97 Riviera - driver door window rattles

[edwinn]

Tilt wheel bushing job

Last May I had the tilt wheel bushing R/R'd. The dash board and steering column were apart then, and I'm kicking myself for not going over to Chandler's shop for some photos. Later on I complained of a RATTLE in the dash, and Mike decided instead to investigate the DRIVER DOOR interior panel. The dash rattle was solved ~1 week later. Turns out there were several CRACKS in the plastic Trim Panel. Chandler had a Plastic Welding machine to do the repair. The trim panel might be fixed now, but there's still a BAD rattle deep inside the door.. probably the window guides?

Here's an interior photo with the door panel removed:




And a photo of the panel before he started 'plastic welding!' It's sitting on two Jet Skies.




The rattle is a lot worse with driver window rolled down!!!

What's your best guess based of past cases to remedy a RATTLING driver door/window assembly?


-Ed

[DeltaP]

Post deleted.

[Tech II]

Since you have the panel off, just remove that water barrier, and either slam the door shut or just grab the window while in the down position and manually jiggle the window to see where the noise is coming from........not sure if you have the metal guides with the felt lining on the inside of the guides....have seen them wear off over time and cause the noise.....could also be a bent/loose PW regulator.......also, if regulator was removed sometime during it's history, some techs used nuts/bolts instead of pop rivets, that came loose........also get in there with a flash light, and check for any loose debris in the bottom of the door....

That was the beauty of this car....as the years went by, it didn't develop "rattles" like a lot of cars do.......it was solidly built....

I believe you have the SC'er.......do you get 30 mpg on a long trip?

By the way, you can't believe the amount of panels that came into the shop broken.....it was without a doubt, one of the EASIEST panels to remove, if you knew how to do it....people didn't know that once you removed the screw/bolts after removing the panel at the inside door handle, you lift upward.....can't believe the number of people that pry on the outside edges, and snap plastic.....

[edwinn]

Originally Posted by Tech II

Since you have the panel off, just remove that water barrier, and either slam the door shut or just grab the window while in the down position and manually jiggle the window to see where the noise is coming from..... not sure if you have the metal guides with the felt lining on the inside of the guides....have seen them wear off over time and cause the noise.....could also be a bent/loose PW regulator.......also, if regulator was removed sometime during it's history, some techs used nuts/bolts instead of pop rivets, that came loose........also get in there with a flash light, and check for any loose debris in the bottom of the door....

I believe you have the SC'er.......do you get 30 mpg on a long trip?

Hey Tech II, that photo was taken about a year ago. The door is re-assembled now.

Yes the door has been apart.. in 2006 when it was vandalized. It was struck with a blunt force blow mid-panel above the door guard.. like being hit with the butt-end of a metal object. The body shop guys had to go inside the door, and really hacked it, damaging wires in the door that burned out parts in the dash board.

I think you're on to something with the metal guides or PW regulator.

The water barrier is the black plastic sheet?

I have the three-volume shop manuals which have instructions on how to dis-assemble the door from inside. Thing is.. no telling how long I'd have it apart, and if the vehicle would be tied up. Probably could drive it with the inner panel off.

Will post more photos of the CRACKS in the black plastic panel body.

Thanks for your input as usual!


-Ed

[edwinn]

Door panel cracks

These are the cracks in the inner door panel plastic substrate which Mike fixed with his plastic welder equipment.







Close-up







Should mention the door was apart in 1998 when the dealer installed a new speaker. IIRC it's been worked-on or apart at least three times, and maybe four.


-Ed

[edwinn]

Ping Tech II

Back in the summer (late July 2013) the driver-side window motor failed. I tried to close the window after pulling into a convenience store parking lot at 4:45 pm on a Friday, but the WINDOW WASN'T GOING UP!

Luckily there was a Buick dealer just 2 miles away on Torrance Blvd. The guys at Penske Buick (Torrance, Ca) took it in that afternoon, and installed a new Window Motor the next morning.. on Saturday. The NEW motor would drive the window faster than the original.. and much faster than the passenger side.


Power Window Regulator

The dealer guys checked availability of a new Regulator but none were found. Thought I could have that whole assy tightened-up while it was in the shop. The techs attempted to tighten the window mechanism as best possible, but it seems to be about the same in terms or rattles.

My work-around is to purposefully shut the door with only the force needed, and to grasp the top/back-end of the door and squeeze when closing if the window is down.


-Ed