Looking for cheaper alternatives to window belt mouldings (1 Viewer)

[erkelbot]

Hey all,

the little black weather strips on the bottom of the window trim pieces — particularly the rear quarter panels — are dying on my truck. In fact, half of one ripper off in the car wash yesterday. A couple questions:

1) How bad do you need those little black strips in the rear quarters (the back strips below the chrome window trim)? If I put a little bead of silicone there, would that do fine? I’m assuming it’s to keep water

2) Are there cheaper alternatives to OEM fitment than the chrome ones? I feel like I’ve read there are Prado black ones, but many I’m seeing on eBay seem like a dicey fit. I’d consider OEM, but $250+ for the set is obscene.

Any alternatives? Can you redo the black strip of the OEM parts are still good?

thanks.

 

[Jstawgn]

Partsoug.Com
Prado black Moulding
75660-60050
75670-60050
75711-60061
75712-60061
75721-60061
75722-60061
I forgot how much but its a lot more affordable. I think its about $125-135 delivered.

 

[erkelbot]

Partsoug.Com
Prado black Moulding
75660-60050
75670-60050
75711-60061
75712-60061
75721-60061
75722-60061
I forgot how much but its a lot more affordable. I think its about $125-135 delivered.

Nice. Ordered. I’m assuming fitment is precise?

 

[Jstawgn]

Its OEM part so quality is same. Look way better with no stupid chrome.

 

[drowzyGX]

The rear quarter belt moulding is easy, but very time consuming, to replace. I did all 6 belt moulding pieces today.

the rear window quarter moulding requires removing all of the trim panels in the cargo bay.

this is to access a small bolt that holds the front of the quarter window in place. Gotta loosen this bolt in order to slide the window out a little bit and remove a clip that holds the moulding to the window frame.

You can skip all of this and just snap the clip- I think most folks opt to do this. This should be fine as the moulding is held firmly in place by 3 large clips along the bottom of moulding.

that being said, if you’re ocd about doing things “by the book” like me, set aside a Saturday to remove all the trim panels in the cargo bay.

homer from this forum has a really helpful video about getting to the clip on the rear quarter window moulding.

 

[erkelbot]

Much better. Wasn’t sad to see the chrome go at all. And look at how much swamp was under those mouldings... she was an outdoor GX before me.

 

[erkelbot]

Pro tip: wear gloves. If the chrome doesn’t kill you with its looks in life, it’ll cut you up good in death. Seriously sharp.

 

[intoodeep1113]

so was fitment exactly like the original?

 

[erkelbot]

so was fitment exactly like the original?

Exactly like the OEM.

The only difference that I saw was a small plastic rivet that connected the new rear door window mouldings to the door weather strip. The new mouldings lacked the rivet hole (I guess the Prado ones don’t have the rivet). I don’t foresee that as being problematic though.

 

[erkelbot]

Here’s the rivet.

 

[ADVFamilyHauler]

Much better! I went the cheap Chinese route. Fronts are acceptable but the passenger door trim is terrible. Still better than the chrome and it was only $32 for the 4 doors.

 

[tsukasa36]

hi I'm a former door/closures engineer. The belt moldings provide sealing lip to the moving glass for rear door and also serves as an aesthetic piece. The C-pillar chrome moldings are almost always cosmetic, so the failing rubber under the chrome molding wouldn't lead to leaks. However, the lips are usually there as a gap hider and to prevent the chrome pieces from directly touching sheet metal. The bigger concern would be that the chrome moldings rub against the sheet metal and can cause rust if it scratches through the e-coat.