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Roof down rattle - frustrating

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barkersoldbean
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by barkersoldbean » Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:13 pm

E89 28i 2014, M runflats
Roof up totally silent over bumps - roof down and there’s a squeaky rattle behind driver right ear over cats eye size bumps.
I say sqeaky rattle - because it’s kind of both.
I thought it was the side windows - not; door catches - all greased - not; rubber door seals - silicone gummi - not.
It’s driving me nuts.
Any obvious places to look and method to find source?
Thanks and apologies if already covered - I did scour the forum to find an answer.

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Smartbear
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Smartbear » Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:22 pm

barkersoldbean wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:13 pm E89 28i 2014, M runflats
Roof up totally silent over bumps - roof down and there’s a squeaky rattle behind driver right ear over cats eye size bumps.
I say sqeaky rattle - because it’s kind of both.
I thought it was the side windows - not; door catches - all greased - not; rubber door seals - silicone gummi - not.
It’s driving me nuts.
Any obvious places to look and method to find source?
Thanks and apologies if already covered - I did scour the forum to find an answer.
If you use the search function there’s lots on roof rattles, like this viewtopic.php?f=45&t=47943&hilit=Roof+rattle+fix
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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Ole gits rule
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Ole gits rule » Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:30 pm

Just an obvious one, have you checked the seat against the rear trim?
M4 Vert in Yas Marina Blue
2011 23i M Sport Highline in Alpine White with Smart Top installed - Gone but not forgotten.

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Smartbear
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Smartbear » Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:04 pm

Ole gits rule wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:30 pm Just an obvious one, have you checked the seat against the rear trim?
If the seat was the cause it would be evident roof up or down I’d guess? :?
Rob
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e89 Sdrive 20i, plenty of mumbo & good economy-the thinking bears z4
e89 Sdrive 30i, this ones busted, pass me another...
e85 3.0si sold

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Ole gits rule
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Ole gits rule » Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:38 pm

Smartbear wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:04 pm
Ole gits rule wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:30 pm Just an obvious one, have you checked the seat against the rear trim?
If the seat was the cause it would be evident roof up or down I’d guess? :?
Rob
Good point, probably more so roof up as no wind noise to cover the rattle
M4 Vert in Yas Marina Blue
2011 23i M Sport Highline in Alpine White with Smart Top installed - Gone but not forgotten.

Busterboo
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Busterboo » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:09 am

As posted before, I took my E89 to my local indy, who, for £70 + VAT, spent an hour with another mechanic lubricating & testing a large number of points of contact and connection. Money well spent.
Vidi, vici, veni

barkersoldbean
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by barkersoldbean » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:52 am

Thanks - thread was a great help - now working my way through things.

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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by flybobbie » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:06 pm

Anything i place on the passenger rattles. Never known a vehicle like it.
Even the seat started squeaking and took some adjusting to stop it.

barkersoldbean
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Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by barkersoldbean » Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:24 pm

FIXED!!!!!!!!!

I had some free time today and have now finally fixed the issue - this might be a fix if you have the same issue of a rattle/squeak with roof down behind your right ear - somewhere behind the headrest.

I started by working out that the issue was related to the boot lid - with the roof down = rattle/squeak, but with the boot lid raised by 2 cm (ie just starting the process of putting the roof up) the squeak/rattle went away 100%.

I lubed everything that moved in there - seals, mechanism - everything - and blow me - the rattle/squeak was actually WORSE!

Then whilst out of the car, I started the roof closing process via the key; as the boot lid pivots you can get a good look at where it joins the main bit of the car - ie. just behind where the rear screen normally sits.

At each side (see pic and red circle) there were two scabby looking bits of sticky backed felt that were scrunched up. I removed them both, copied the shape with sticky backed 3mm closed cell neoprene rubber (the sort you use in modelling).
IMG_1550.jpg
IMG_1550.jpg (42.41 KiB) Viewed 733 times
Zero squeak/rattle over the cobbles (my test ground) so I guess this was the issue.

Upon observing the process of the roof opening and storing - you can see why the originals get scrunched up - the final act is the boot lid pivoting forwards, closing - and then it moves forwards by 5mm to engage tightly with the main body of the car. I think that over time the front edge of the original self adhesive felt pad has caught and its rolled back and allowed the squeak/rattle to happen.

Time will tell if the same thing doesn't happen again - but at least I've got to the bottom of it.

The feeling of relief to have a quiet car with the roof down is difficult to understand unless you are similarly frustrated - my wife's solution (turn the music up) just wasn't cutting it. I can see why "maniac" sold his car - I think that I would have done so too eventually.

Pbondar

Roof down rattle - frustrating

Post by Pbondar » Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:57 pm

Interesting analysis, I’ll give my car a peak / test of that analysis/ cure :thumbsup:

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