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For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

mike87
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For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by mike87 » Sat May 22, 2010 4:01 am

following up to this thread: http://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 58#p260158


so after 2 years of dealing with the squeaky top on my z4, i finally got fed up recently and decided to tear sh*t apart. for those of you who don’t know, my top squeaks when my convertible top is stowed (SQUEAK, not rattle, if your top rattles, it is your convertible top lock/latch. There is a service bulletin out that tells you how to file down your latch if it rattles. i can find this easily, if anyone needs it, just PM me)

EDIT (thank you Critter7r on bimmerforums.com):
There's a modification you can do to the current latch for exactly the problem you're having. Modify your current latch to be like the one shown.


Rattle Noise From Stowed Convertible Top


MODEL
E85 Z4 - Up to 6/04


SITUATION
Some customers may complain that they hear a rattling noise coming from the convertible top when it is in the stowed position.

CAUSE
The plastic release lever on the convertible top stowage lock rattles when driving over bumps.

CORRECTION
Remove the convertible top stowage lock by following Repair Instructions 54 31 165.

Image

File the following dimensions from the plastic tongue of the stowage lock:
Dimension A = 11 mm
Dimension B = 6 mm
those of you who were around back in the golden days when z4um.com and GVfB was around, he had a mini write-up regarding how to deal with top squeaks.

there were lots of speculation that the squeaks were coming from the convertible lock/latch that sat in the center of the convertible top, mainly stemming from the fact that bmw removed this latch in the later z4 models.

i originally thought my squeak was coming from here as well, so i took this panel off. i applied felt/friction tape EVERYWHERE i could see, and reinstalled the panel. i went for a drive and 3 miles later, the squeak reappeared. i was pissed beyond belief. so i took the panel off, and drove around a week with the panel off because i was going to take a deeper look under the panel.

i found it VERY odd how the squeak wasn't there when the panel was off (yes i drove around with the panel off with the top down looking like a n00b). upon closer inspection, i came to realize where the squeak was REALLY coming from:

(not my pics, i take no credit for these pictures; i only followed them as a guide; a great thanks to pvr on z4-forum.com for these pics):

take a philips head screwdriver and undo the two PLASTIC screws as shown below. be VERY SLOW in doing this, they are plastic screws and get stripped very easily (lord knows why they used plastic screws )
Image



here is a pic of the screws, there are 2 of them. once the screws come out, take needle nose pliers or something of that sort to pull out the two expanding rivets (this is easy, you won't break anything here)
Image


now this is the challenging part, start pulling upwards VERY GENTLY and pushing backwards as well. there are plastic hooks underneath this panel shown below that are VERY fragile. they will break easily if you are clumsy in this step. i wish i could be more descriptive here as to how to remove this panel, but it is very hard without physically being near your car and showing you how to do it. my best advice here is to take your time:
Image

once you get the panel off, please note that you will see 4 springs, a red one and a plain one for each “lever”. the top-release lever is the culprit and it squeaks when driving over road imperfections when the top is down. this is because when the top is stowed, the mechanism on the car is pushed against the top-release lever and it rubs, causing the lever to develop an annoying squeak over time. remove the top two springs, and remove the lever (easy to figure out on your own). I added some felt tape to the two areas on the lever, bent the springs a little so they exerted more force on the lever, and reinstalled everything.
Image




good luck, I take no responsibility if you break anything

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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by gannet » Sat May 22, 2010 10:00 am

great follow-up :thumbsup:

might have to give this a try when I have the car apart next time :D
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by cj10jeeper » Sat May 22, 2010 10:30 am

Good to recapture that old write up. I did it to mine when I first got the car. They later modified the catch iirc. That stops rattles

Applying strips of tape to the sides of the panel cured it of the squeeks. Not done the 'springs' but seems to be not needed on mine. Guess they are all different
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by pvr » Sat May 22, 2010 10:47 am

Good my pics were of use for this as well :)

Just to add to the plastic screw removal bit, as I did this only a couple of weeks ago on Raify's car:

Don't remove the screws completely from the plug, just leave them in a little bit and pull them out by hand. That will pull the plug out as well.
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by daveg » Wed May 26, 2010 8:13 pm

mike87 wrote:I added some felt tape to the two areas on the lever, bent the springs a little so they exerted more force on the lever, and reinstalled everything.
I have the panel off now - but unsure exactly where to apply felt as I can't see how the noise is being made. Should it go on the top lever that depresses (between this plastic lever and the main plastic piece)?

