Thread: Dust coming in rear tailgate

I think it is a common fault as lots of dust used to come in the tail gate of my D2 even when it was brand new. Fortunately the proble was fixed in the D3/D4

I have always used positive pressure inside the vehicle by ensuring the fan is running fast enough and all windows are closed prevents dust ingress whilst moving. However opening the rear door without a window or door open causes the dust sitting around the seals to be drawn in with the inrush of air.

Adjust the lock striker in a bit, door will be a bit harder to close and open but if your rubber seal is OK it might work, did on mine, Regards Frank.

Originally Posted by Graeme

I have always used positive pressure inside the vehicle by ensuring the fan is running fast enough and all windows are closed prevents dust ingress whilst moving. However opening the rear door without a window or door open causes the dust sitting around the seals to be drawn in with the inrush of air.

Positive pressure helps a lot for sure. Our Oodnadatta -Simpson Desert trip this year proved that. No dust ingress if you keep the fresh air setting on, except when passing other vehicles etc when a quick change to recirculated air is needed.

Originally Posted by d3syd

I think it is a common fault as lots of dust used to come in the tail gate of my D2 even when it was brand new. Fortunately the proble was fixed in the D3/D4

Ya think !

Take it on some seriously dusty, corrugated roads for long periods and see how it goes.

My D3 was far from dust proof around the tail gate.....although much better than my D'Fer.

Originally Posted by Drover

Ya think !

Take it on some seriously dusty, corrugated roads for long periods and see how it goes.

My D3 was far from dust proof around the tail gate.....although much better than my D'Fer.

I took my D3 up to Cape York in 2010 and no dust came in...... and there was industrial grade dust and corrugations up there.

On the other hand, everthing was covered with dust inside the car in my D2 on my Cape trip 10 years prior. And the car was only 6 months old at the time.

Maybe you need to adjust the striker on your D3.

The original D1 had a single 'bubble' seal. Later cars had a double 'bubble' seal which covered more of the usual Land Rover gap.

If adjustment doesn't fix the problem, it might pay to invest in a new seal.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

I have had a closer look at the seal. I do have the double bubble seal as it turns out. Looking at the seal and the moulding attached to the seal, I can see a couple of points where the seal does not contact the door and the dust has come in to the moulding.

There are only a couple of points, each about an inch long, and these are on the hinge side. What this means is that the striker adjustment will not likely fix it but instead, I need to reposition the moulding strip and seal at these points. Only a few mm adjustment is needed at each point and you can do this by putting a small amount of packing in the groove of the moulding.

Strange that we did have the airconditioning on but since it was on recirc, it may not have created the positive pressure. That and the backdraft meant that dust came in these two small gaps (and over our bags).

Cheers for the help everyone.