Shaving the drip Rail

do it. and do a tech article. ask questions along the way

^ ^ ^ ^ What he said. . .

-Josh

I did that recenty, and made metal b pillar covers too.
I decided to cut them off when I discovered that there was a lot of rust accumulating in there between the spot welds and seam sealer.
seam sealer is not perfect it will expand and contract and over time can allow water into areas like this where water can get into unpainted unprotected metal and rust out the affected area I had to cut a lot of rust out anyways so I decided they were better off in the trash, and I shaved em.
the aforementioned spot welds were what keep the roof pan to the cab door frame,
If you are not an awsome sheetmetal welder I say dont do it.
I have a miller 185 with auto set so I cheated LOL.
Cut the drip rail while leaving at least 1/8 of it stickin out , then tack every few inches letting the mtal cool between spots, the metal should burn back a little, almost level if done at the right heat settings, repeat till done the whole edge, grind smooth and you shouldnt need to use any filler. Filler in any amount is a bad idea in this area with constant stresses on the windsheild and slamming of the doors.

here are some pics of the work done


not welded
I made my own b pillars , 14 guage, bulletproof lol

So just out of curiousity, when you wash your truck and you spray the side off, do you always get water running into your truck from above your door? I have my drip rails but when I wash it, it stays dry. The drip rails purpose is to keep water from dripping on you when entering/exiting the truck, not to prevent rain from entering while driving.

I agree, shave em and do a write up.

Im thinking highly of shaving them. I havent started yet i have a few other little important things to do first but i probably will. if i do i will take many pictures and post them for sure.

I wouldn't know from experience. . . For one, I haven't shaved my drip rails. . I have jus heard they can leak water in after you shave em off. . .

And I also don't know about water leakin in when I wash it considering I've washed it once in the year and 3 months I've owned it. . . .

-Josh

Hmnmm I too like the look. I would definetly only do it if you are good with working sheet metal. Try to build out and smooth. I think Kyle from Guilty By Design was doing this to one. His looks total tits too!

And too help squash the back and forth you are both right...the drip rail helps keep water from dripping on you when wet, and it deflects the rain from getting past the weak ass seal on the doors. I believe it is also a structual item helping to strengthen the top roof line of the truck.

All in all....I say shave dem bishes if you can do it.

look at the door seal on a truck that doesn't have drip rails. its way different and has a channel built in to catch the rain. the mazda seal doesn't. that's why there's the drip rail. when i do mine i'm thinking about finding and adapting a door seal from another truck (like a ranger or something) to be sure i don't get leakage. i plan on moving back to Oregon and it rains a lot there.

on my first Mazda i ever owned I noticed heard/felt air buffetting in around the seal at the top of the windowframe while on the highway, ( if air comes in water will too by vacuum ) I put in new thicker universal weathrstripping, it worked fer a while but eventually it was back.
But there was a fix for it.

My old boss I apprenticed with at his bodyshop at the time showed me a trick to fix it,
he opened the door , rolled down the window , from the inside of the door put his knee on the top of the interior panel , grabbed the top of the window frame , gave it a few tugs, and slammed the door, and walked away that was his style, lol too many fumes.......

I thought he was nuts, but it never gave me issues again, lol

LOL Sweet sounds like a hell of a guy!