Troubleshooting rattling rear driver's side door?

nixter · 8th December 2006, 08:34

Been having some annoying rattling from that door for a little while. I'm thinking it might have to with the fact that I have a few broken door panel clips that are still attached to the door panel but not to the car. I realize broken clips are common so figure someone must have had this rattling too.

n

de Witt · 8th December 2006, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by nixter

I realize broken clips are common so figure someone must have had this rattling too.

n

Nah, never. However, its probably teh clips. So replace them.

An alligator smiley...what the hell...

GoneAgain · 8th December 2006, 09:13

I have a rattle which I was sure was in the door, sounded like the locking button rod. turns out its the seatbelt hole for the shoulder strap.

nixter · 8th December 2006, 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoneAgain

I have a rattle which I was sure was in the door, sounded like the locking button rod. turns out its the seatbelt hole for the shoulder strap.

Interesting, that was my first guess too! My second guess was an electrical connector that was not secured.

II'll pull the panel on saturday and see if the noise persists.

Mtechnik540i · 9th December 2006, 06:53

Interesting.

Have a rattle in the exact same place on the M-Sport.

nixter · 21st December 2006, 22:26

Well I pulled the door panel yesterday and found nothing loose. I drove around without the panel on and there was no change. While standing there I noticed that my door seal on the car was not fitting properly in the top corners. When I pushed on it I got what sounded somewhat like the sound I'd been hearing! Problem solved I though. I pulled out the seal at the top and put a little graphite in there. This seemed to help the noies quite a bit! it got rid of the squeaky portion of the noise I was hearing but i still have the rattle. I'm now convinced that it's the window glass moving around somehow when I go over small bumps. I tried driving with the windows down to test and althought the added engine noise makes it harded to tell I think the noise went away. So is there something that my window could be banging against while in the up position?

I'm not sure of the effect of graphite spray on the seals but seeing as they seem to be shrinking a bit anyways I figured what the hell.

nixter · 22nd December 2006, 18:13

Someone on another forum mentioned some nylon bits in the window track? Said his did the same thing and then broke soon after. Thoughts?

n

nixter · 30th December 2006, 05:06

Anyone? now both my front and rear driver's side windows are making noise! If I crack them just a bit the sound goes away. So for some reason when my windows are closed they clack around when the body is flexed (one wheel goes over a bump.) I can't seem to feel the effect when putting my hand on the windows. I'm stumped. It's about 6 degrees lately and I'm wondering if the cold is making the problem worse somehow. Anyone have any comment on the "nylon bits" I mentioned in the post above?

Thanks! Happy holidays!

n

nixter · 8th January 2007, 18:55

Ok ok, nobody's listening but I'll ask one more time anyways...

I'm now 100% certain that my noise goes away when I lower both my front and back driver's side windows about an inch. I'm thinking that the sound is the window rattling against it's guides, parts 5&7

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...09&hg=51&fg=10

What I can't figure out is why the noise goes away when I lower the windows a tiny bit. I can't figure out from the diagram what part actually supports the weight of the window.

farrell · 9th January 2007, 12:32

Hi Nik
I remember you buying the car with rattly windows.
I cant swear to it, but I think in the original thread where you asked some questions about the car & its inspection issues ,it was suggested that you ask the seller to get these things fixed or budget accordingly with the price.
I know you had issues with the rear door lock & a rattle back then.
You are now dealing with a rattle that can befall ANY E34.
I suggest you remove the door card again & getting someone to operate the window lifter switch, while you watch what is going on.
Then move the window down gradually detaecting where the most movement is or where the most rattle is & when it stops.
I would suggest that if the window only rattles only when fully closed, you strip the door out of all the clips & plastic parts holding the door glass in place.

I guess the lack of replies indicates a generally high degree of frustration with the manner in which you are tackling this "issue"

Sorry
Farrell