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      02-06-2013, 08:51 AM   #67
Asbjorn
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This is a great find! Thanks alot!
On mine the paint is actually coming off where the roof metal parts rub against the deck (3).
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      02-06-2013, 08:59 AM   #68
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asbjørn View Post
This is a great find! Thanks alot!
On mine the paint is actually coming off where the roof metal parts rub against the deck (3).
If the roof part is rubbing against the metal strip on the boot/trunk lid then your roof is over adjusted. I take it you mean the two metal tips of the rear roof section as mine are close, perhaps 3mm clearance.

You may wish to ask your dealer to adjust this to prevent more wear, it may also make noise and also wear through the paint on the roof causing oxidisation.
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      02-06-2013, 10:58 AM   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManiacGT View Post
If the roof part is rubbing against the metal strip on the boot/trunk lid then your roof is over adjusted. I take it you mean the two metal tips of the rear roof section as mine are close, perhaps 3mm clearance.

You may wish to ask your dealer to adjust this to prevent more wear, it may also make noise and also wear through the paint on the roof causing oxidisation.
Oh really? These two parts are not actually supposed to ever touch each other?

The points where they make contact are marked on this picture.
Come to think about it, I don't know why I thought this was normal...



Has anyone seen any guides on how to adjust the roof? I really do not want to take the car in if I can avoid it. I hate how they treat cars there. One time I saw them working on a 3-series convertible and they actually tried to open the roof while the anti-roll bars were ejected. Clonk!!!

Thanks to your advice I will also have the relevant parts touched up with black and clear paint after the adjustment has been completed. Fortunately they are made from aluminum so it should not be a major concern.
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      02-07-2013, 03:20 AM   #70
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I just tried tightening these bolts with a 10mm socket. But I was not sure how tight they are meant to be? Did you tighten them all the way up because they don't appear to be fully tightened at all?
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      02-07-2013, 03:43 AM   #71
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Alext

I did not tighten them fully. They are metal nuts on plastic tapers. If you tighten them too far you will strip the plastic thread and then damage it, so, I tightened them until resistance was felt.

Asbjørn

There are no guides outside of BMW that show how to adjust the roof. There are four rubber stops you can adjust where the rear shell sits on the mechanism arms, just put the roof into the service position to see these. Within the rear shell mechanism are some long nuts that can be adjusted but again these should only be adjusted if you know what the result will be.
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      02-08-2013, 04:00 PM   #72
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Tightened them by around 2 revolutions per nut but (not completely tight) but still get the noise.
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      02-08-2013, 04:03 PM   #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alext
Tightened them by around 2 revolutions per nut but (not completely tight) but still get the noise.
Possibly not the same noise I had then? What kind of noise is it? Mine was a loud cracking noise as the chassis twisted over uneven road or rough roads...
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      02-08-2013, 04:50 PM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManiacGT View Post
Mine was a loud cracking noise as the chassis twisted over uneven road or rough roads...


I thought the car was so porky due to reinforcements to prevent that "chassis twisting" ?

Perhaps overtightening / misalignment was the root cause of the cracking noise?
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      02-08-2013, 04:53 PM   #75
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You thought wrongly.. Even fixed roof saloons have some chassis flex.

While the e89 is pretty stiff it still has flex. It's a cabriolet it's unavoidable.

The noise was simply from years of vibration. A quick tighten sorted it. No need for roof alignments etc..
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      02-09-2013, 03:39 AM   #76
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Congrats on your find and fix, M.



Well deserved.-
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      02-09-2013, 07:04 AM   #77
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My main noise is a non-metallic cracking sound as I go over bumps at slow or normal speeds. It originates from the left rear of the car. Ive padded up the roll bar hoop covers and they are silent, lubricated all seals on the roof etc.
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      02-09-2013, 11:09 AM   #78
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alext
My main noise is a non-metallic cracking sound as I go over bumps at slow or normal speeds. It originates from the left rear of the car. Ive padded up the roll bar hoop covers and they are silent, lubricated all seals on the roof etc.
It sounds similar to my noise, perhaps if its not the deck it's the roof that needs adjustment. Perhaps look at the rubber stops that support the rear shell when the top is up?
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      02-09-2013, 11:21 AM   #79
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManiacGT View Post
Asbjørn

There are no guides outside of BMW that show how to adjust the roof. There are four rubber stops you can adjust where the rear shell sits on the mechanism arms, just put the roof into the service position to see these. Within the rear shell mechanism are some long nuts that can be adjusted but again these should only be adjusted if you know what the result will be.
Thanks M!!
I found the rubber stops you mentioned. See attached picture. The second picture shows the problem I had where the roof was too close to the rear deck. Its really weird that my roof has a dip like that on the underside btw. Anyhow, by adjusting the lower rubber stops on each side I managed to solve the problem. Now there is no longer contact between the roof and the rear deck metal part.
Attached Images
  
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      02-09-2013, 01:49 PM   #80
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Spot on. Just double check the seal under the glass of the rear shell when the roof is fully up to ensure it still seals well.
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      02-10-2013, 08:57 AM   #81
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jannisa View Post
I now consider it a part to maintain, whenever various rattles pop up -once every 2-3 months - I gradually open the roof and practically lube everything with a sponge wet in WD40, every joint, plastic and elastic bit and seal that I see in front of me and additionally the seals on the doors, trunk and hood.
Hi Jannisa

After reading this I realize that WD40 is not actually a lubricant:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread...D40-eat-rubber

And it made me think twice about using this petroleum-based products on rubber. It is said that WD40 will dry out the rubber as it displaces water, and also attract dust over time.

