorting that you could install the window run rubber with the glass in place, but I would highly doubt it. It would require so much extra effort that it would be completely pointless. I mean, at the very least you will HAVE TO unbolt the glass from the window regulators. Once you've done that, why wouldn't you just pull the glass out?

 

i wouldn't risk it. considering that it's already a rare part you're installing and it can tear/break if not installed properly.

now if you guys find a stash of drip rail molding...please LMK.