A Bentley Mulsanne S was recently brought into the workshop with a very wet boot which the owner had already identified as being caused by the boot seal having become flattened over the years and now allowing water ingress. He had been aware of this for a while but just couldn't face the £800 cost of the Bentley replacement seal.
The Classic Engineering Team reached into their box of tricks and fixed the problem for less than £100 including labour and the photo shows the flattened seal on the curve to the left and the rejuvinated seal, part way through the fix, on the right. The leak free Bentley was passed back to a very happy client by Classic Engineering later that day.
If you have a similar problem Classic Engineering would of course be happy to help you but if you want to do this yourself this is how and the method will work on many other seals.
This seal is in effect a hollow tube which becomes flattened and ineffective over time and the solution is to insert a new, smaller diameter silicon tube through the center of the defective seal. In this case Classic Engineering used a 12mm diameter silicon tube. It is best to use silicon, slightly more expensive than PVC as it is softer and more flexible.
You then cut a small incision in the seal where it faces the boot, so the later repair will be hidden, and then carefully feed the pipe around the old seal. Silicon is soft and can 'grab' the old seal so use of a lubricant such as liquid soap will assist. The help of a second pair of hands to help with the corners will also make life easier.
Once completed seal the incision by using glue or a puncture repair patch.