Any special reason you do not use silicon spray? I am asking because I just ran out of it, and now I only have some WD40 left.
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      02-10-2013, 10:38 AM   #82
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asbjørn View Post
Hi Jannisa

After reading this I realize that WD40 is not actually a lubricant:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread...D40-eat-rubber

And it made me think twice about using this petroleum-based products on rubber. It is said that WD40 will dry out the rubber as it displaces water, and also attract dust over time.

Any special reason you do not use silicon spray? I am asking because I just ran out of it, and now I only have some WD40 left.
Hey Asbjorn

You are correct, the WD40 is primarily not a lubricant, it's a rost-off/penetrating oil mainly and water-displacing spray.

I actually have no scientific data that proves it is not harmful for the rubber seals but I have been using it for years on cars with no problematic symptoms at all and I have been suggested to use it by mechanics and friends who have also been using it for years.

If you have the patience I believe the best product you can apply is pure vaseline (not in creamy form). I have tried over the years vaseline, silicon, hts lubricant, armor all for plastics, autoglym for leather, handcream, wuerth gummi and use only wd40 now.

Another thing I noticed when I too used silicon based sprays and products is that the film they built up on the rubber had an unnaturally greasy appeal plus it kinda felt a bit ''toxic''/burning my hands after a bit of a longer exposure. I have also heard that silicon based products might eaten up rubber seals in the long run, again their evidence was rather experimental.

I 've noticed what was mentioned in the link you attached but so far I have not seen any sign of fade in my case. Perhaps the folks with the boats believe it is snake oil and apply it everywhere even on electrical connections and we don't know if they cleaned the rubber first before bathing it with wd.

Give it a try once since you already have it and see how it feels, you won't hurt anything and please report back.

(or send me the bill in 10 years )

J.
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      02-12-2013, 07:28 AM   #83
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I'm pleased to say since the work was done on that last tweak, the sound has now gone. There's still a bit of noise from the rear window/deck area but only when on very rough roads and tbh that just makes the rest of the car click and creak a little so it all just merges in. Overall though I'm 200% happier and hopefully some of the things I've mentioned will help someone else in time.
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      02-22-2013, 11:08 PM   #84
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jannisa View Post
Hey Asbjorn

You are correct, the WD40 is primarily not a lubricant, it's a rost-off/penetrating oil mainly and water-displacing spray.

I actually have no scientific data that proves it is not harmful for the rubber seals but I have been using it for years on cars with no problematic symptoms at all and I have been suggested to use it by mechanics and friends who have also been using it for years.

If you have the patience I believe the best product you can apply is pure vaseline (not in creamy form). I have tried over the years vaseline, silicon, hts lubricant, armor all for plastics, autoglym for leather, handcream, wuerth gummi and use only wd40 now.

Another thing I noticed when I too used silicon based sprays and products is that the film they built up on the rubber had an unnaturally greasy appeal plus it kinda felt a bit ''toxic''/burning my hands after a bit of a longer exposure. I have also heard that silicon based products might eaten up rubber seals in the long run, again their evidence was rather experimental.

I 've noticed what was mentioned in the link you attached but so far I have not seen any sign of fade in my case. Perhaps the folks with the boats believe it is snake oil and apply it everywhere even on electrical connections and we don't know if they cleaned the rubber first before bathing it with wd.

Give it a try once since you already have it and see how it feels, you won't hurt anything and please report back.

(or send me the bill in 10 years )

J.
Thanks for sharing all of your experiences! Now I also used all of my WD40 to clean off some sticky road surface material which could not come off during normal car wash. It worked wonders!



And I actually agree with your opinion about silicone oil. I will try to find some vaseline next.
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      03-08-2013, 02:49 PM   #85
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Hi all, read all the above with interest. I too have a knocking noise over on the rear left on my rhd car. A plasticy bump noise as though the rear deck is loose. At first i thought it was the flappy panels, so put some velcro woolly bits on the metal arms, but made no difference. The noise seems less with the hood cover, in the down position in boot.

All i seemed to have done since i had my car is fix things, condensation in tail lights, knocking from possibly anti roll bar, now cabin noises.
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      03-09-2013, 10:14 AM   #86
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Hi all, read all the above with interest. I too have a knocking noise over on the rear left on my rhd car. A plasticy bump noise as though the rear deck is loose. At first i thought it was the flappy panels, so put some velcro woolly bits on the metal arms, but made no difference. The noise seems less with the hood cover, in the down position in boot.

All i seemed to have done since i had my car is fix things, condensation in tail lights, knocking from possibly anti roll bar, now cabin noises.
Welcome to my world...

To add to my list of woes.. the brand new 313's I've just bought... I just kerbed a rear... I want to die.

Next car will be a shed I no longer care about.
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      03-10-2013, 01:46 AM   #87
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Wow, i surprised BMW has no formal solution for this.
Or maybe I'm not surprised.

As mentioned earlier, i have this sound big time.
Plastic sound? NO. Vibration, clicking sound NO.
Big nasty broken suspension sound. Speed bump are the worst.

Bin at the dealer 15 days on three sep visits.
going back next week for service and to get this worked on.
I'm going to tell them to look at this thread.
It should be standard reading at this point.
this is as bad as the 296 wheel debacle.
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      03-10-2013, 12:56 PM   #88
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Well tightened the bolts on my car, on that 'u' shaped piece of plastic part 3.
Then set off, oh no noise worse

Then realised the boot roof protector wasn't latched, either up or down

So set off again, no rattle, then heard a slight bump, so grabbed the passenger seat belt in frustration and gave it a couple of yanks.

Now, all quiet on the western front, problem solved.

So thanks to ManiacGT
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