New tail light gasket maker...

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Thu May 24, 2012 9:59 pm

I found this on fleabay...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290420862295?ss ... 1423.l2649

here in NYC the stealerships get $13-$14 each for the OEM gaskets so these could be a pretty good deal.

The maker says they use better materials than OEM. I'm going to order a set or 2, I'm just waiting on a response to a shipping question before i order.

If they are better than stock it could be a good day for neon owners

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Thu May 24, 2012 10:56 pm

these are just like foam... I bought a set from there. They are pretty thick. I haven't had any leaks from them yet.

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu May 24, 2012 11:59 pm

With shipping you're still paying $14 each....

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:54 am

yes but if they are better that OEM then they are a beter deal AND if they will ship multiple sets for the same $8 shipping fee then they are less that OEM (AND better?) so the deal gets better. That BTW is the question I am waiting on an answer for.

Besides, any day you can avoid the dealership is a good day right?

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri May 25, 2012 10:06 am

bobneon2k wrote:Besides, any day you can avoid the dealership is a good day right?

As a dealership parts manager, this makes me sad. It would be worse if I still had Dodge though.

The stigma that the dealerships are out to rape you is so silly. Are some parts stupid expensive? Of course. But it isn't the dealer that sets MSRP, it's the parent company. Granted, some dealers mark things well beyond MSRP, but not all.

Is it cheaper to do work yourself? Of course. But if you don't or can't do the work yourself, you pay the experts.

/soapbox

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Fri May 25, 2012 11:06 am

Amen to that.

rich tideswell · Post by **rich tideswell** » Fri May 25, 2012 12:16 pm

$8 shipping is rape. I work in Warren, MI, I wonder if I could just pick these up .....

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Fri May 25, 2012 12:18 pm

Danteneon wrote:
bobneon2k wrote:Besides, any day you can avoid the dealership is a good day right?
As a dealership parts manager, this makes me sad. It would be worse if I still had Dodge though.

The stigma that the dealerships are out to rape you is so silly. Are some parts stupid expensive? Of course. But it isn't the dealer that sets MSRP, it's the parent company. Granted, some dealers mark things well beyond MSRP, but not all.

Is it cheaper to do work yourself? Of course. But if you don't or can't do the work yourself, you pay the experts.

/soapbox

With no disrespect to you, Any part which can be bought at either the dealer or a retail store is ALWAYS cheaper at the retail store. And a good part of the time you can get better quality parts at the retail store.

as for repairs, I have on several occasions been told I needed more repairs than I actually did need AND the quotes for those repairs were way beyond what I paid at a local shop for work done by ASE certified mechanics with years of experience. Let's not forget that around here the hourly rate at a dealership is $140 per hour! Most of their mechanics just got out of school! The 2 shops i frequent charge $89 and $70 per hour! It's things like this that make the name "stealership" accurate.

This last part does not pertain to you or your department but it needed mentioning simply because there is more than 1 reason for the nickname. You are just doing your job. You do not set quality or pricing standards. Please do not take it personally. each of us has heard negativity about where we work, no place is perfect.

r/tguy02 · Post by **r/tguy02** » Fri May 25, 2012 1:45 pm

^really... most oem style aftermarket stuff for neons is crap (not including performance parts here) i would gladly take a mopar part over an auto zone special any day. granted you'll pay a bit more for it but it will last longer. as for those tailight gaskets i bet they're no better than stock, never had a problem with new mopar ones anyway...

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:29 pm

I received a response from the gasket makers. Here it is...

"The OEM Mopar gaskets were made from possibly the cheapest material. These are made from some of the most expensive automotive spec foam rubber. Yes the will last longer than OEM.

We do combine shipping so you'd only pay for shipping for one set.
"

I just ordered a set. hopefully they are as good as advertised, we'll see.

