Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 17:51:32 -0700
Reply-To: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: solution: window rattles
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Lately I've been irritated by my driver's and passenger's door electric
windows on my 90 Westy Syncro rattling on bumpy roads. They didn't rattle in
the fully up or fully down positions; only the other positions.
I pulled off the door panel of the passenger side. Did quite a bit of poking
around trying to find out what was making the noise. After quite a bit of
dinking around I'm pretty sure that the noise is caused at the contact point
between the white nylon/plastic guides and the metal channel that the guides
move up and down on as the cable pulls the window. Seems to me that the
nylon guides have worn over the years. (I think dirt/grit enters through the
window seals and sticks to the lubricant on the channel and wears the nylon
guides.) The resultant play allows the window make the rattle noise when
road vibrations (and door slamming) cause the window (and guides) to move
from back and forth. Also, there seemed to be another noise caused by
binding between the guides and the channel.
Note; some posts to the list suggested that the problem was missing foam
pieces that help to guide the window. I did find foam pieces behind the door
locks and none had fallen down into the bottom of the door. They were not
missing and did not seem to be the problem in my case.
I guess the ultimate solution would be to buy a whole new
window motor/cable/channel/guide assemble... but that is $$$ ... my interim
solution is to fit a spacer such that it applies a small amount of pressure
between the channel and the white nylon guide to keep it from moving back
and forth:
1. Remove door panel and plastic vapor barrier. Clean the channel that
the white nylon guides run up and down on ... spray contact cleaner and
wipe of old grease and dirt.
2. Notice the space between the bracket that bolts to the bottom of the
window and the metal channel that the guides slide up and down on (this
space is bound at top and bottom by two sections of the nylon guides).
Notice the small round hole in the bracket that bolts to the bottom of the
window. Also spray this hole and the area around it with contact cleaner
several times and wipe as best as you can.
3. Manufacture the following pad/spacer to fit snuggly into the space in
noticed in #2 above:
From the end of a black rubber stopper that is about 1/2 inch in diameter on
the small end (found in hardware store... buy several to allow you to
sharpen our carving skills) cut a piece about 1/4 inch.
Now cut out a circle from a piece of plastic from the top of a coke bottle
or prescription bottle or some such TOUGH, lexan like plastic that is
smooth, FLAT and about 1/16 inch thick... cut it to perfectly match the end
of the piece of black rubber stopper that you cut out above.
Now measure the space mentioned in #2 above. Sculpt the piece of black
rubber stopper that you cut above such that it will have a round tit on one
end about the same diameter of the hole mentioned in #2 above and about 1/8
inch long.... and such that the distance from the base of this tit to the
other end of the black stopper piece plus the width of the plastic piece is
very slightly more than the width of the space mentioned in #2 above. Being
careful not to drop it into the door cavity, hold the plastic/rubber
sandwiched spacer up to that space (tit towards you) and make sure it is
snug when inserted into the space, not including the tit on the end.
Now ruff up one side of the plastic disc and the end of the rubber stopper
piece opposite of the tit. Make sure you leave one side of the plastic
circle is smooth.
Apply contact cement to both ruffed up surfaces. Wait 10 to 15 minutes. Then
press the two pieces together. Allow to cure over night before continuing.
4. Confirm that the pad manufactured in #3 above fits snuggly between the
bracket that bolts to the bottom of the window and the channel that the
nylon slider moves up and down on and that the tit is not longer than the
depth of the hole in the bracket that bolts to the bottom of the window.
(you may want to manufacture a prototype (before gluing in place
below)(removal of the prototype to glue in place will likely rip the tit
such that it may not be usable) to test that you have sized it to the
correct snugness to allow the window to move freely and still not rattle...
too snug and the electric motor will work too hard; not snug enough and the
windows will still rattle):
5. Carefully apply contact cement to the hole mentioned above (and area
around it... I used a match stick several times) being careful not to get
any glue on the channel. Also apply contact cement to the side of the
spacer/pad that has the tit carved on it. Wait 10 to 15 minutes. Then press
the spacer/pad into place such that the tit fits into the hole.
6. Run the window up and down once to assure that it moves freely. Allow
the glue to cure overnight before using the windows again.
I decided not to lubricate the channel that the white nylon guide moves up
and down on as I think it will just attract grit and then act like sand
paper on the guide and the new spacer/pad that you just installed.
No rattles.... we'll see how long it will last... time will tell I
suppose.... anyway the fix is relatively easy... the diagnosis and finding
the right materials to use took a while longer.... at first I tried just the
rubber without the plastic glued to its surface... but this seemed to slow
the window down and create too much friction for the motor to work
against... also I figured that the rubber would wear thinner quickly and the
window would be rattling again in no time... that's when I had the idea of
gluing some tough but smooth plastic to the contact surface... the plastic
should wear a long time and the rubber when fit snuggly applies a small
amount of pressure to keep the guides from moving around.
Later...
Bill
