Life of S-series door seals?

Is there an expected life on performance of door seals on 200-2002 S series
(especially SC2) ? I just had the passenger door seal replaced on my '02 SC2
and it not only fixed the puddle on the floorboard problem, there is hardly
any water on the inside rocker panel after car washes now.

I still have the original seal on the driver's side and after hand car
washes or rain, I have to dry the water that accumulates on the rocker panel
inside the door. I'm planning to replace that seal sometime soon.

Which brings me to the above question. TIA

 

Hi, marx404!
FWIW, my '99 SL still has the original seals. As far as I can tell, I
have no leakage whatever. A very pleasant surprise since I live in southeast
Michigan, where the temperatures range from near 0 to near 100 and it is
relatively low humidity but for a few days each year.

 

IMHE, All door seals shrink with age. I strip good ones when I am at a
'pick yourself ' parts yard. The used ones are so cheap they are almost
free.

As the originals shrink just reinstall the originals without stretching them
but rather jamb them tightly into the corners, work them around so that the
resulting gap is at the bottom under the sill, then cut a short section from
the used piece to fill what is likely to be a surprisingly large gap.
Usually the sill cap will cover most of the misery, you could use a little
rubber cement if you like but I just cut the added piece a little longer
than required for a good tight fit. As well as keeping out water you may
find that wind noise is also reduced.

Good luck, YMMV

 

Thanx, I plan to get the DS seal (a bigger job on that side IMHO) done soon
too.