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Fri May 25, 2012 2:58 pm

r/tguy02 wrote:^really... most oem style aftermarket stuff for neons is crap (not including performance parts here) i would gladly take a mopar part over an auto zone special any day. granted you'll pay a bit more for it but it will last longer. as for those tailight gaskets i bet they're no better than stock, never had a problem with new mopar ones anyway...

when looked at as a whole A lot of after market stuff is crap but how many people have bought a car and replaced the stock radio? from personal experience I know a lot of ac delco stuff is mediocre at best, designed to fail sooner rather than later. I'm new to mopar so I won't comment on that but this issue with stock gaskets is not a good sign.

I'm not trying to fuel a debate here. I was just trying to provide the members with a potential new source for 1 part and if these guys can provide us with a good gasket that solves a long standing problem that chrysler has refused to acknowledge isn't that a good thing?

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:26 pm

The issue with stock tail light gaskets is most times they are reused. Once they have been compressed for 5 years or better, they just don't quite seal again. I love how they toot their horn about how much better their foam is. I bet you don't reuse them with any better success than the original ones after a given length of time.

And you would be surprised the number of items that are cheaper from the dealer than a parts store. Example: A/C delco parts, that are three times Mopar dealer prices, and the part has the pentastar molded into it. Nothing like repackaging Mopar parts, and marking them up 300%.

Small gaskets are almost always cheaper from the dealer. You get them loose or in a bag. At the parts store you are paying extra to get them in a fancy cardboard box. Yes, there are some parts you do get raped on, I can't argue with that, but most times it is stuff that they can't get a vendor to make them for a reasonable amount.

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:43 pm

Okay, but like I said, i am not trying to fuel a debate here. i am only trying to share a new product supplier with the membership. I'll take some pics of the gaskets when I get them and let everyone make their own judgements. as long as my leak is fixed that is all i really care about.

darthroush · Post by **darthroush** » Tue May 29, 2012 7:00 am

Their "automotive-spec" foam is better than...automotive-spec foam? Neat. Hopefully they fix your leak, regardless.

bobneon2k · Post by **bobneon2k** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:12 pm

LOL it seems I should have looked at my tails before buying the gaskets because the previous owner siliconed them so much that I doubt they are the source of my problem. taking them out would be more work than I want to do before eliminating other possibilities. So I will be going to the dealer next week to get some trunk weatherstripping.

Since this happened I have not bothered to open the box the gaskets came in so I apologize for not providing pics of them. when I do open them I will update this thread for anyone that may be interested.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:50 pm

OPen the box and post some pics... if you're like me you'll be surprised and not in a good way. Sure they work and they'll be fine but it just looks like a sheet of ordinary foam with the two pieces die cut. The excess is still there for you to remove. it just seems like a cheaply made product. they ARE quite thick though and I had to really tighten them down s I know the seal is good, but it would've been fine stock too... just didn't feel like having my dad order them.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:23 pm

Meh, finding the leak is as simple as: Taping a garden hose to the roof, turning it on, pulling the rear seat backs forward, grabbing a functional flashlight, and looking for water coming in. That's how I found mine.

Unless the trunk weather seal is shredded horribly, I doubt it is the source. Plus it is expensive as hell. ($106.00) Just because a PO siliconed the crap out of the tails doesn't necessarily mean they are sealed.

My trunk seal was ripped pretty badly, and it still didn't leak. It was my tail light gaskets.

heydockyle · Post by **heydockyle** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:18 pm

I deal with my dealership because they aren't douche bags. Also helps that I get 10% over cost lol.

Most bad rap of dealerships come from some of the retards that work at them IMO.

Notice I said "some" btw lol. Not talking about anyone here..

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:20 pm

Pfft, all dealership parts employees are retards. Just ask us, we'll tell you

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:42 pm

Yep, I too was a rEtaRd at one time.

Edit:
Well, not a partstard. But working at a GM dealer should just about qualify.

stdlystdmufn · Post by **stdlystdmufn** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:39 pm

one thing to remember is when you buy mopar you get the mopar 12mo. /12,000 mi war.

jmoddes · Post by **jmoddes** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:44 pm

Danteneon wrote:
bobneon2k wrote:Besides, any day you can avoid the dealership is a good day right?
As a dealership parts manager, this makes me sad. It would be worse if I still had Dodge though.

