Hardtops and door rattles

Started by bobbe, November 30, 2022, 09:55

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bobbe

Over the weekend I put the hardtop on. This car has not, to my knowledge, ever had a hardtop in the past. It also has knock-off TRD door strikers and a front strut brace. Between these things, the car is generally stiffer, better over bumps, and handles better. All good things.

But with the hardtop on, I'm now getting a lot of annoying rattling and noise from the driver's door when going over bumps and uneven surfaces which was not there before. Some rattling is to be expected in a 17 year old convertible, of course, and when you stiffen things up it's not unusual for new rattles to pop up. But I'm not really getting it from anywhere else, just in and around the driver's door.

Some of it seems to be from the window rubbing against the seals on the roof (I'll silicone grease the seals to soften them up and adjust the window a bit and hopefully that should solve that), but a lot of it is not. There is rattling that seems to be coming from inside the door - partly towards the front, seemingly around the handle, but also elsewhere.

Before I start getting into this, what are common door rattle causes that I can work through eliminating? I know the white clips that hold the door card to the door can rattle a bit so I'll put some sealant on them to hold them in place. But while I'm at it I'll try to deal with any other known sources of noise. Hopefully by looking at a few things I can substantially reduce the problem.

What else should I be dealing with while I have the door card off? Are there any tips for improving things? All advice and help welcome. Thanks in advance!

idiotgap

Following, I'm keen to understand some of my knocks and rattles. I also have hardtop and knockoff door bushings, but not significant driver door rattle (though I guess they could be being masked by the polyphonoc panaoply elsewhere).
Good luck!
Dave K
2001 PFL Cape Green

Petrus

Quote from: bobbe on November 30, 2022, 09:55What else should I be dealing with while I have the door card off? Are there any tips for improving things? All advice and help welcome. Thanks in advance!

The removable elbow rest can rattle.

If you have the card off, check if the electrical connectors are all supported. The cable to the door mirror is attached to the door fram with a push in grommet. Check that.
Add double sided tape as you see fit.

An very unusual one, but hey when you are there, is the fittings of the window glass in the frame. Check for tightness.

Same thing all the fittings of the e-motor en frame.

Ah and look, feel in the bottom of the door for anything which may have fallen in during the previous life!

bobbe

Quote from: Petrus on November 30, 2022, 14:09The removable elbow rest can rattle.

If you have the card off, check if the electrical connectors are all supported. The cable to the door mirror is attached to the door fram with a push in grommet. Check that.
Add double sided tape as you see fit.

An very unusual one, but hey when you are there, is the fittings of the window glass in the frame. Check for tightness.

Same thing all the fittings of the e-motor en frame.

Ah and look, feel in the bottom of the door for anything which may have fallen in during the previous life!

All good suggestions, thanks!

idiotgap

I went out for a drive today and had a fiddle with the hard plastic armrests that snap into the doors and turns out they do rattle! I couldn't un-hear it so I found myself bracing the driver's one with my elbow. I'll have to order some of that sticky felt stuff from amazon recommended here: https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=72299.msg884157#msg884157
Dave K
2001 PFL Cape Green

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