Drivers Door Not Fully Aligned
- Thread starter Chicosgroove
- Start date
bcworkz said:
Move plate slightly towards centre of car if rear door edge is proud of rear wing. Best to mark original position so you know exactly how much you've moved it and can restore original position should problems arise.
I am not an expert on this matter but from a normal persons point of view ( mine
) I can't seem to notice any difference in placement between the door and the rear wing. I also checked the similarity of the driver's and passenger's door position and they look the same. The thing is that when driving above 90km/h i hear air coming from the driver's side and there is no sound on passenger's side. Maybe i don't know what i am looking for? Is there a certain way to see if the door is proud of rear wing? Anything else?From memory, other possible causes of unusual wind noise at door/window: Perished or mis-fitted door/window seals. Misaligned roof. Misaligned window tracks. Windows need reset procedure performed. First sign of imminent regulator failure. Controller error (controls dropping/raising window a few mm upon door open/close)
Also check alignment of door at front wing.
Try to pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from, may help narrow the possibilities.
Also check alignment of door at front wing.
Try to pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from, may help narrow the possibilities.
Since i am not really sure where to look for the misalingment i upload the following photo to show you my thoughts. The air noise comes from where the red arrows point.
I tried tuning the window glass from the mechanism inside the door and the window now is at its higher possible position. This tune up actually made the noise appear from 85km/h (previously at 65km/h) but still not fixed it permanently. :x
Since the hood locks up and down without any problem it means that it can't be misaligned. Correct?
Seals don't have any tear and look ok. Showed them to my indy as well but he thinks they are ok too.
He told me that the rubber seals are a bit dry and quite hard and he advised me to lubricate the rubber seal, where the window meats the roof,(circled by the green line) with vaseline and let it soak up to get softer in order for the rubber seal to be easier to "hug" the window as it seals. Any ideas on that? :!:
I am a bit afraid to touch the catch plate and move it around because i can't see any point that the door is misalinged and i am afraid that if i move the closing point of the door more to the inside of the car the window glass might break.Is that a possibility?
Can someone pinpoint on the photo i provide where should i check for misalainment?
Regards
I tried tuning the window glass from the mechanism inside the door and the window now is at its higher possible position. This tune up actually made the noise appear from 85km/h (previously at 65km/h) but still not fixed it permanently. :x
Since the hood locks up and down without any problem it means that it can't be misaligned. Correct?
Seals don't have any tear and look ok. Showed them to my indy as well but he thinks they are ok too.
He told me that the rubber seals are a bit dry and quite hard and he advised me to lubricate the rubber seal, where the window meats the roof,(circled by the green line) with vaseline and let it soak up to get softer in order for the rubber seal to be easier to "hug" the window as it seals. Any ideas on that? :!:
I am a bit afraid to touch the catch plate and move it around because i can't see any point that the door is misalinged and i am afraid that if i move the closing point of the door more to the inside of the car the window glass might break.Is that a possibility?
Can someone pinpoint on the photo i provide where should i check for misalainment?
Regards
The hood catches are very tolerant, they can work well with some misalignment. If it's the hood, adjusting it to the side could cause problems on the other side. You could try adjusting it forward a bit by loosening the main hinge bolts under the long oval covers. You'll only get a mm or so of play that way. Not sure how other adjustments work.
I would have thought there's an angle adjustment for the window track? Never been in there, so don't really know. A tiny adjustment in the catch plate will not break the glass. Consider how much it deflects when an air bag is used to break into cars. You don't want to move it much as it aligns with the wings as it is. But a tiny bit here and there may help. The biggest risk of moving the catch is if it's too far in, in can be very difficult to operate the door release handle.
I don't know about Vaseline, it's petroleum based and can't be good for rubber in the long run. Short term though, it should make the rubber swell. I've only used silicone lubricant or products specifically for rubber, but they are more proactive than reactive as far as benefit.
I would have thought there's an angle adjustment for the window track? Never been in there, so don't really know. A tiny adjustment in the catch plate will not break the glass. Consider how much it deflects when an air bag is used to break into cars. You don't want to move it much as it aligns with the wings as it is. But a tiny bit here and there may help. The biggest risk of moving the catch is if it's too far in, in can be very difficult to operate the door release handle.
I don't know about Vaseline, it's petroleum based and can't be good for rubber in the long run. Short term though, it should make the rubber swell. I've only used silicone lubricant or products specifically for rubber, but they are more proactive than reactive as far as benefit.
UPDATE!
I was on the road today for about 3 hours and was moving the catch plate inwards upwards downwards in every possible comination and the result is that whatever position i gave it there was no improvement to the air noise coming from the designated area. i also saw what it means for the door to be misaligned and now i am 100% that the door is aligned with the rest of the car properly. I took the catch plate all the way inwards and upwards to see if at this extreme position the noise would stop, even though i wouldn't recommend it as it was too hard to close and open the door (was just testing), with no result... I measured the gap between the roof and some points on the car both from left and right side of the car to make sure that the roof is not misaligned and each measurement was exactly the same meaning that the roof is ok.
So to sum up:
-Door alignment is ok
-Roof alignment is ok
Any other options to stop that terrible wind noise?
I was on the road today for about 3 hours and was moving the catch plate inwards upwards downwards in every possible comination and the result is that whatever position i gave it there was no improvement to the air noise coming from the designated area. i also saw what it means for the door to be misaligned and now i am 100% that the door is aligned with the rest of the car properly. I took the catch plate all the way inwards and upwards to see if at this extreme position the noise would stop, even though i wouldn't recommend it as it was too hard to close and open the door (was just testing), with no result... I measured the gap between the roof and some points on the car both from left and right side of the car to make sure that the roof is not misaligned and each measurement was exactly the same meaning that the roof is ok.
So to sum up:
-Door alignment is ok
-Roof alignment is ok
Any other options to stop that terrible wind noise?