The stigma that the dealerships are out to rape you is so silly. Are some parts stupid expensive? Of course. But it isn't the dealer that sets MSRP, it's the parent company. Granted, some dealers mark things well beyond MSRP, but not all.

Is it cheaper to do work yourself? Of course. But if you don't or can't do the work yourself, you pay the experts.

/soapbox

had to quote.. the trunk liner.. that big black seal that goes all the way around the trunk... dealerships all around my area wanted 90-120 bucks for that... i nearly shit my pants.

dodgepartspeople.com never responded to me. nothing on ebay. i went to my local hardware store, grabbed some think weather stripping and put it on the trunk itself. no more water in the trunk anymore.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 9:23 pm

occasional demons wrote:
the trunk weather seal is ~ expensive as hell. ($106.00)

I told you.

Any quality weather seal is expensive. Try looking at Year One's prices. It isn't just the dealer, it is the going market price. Anything cut and formed to fit isn't going to be had for a song. The door opening seals are just as expensive. I had to replace the passenger side front due to water running down it and in at the bottom.

illriginalized · Post by **illriginalized** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 3:44 pm

occasional demons wrote:The issue with stock tail light gaskets is most times they are reused. Once they have been compressed for 5 years or better, they just don't quite seal again. I love how they toot their horn about how much better their foam is. I bet you don't reuse them with any better success than the original ones after a given length of time.

Sonuva.. that's why my tail light continues to leak. I thought there was a slight hole or something between the seal and the tail light.. so I ended up RTVing the whole thing around.

Does the aftermarket seal fit correctly? I thought the seal needed 3 holes for the mounting screws?

By the way, this is the first time I ever seen "tailight" seals/gaskets.. lol swear my Neon constantly brings in the lulz.

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:22 pm

Yeah, RTV for the win.

illriginalized · Post by **illriginalized** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 12:46 pm

Semi-off topic

Anyone know if the DEPO LED Taillights for the 03-05 Neon/SRT4 from Modern Performance come with gaskets or do I need to purchase that separately?

These tail lights:
https://www.modernperformance.com/produ ... ightsbulbs

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:19 pm

I'm going to say no. And I doubt they come with new plastic nuts either. Don't lose those nuts, Mopar does not sell them separately.

The problem with RTV, is you will have more work removing them again. Plus cleaning it off the mounting surface to get a good seal again.

illriginalized · Post by **illriginalized** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:09 pm

occasional demons wrote:I'm going to say no. And I doubt they come with new plastic nuts either. Don't lose those nuts, Mopar does not sell them separately.

The problem with RTV, is you will have more work removing them again. Plus cleaning it off the mounting surface to get a good seal again.

Ick.. I need more of a permanent solution. Maybe adding weather strip on top of the gasket. I don't know. But if I was living in South Florida and I discovered this gasket thing, I would be quick to get rid of the car.

Water damage is not fun and though replacing a gasket is barely a task, it's one of those tasks that you cannot forget about, or one day you'll end up with a nice puddle of water in the trunk and the Neons aren't exactly welded / sealed all too well.. that water easily travels to the back seats and into the floors.

Post by **racer12306** » Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:53 am

I stand by the RTV. Granted I have no intention of ever removing my tail lights, but the inside of my car was completely dry after Hurricane Sandy.

This RTV has been in place for years now, based on this how-to, its been 5 years.

viewtopic.php?t=27259

illriginalized · Post by **illriginalized** » Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:25 pm

racer12306 wrote:I stand by the RTV. Granted I have no intention of ever removing my tail lights, but the inside of my car was completely dry after Hurricane Sandy.

This RTV has been in place for years now, based on this how-to, its been 5 years.

viewtopic.php?t=27259

Sweet! Nice writeup!