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Rattling doors - FIXED!

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ph001
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Rattling doors - FIXED!

Post by ph001 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:24 pm

Hey all, got a little bit of an annoyance with the Z4 - basically there is a rattle coming from both the drivers and passenger doors. This goes away if the doors are locked so I am guessing it's something in or around the latch mechanism. I was actually just going to code the doors to lock at a particular speed to get around this :roll: but obviously not a cure. Any ideas?
Last edited by ph001 on Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

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firebobby
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Rattling doors

Post by firebobby » Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:34 pm

Just check the nuts holding the crash bars in the doors. Open the door and you will see a plastic lug by the hinges, remove and there is a nut underneath it. I found my drivers side loose..after stripping the door down :headbang:
Worth checking 1st :thumbsup:
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Rattling doors

Post by patriot66 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 7:16 pm

Fairly certain this will be the door lock pins rattling in their escutcheons. Mine drove me potty ! :x Unscrew the pins and wrap a few turns of black insulating tape around them. A bit of trial and error until they are snug but not binding when you lock/unlock the doors. Easy fix ! :thumbsup:
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ph001
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Rattling doors

Post by ph001 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:18 pm

Both great inputs...thanks.
2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

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Rattling doors

Post by ph001 » Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:54 pm

Hmmm those door lock pins don't come out easy. Are they supposed to just unscrew?
2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

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Rattling doors

Post by ph001 » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:12 am

Had some more thoughts on this overnight. I think the little plastic outer clips (which the pins sit in) just pop out of the door trim much easier than the door lock pins come off. I'm going to remove the outer clips and glue a small rubber o-ring into each. Will take pics as I do it.
2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

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Rattling doors

Post by Paulr » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:01 pm

Please do, mine are driving me nuts! Tried doing the insulating tape thing, but is it when the car is locked they rattle, and I don't want to see insulting tape on the pins when unlocked!
If you try and take a cat apart the first thing you have is a non working cat.

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ph001
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Rattling doors

Post by ph001 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:01 pm

UPDATE - completely eliminated the door rattle over the weekend.

I used a door trim removal tool to prise the escutcheons up out of the door trim (they are pretty tough to get out and you will inevitable break one of the retaining lugs). Once out, you can see that the part has three small plastic internal prongs (I have marked with green dots) which are supposed to locate against the door pin to stop any rattle. One of mine only had one of these prongs left and on the other one all the prongs were weak and not really touching the door pin. I guess new escutcheons would sort for a while but the design is fundamentally a bit poor. (BMW part no.51417042868)

I cut off the internal prongs and added a thin slice of self adhesive velcro hoop material to the inside of each escutcheon. Then simply pop the escutcheons back into the door trim and you should get a lovely snug but relatively friction free fit against the pins. It didn't seem to matter that a retaining clip had broke off on extraction - they still snap in very positively. Rattling completely gone and totally invisible from the outside.
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2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

Image

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Rattling doors - FIXED!

Post by Paulr » Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:05 pm

Right! I know what I am doing later! Thanks for that, wondered how they came out!
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Rattling doors - FIXED!

Post by MrPT » Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:25 pm

escutcheons
whoa.
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Rattling doors - FIXED!

Post by biojo » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:40 pm

same as what i did,

the original design has a foam pad in the door that pushes the rod tight against one side of the pin holder. The foam eventually wears and becomes loose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djgcv-VpCW8

you can just see it at the 5:00 mark on there

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ph001
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Rattling doors - FIXED!

Post by ph001 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:42 pm

MrPT wrote: Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:25 pm
escutcheons
whoa.
Haha! Wasn't me who named them that...but I quite like it!
2007 E85 Z4 3.0Si manual :driving:
19" CSL's | Eibach Springs | Aeroskirts | Z4M front bumper | Clear brake light | ZHP | RCH+| Stubby

2004 E46 M3 coupe manual - gone but not forgotten.

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