Wind noise

[BennyM]

I have a few issues with wind noise and seals. One whistling noise in particular has become steadily more annoying. I know it could all be resolved with hundreds of dollars, but I fear that after spending $400 on rubber gaskets and another $400 on 1cm thick pieces of plastic, I may develop an angry nervous tick in my left eye (starts up just thinking about those rediculous prices)....and higher blood pressure may follow shortly after. So, are there alternative ways to fix the following problems:
1. Front and rear windshield trim pieces have gaps and pitted holes. Can I seal these with some kind of weatherizing goop?
2. The sunroof seems a bit out of alignment, and I while I was able to raise one side so that it was flush with the roof agian, the screw for raising the other side was stripped (not by me). Any tips on how to get that tiny little thing out?
3. The door seals that go around each opening on the cars body have shrunken by a good 4 inches and they have contracted away from the door frames. I fear this may cause additional noise, but I can't find new ones for less than $90 and no one will sell me used ones. Is there a way to stretch these back out? Can I cut them, sacrificing a less important (less visible portion of the door frame and shape them back into the top corners of the door frames?

I would be surprised if I was the only one who chose not to fork over tones of cash for these and also chose not to "just live with it". I'm all ears!

BennyM

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[Russell]

Cut the door seals. Seriously, You can cut your door seals and insert a splice. I did it on all four doors. Go to the junk yard buy one old door seal for the donor splces.

Also google or search various e32 or e34 forums for a another technigue that uses rubber to fill the gap after the dool seals are cut.

Your mirror needs to be replaced. The mirror material under the glass has failed.

[Scott C]

Brown gunk on mirror - ebay has sellers (or online vendors) with new ones - like 40$ for pair if i remember (and that was with heaters). Mine just popped off (use leather gloves). Yours may be different....

Wind noise - check to see if the black trim around the windshield is remaining down - mine was blowing up in the wind! I used clear silicone adhesive to keep it from blowing up in the wind and then flapping.

I used something like a shoe goop to get the door edge moldings to stay in their proper position. There may be material hiding down below under the sill plate that you can pull up to make them fit right.

Scott

[BennyM]

This is all really good feedback, guys.

Can any one recommend a specific product/brand to use on the windshield trim?

I know BMA or Autohauz sells a certain glue for the door frame trim. And I will definitely be cutting those suckers as soon as it gets warm out.

Scott, The sill plates (if we're talking about the same thing) actually keep popping off from the pressure of the contracting door seals. Extreme temperatures really do weird things to cars.

BennyM


Brown gunk on mirror - ebay has sellers (or online vendors) with new ones - like 40$ for pair if i remember (and that was with heaters). Mine just popped off (use leather gloves). Yours may be different....

Wind noise - check to see if the black trim around the windshield is remaining down - mine was blowing up in the wind! I used clear silicone adhesive to keep it from blowing up in the wind and then flapping.

I used something like a shoe goop to get the door edge moldings to stay in their proper position. There may be material hiding down below under the sill plate that you can pull up to make them fit right.

Scott

[Scott C]

This is all really good feedback, guys.

Can any one recommend a specific product/brand to use on the windshield trim?

I know BMA or Autohauz sells a certain glue for the door frame trim. And I will definitely be cutting those suckers as soon as it gets warm out.

Scott, The sill plates (if we're talking about the same thing) actually keep popping off from the pressure of the contracting door seals. Extreme temperatures really do weird things to cars.

BennyM

I used the clear silicone adhesive that was left over from bathroom sealing ;)
(So it was designed for water immersion). I counted on large amount of surface area and suitable spread of silicone - it wont lift off. It did take 24hrs to dry

[paanta]

I'm going to try 3M spray adhesive on those door seals this weekend. The stuff is magic. I'll let you know how that turns out. All four of my door seals are doing this to some degree.

[Russell]

I'm going to try 3M spray adhesive on those door seals this weekend. The stuff is magic. I'll let you know how that turns out. All four of my door seals are doing this to some degree.

Sorry, I do not recommend glueing the door seals. if you do not cut the seals to remove the pulling effect, they will just pull back, over time, even with 3M adhesive. See my earlier comments about how to fix. it works.

[E34-520iSE]

Just fit a good set of door seals off a broken E34 - no need for glue, just a little patience.

HTH,

Shaun M

[Kibokojoe]

When you insert the extra pieces into the door seal use superglue on the rubber edges. Found this out when some maintenance works were making orings to fit on a water well and they just glued the two ends together. I tried to pull it apart and couldn't do it.

[dennyg]

I cut some of mine and spliced them in where the plastic trim covers the molding and carpet.. Remember to slide the trim off and not to try and pull it up. They are held by large white clips that work well but will snap if you lift straight up. I like the idea of super glue on the splice ends. I will try this on mine now.

I still have a few bad door seals (both gray tan and parchment) if you need a few feet. Just pay for the shipping and I will ups it to you. With the seals sticking out that much it makes sense you have some wind noise going on. New cost is something like 130 each so I don't blame you for seeking another solution.