Thanks,
Dave
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by daveg » Sun Jul 11, 2010 9:27 pm

Just in case anyone else needs spares of the little plastic screws and washers from the 2nd pic the part no is 51168197908
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by speed12 » Fri Jul 30, 2010 9:10 pm

daveg wrote:
mike87 wrote:I added some felt tape to the two areas on the lever, bent the springs a little so they exerted more force on the lever, and reinstalled everything.
I have the panel off now - but unsure exactly where to apply felt as I can't see how the noise is being made. Should it go on the top lever that depresses (between this plastic lever and the main plastic piece)?

Thanks,
Dave
I cant even get the damn panel off! I can get 3/4 of the panel off, but the top of the panel cant move anywhere as it is flush against the roof stowage clip... tried three times now but cannot get it off! annoying!
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by Fanatic » Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:55 pm

Hello,

like maaaaany more I also have a squeak from the back over the storage. my car has a hardtop which means the soft top is down almost all of the time. I took the part mentioned above off and filled it with soft tape but still the squeak exists.
The only way I have managed to stop it is put a piece of rolled cloth where the soft top locks in place keeping the top a bit higher. Now I have no problems but I have the top sitting a bit higher with the hardtop on it. Do you think this might create a problem?? Anyone else tried this?? I mind having the cloth there less than having the crazy squeak!! :headbang:
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by Ewazix » Thu May 26, 2011 6:58 am

Good one, I'll give it a try as that Mouse on my shoulder gets annoying :thumbsup:
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by plblair1 » Tue May 31, 2011 10:41 pm

OK folks the top down squeek/rattle behind my right ear at every bump on my 05 2.5i finally compelled me to act. Pulled the back center compartment using Mike's procedures above. I might note the hardest part involved getting the two "tabs" at the very end (aft as installed) of the compartment panel to release. Used a thin putty knife to carefully pry the tabs enough to finally release. I'd recommend doing this in the summer when everything is more pliable.

I decided to remove the convertible top stowage lock, which I understand some dealers have done to resolve squeeks/rattles. I also added some friction tape on the underside of the compartment panel near the top below the factory installed felt strip and down about three inches on each side. To remove the top stowage lock assembly use a screwdriver with a T30 to remove the two screws holding the lock assembly in place. Once those are out the lock assembly is loose but it's not readily removable (at least on my Z). I studied the mechanism for an hour or so to figure out what else I might have to do to remove it, but to no avail. It looked as if the whole lock assembly should slide out by tilting and pulling forward. Finally, I decided to apply a bit of near brute force strength and while tilting the front of the assembly (the lever end) up I yanked the lock assembly forward and it cam loose with nary a scratch to me or the car.

Reinstalled the compartment panel , test drove and to my relief the squeek/rattle was gone! :thumbsup:

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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by Fanatic » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:13 am

Doesnt it raise the roof a bit when you are going with relatively high speeds? I mean now the roof is not locking at all. What is holding it in place???


My rattle is coming after all from the lock itself. The hole part. Any ideas?
Image
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by gannet » Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:25 am

Fanatic wrote:Doesnt it raise the roof a bit when you are going with relatively high speeds? I mean now the roof is not locking at all. What is holding it in place???


My rattle is coming after all from the lock itself. The hole part. Any ideas?
Image
took mine off AGES ago, no problems to report, even at speed.... Remember the facelift roof doesnt have this mechanism.
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by camcc » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:57 pm

Hi,

I have finally got round to getting the problem panel off my car, and it has removed that annoying squeak every time I go over a bump - wohoo!

But at some point I need to put the panel back on, as the car looks really stupid without it and the roof down...

Would someone mind telling me exactly where to apply felt tape? I can see the there are wear marks to the three plastic bits in the middle of the catch, maybe I should apply felt tape there?

Looks like the previous owner has already applied some felt tape to the top of the panel.

Image
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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by maxman » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:03 pm

camcc wrote:Hi,

Thats how they leave the factory.

Looks like the previous owner has already applied some felt tape to the top of the panel.

Image

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Re: For Those Who Have Squeaky Stowed Tops: OPEN THIS

Post by jonslee » Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:47 am

I'm going to start experimenting with Fish Glue and Nomex and thought I'd ask if any one has experimented with it already ? :driving:

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