Now that some of us have had their ZR's for over a year, does anybody have rattles?

I have this rattle coming from the left door. It sounds like its coming from where the window meets the soft top and its only noticeable with the window up.

The dealer has re-greased everything and replaced the window regulator but its still there.

Other than that I am fairly impressed given its a roadster.

 

A couple of us in my area have experienced a noise, more like a "clicking" to my ear, coming from the contact of the metal pin on the roadster (the coupe doesn't have them) driver door where it meets the female coupling, also metal, on the body. On mine, at least, driving over a bump or turning up a slope at an angle seem to make it happen, but not going straight over a bump, pothole, etc.

The Z is incredibly stiff for a roadster, one benefit of the extra weight in the frame some complain about, and it was designed in the very beginning with a vert. model in mind, but it's hard to completely and totally eliminate flex.

 

I never thought of the pin as being the culprit. How did you fix it?

 

You may have to try various things to find the perfect solution for your car. Other forum member took the rubber grip off a pair of pliers and placed it over the pin, sort of like a condom. I bought some rubber coating in a can (comes in liquid, you dip something in it, pull it out and the coating hardens).

That was definitely the problem, b/c it muffled any noise immediately. Only thing is, for my solution, you have to take off the pin to dip it in the liq. plastic/rubber; as I recall, you need a very large allen wrench (could be wrong on the last, maybe a torx screw, but I know it won't come off w/a std. flathead or phillips).

I would be surprised if any of your noise was coming from the ragtop, though. It's pretty rigid. Let us know what happens. Good luck.

 

The "pin" in question is called the "dove tail" pin per the service manual. The wrench necessary to remove the three bolts that hold it on is a Torx T-30 wrench. Most auto stores or tool stores carry this for a few bucks. I had this off of my 04.5 Roadster while I was investigating the "pop/snap" noise from my January 05 accident repairs.

 

I've learned from my brothers 2000 Corvette Convertable (what a nice car), that you have to learn to deal with wind noise, some rattles etc. That seems to come with the soft top.

 

I think I found the source of my noise and its kind of odd. It appears to be how the glass window in the drivers door seats against the rubber trim attached to the soft top (which is why it only makes the noise with the window up). The window is tinted and I think the tint is squeeking against the trim anytime I go over a bump.

Any suggestions? I tried rubber protectant but it didn't do much.

 

My Roadster feels new as I got it.....I had it for a year and its everything that I ever wanted.....Love my Roadster.....

 

+1 much love for my roadster

 

I also love my 04 DB Roadster. My troublesome rattles have been from the dashboards on both sides of the center section. The rattles have a buzzing sound and I suspect wires or other components vibrating against the lower side of the dashboards. Did I not see somewhere that there was a TSB for this sort of rattle? Has anyone successfully stopped these rattles on their own?

 

No rattles here. I'm at 11K. What a solid Convertible. My last car was a 1996 BMW 328IC convertible which cost $45k new. It rattled like a California earthquake!

 

Wish I could drive mine, ARGH!

Tonight: Snow likely. Low around 20F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected.

Tomorrow: Snow during the morning will taper off as a few snow showers during the afternoon. Cold. High 32F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.

Tomorrow night: Fair skies. Low 18F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.

 

I sometimes have a rattle coming from the the top of the center console (where the guages are). I can only hear it with the top up and the radio low or off (which is not often ). BTW, I haven't had my ZR for a year yet. (almost 16,000 miles, though)

 

I have a few minor rattles and I do notice wind noise, but it does not really bother me much. I pretty much accept that wind noise comes along with owning a roadster, besides my top is down 99% of the time, as I drive my other car when the weather is bad.

 

You can fix rattles with velvet tape. I just notice mine in the dash driving in the freeway with my 19 inch rims.

 

I started this thread a while ago and finally fixed the problem (no thanks to the dealer).

As noted above, I was having some squeeking/rubber noises from my window trim every time I went over a bump (with the window up). It was driving me crazy because it was beside my ear.

The fix - the rubber seals around the side windows are adjustable by pulling off the rubber trim and adjusting the screws behind it.

Just and FYI in case anybody else has this problem, or this would probably fix a leak/wind noise too.

 

max, thanks for posting again and letting us know; just b/c we haven't experienced your particular rattle yet doesn't mean it won't "visit" us in the future. Some folks are the pioneering sort who figure out stuff on their own, while others (like me!) less mechanically inclined wait for guys like you to figure it out for us and then post and tell us how to do it.

 

Other than the dovetail pin on the doors that I fixed as Darthvol described, I've had no weird noises or rattles to speak of. My first convertible so I have nothing to compare to, but anecdotally, I hear that some other verts aren't as rattle free. I've got 18 months and 25k miles behind me, so I'm feeling pretty good about the body rigidity and integrity.

srm

 

I have an 04 ZR and just passed 11k on the odometer, purchased in Aug 03, and just started hearing a light rattle on the passenger side, up and away from the seat, only with the top up. I'm still trying to pinpoint the problem. This is my second top, the first was replaced under warranty for the problems documented previously.

 

While searching for my rattles source I discovered the pins that lock into the windshield frame are loosing the plastic sleeve that covers them, I'm not sure if this is the source of my rattle but you should check your top just in case. These pins/hooks move out (away from center) when you pull the top release handle down.