DIY: Window rattle fix
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 5:46 pm
Hey guys, did this in about 20 minutes - easy & well worth it!
Click on the pictures to see full size
First, take the door cover off. This is held by a total of 6 screws (circled in pictures) & are covered by little plugs that can be removed easily using a flat screw driver or something similar. The bottom screw can be a bit hard to see, but if you stick the screw driver through the hole you'll get it eventually - just don't drop it!
After removing the 5 screws shown, pull the door handle out and remove the door handle cover & unscrew the last screw (circled).
Once this is done, you can slide your fingers in all around the door cover and carefully pull it out as it is still held by little clips, it should now look something like this:
You may want to unplug the wires to the electric windows but you'll be moving it up in just a second anyway. This is fairly easy to locate, the bunch of wires come out from the door and directly under your electric window switches. There's a clip on the back side of the plug to remove it from the door cover - your door cover should now come completely free from the door.
Remove the speaker bracket so you can see the actual window guide (assuming your windows are currently down), try to move the window guide (circled) backwards and forwards to get a fair idea of how much play there currently is.
Next, wind your window up until you can see the window guide through the upper hole (see picture below). I found it easiest to remove the 10mm nut using one of these (I'm having a mental blank). Once you've loosened it, it should unscrew easily using your fingers.
Pull the window guide out from the threaded rod & out from the door (not as tricky as it looks).
How you do this next part is completely up to you, whether you want to try to get a hold of a brand new plastic piece someone else said was $25 each, or wether you just want to do it the free way. In the picture below, i've put a washer between the metal in the window guide and the piece of plastic to reduce the gap - I'm sure this would work just fine, but I ended up going with a little piece of thick double sided tape from bunnings (had it lying around) as it sits nicely, it's definitely not going anywhere and it provides a little cushion. If you find the washer or whatever you decide to use to make the gap smaller too big (either it won't go back over the rail or it will be very hard to slide up and down) - just try something smaller until you find the right gap. Over time the plastic wears down, and this is what causes the window rattle.
Now all you have to do is put it back together. Putting the window guide back on may be a little tricky, depending on how small you made the new gap, but just slide it back on the rod first (angled down), and just turn it so the plastic goes back over the rail. Also, before you put everything back together, plug the electric windows back in and make sure the resistance is not too much by winding your windows up & down a couple of times.
Done - no more window rattle!
Click on the pictures to see full size
First, take the door cover off. This is held by a total of 6 screws (circled in pictures) & are covered by little plugs that can be removed easily using a flat screw driver or something similar. The bottom screw can be a bit hard to see, but if you stick the screw driver through the hole you'll get it eventually - just don't drop it!
After removing the 5 screws shown, pull the door handle out and remove the door handle cover & unscrew the last screw (circled).
Once this is done, you can slide your fingers in all around the door cover and carefully pull it out as it is still held by little clips, it should now look something like this:
You may want to unplug the wires to the electric windows but you'll be moving it up in just a second anyway. This is fairly easy to locate, the bunch of wires come out from the door and directly under your electric window switches. There's a clip on the back side of the plug to remove it from the door cover - your door cover should now come completely free from the door.
Remove the speaker bracket so you can see the actual window guide (assuming your windows are currently down), try to move the window guide (circled) backwards and forwards to get a fair idea of how much play there currently is.
Next, wind your window up until you can see the window guide through the upper hole (see picture below). I found it easiest to remove the 10mm nut using one of these (I'm having a mental blank). Once you've loosened it, it should unscrew easily using your fingers.
Pull the window guide out from the threaded rod & out from the door (not as tricky as it looks).
How you do this next part is completely up to you, whether you want to try to get a hold of a brand new plastic piece someone else said was $25 each, or wether you just want to do it the free way. In the picture below, i've put a washer between the metal in the window guide and the piece of plastic to reduce the gap - I'm sure this would work just fine, but I ended up going with a little piece of thick double sided tape from bunnings (had it lying around) as it sits nicely, it's definitely not going anywhere and it provides a little cushion. If you find the washer or whatever you decide to use to make the gap smaller too big (either it won't go back over the rail or it will be very hard to slide up and down) - just try something smaller until you find the right gap. Over time the plastic wears down, and this is what causes the window rattle.
Now all you have to do is put it back together. Putting the window guide back on may be a little tricky, depending on how small you made the new gap, but just slide it back on the rod first (angled down), and just turn it so the plastic goes back over the rail. Also, before you put everything back together, plug the electric windows back in and make sure the resistance is not too much by winding your windows up & down a couple of times.
Done - no more window rattle!
