door rattles....

[Robho]

Hi there

I have a 1971 Elan Sprint.

I want to try to eliminate rattles from the door locking/opening rods and, worse, the windows when lowered. In case it helps, they do not rattle when fully raised.

I want to dismantle/reassemble the doors in the same day, rather than have the car off the road whilst ordering parts, etc.

Thus if anyone has done this before and can suggest what I might need in advance - apart from the window seals, I've had little luck.

any guidance welcome...

thanks

[elanner]

There are many threads about rebuilding the electric windows so be sure to take a look at them.

As for ordering parts in advance, if the window currently works but simply rattles it's likely that you don't need any Elan specific parts (you say that you already have the seal/flock channel). The waist strips (and clips) might be useful to have but I doubt the window is rattling against them. Or they could be missing. You should be able to get anything you need within a few days so the car doesn't need to be off the road for long.

You will need a selection of felt and rubber pads of various thicknesses to glue under the cable, glass and rods so that they don't rattle against each other and the door or frame. You might also need some odds and ends to make a bracket/clamp to support the motor so that it doesn't rattle. There are various ways to do this shown in the other forum threads.

While you're at it you could think of putting some Dynamat type stuff in the door. OK, so it adds a bit of weight but it definitely helps the doors shut with a more solid sounding thunk.

Nick

[alan.barker]

i found that the Door Pull Plastic Handles make a rattle
Alan

[ericbushby]

Hi Robho, Hmm! wouldn`t that be good.
I am trying to think if I have started and finished a job in the same day. Give me a bit longer, I might think of one.
Best of luck with that.
I had an annoying rattle inside the door which was inaccessible. It was a flat vertical plate, possible part of the doorframe touching a part of the door. I could only touch it, I could not see it.
With a lot of difficulty I manouvered a sheet of soft leather between the plates and cured it.
Having cured one rattle, another pops up which I did not know was there before.
Good luck.
Eric in Burnley

[69S4]

If you haven't seen the inside of the doors for a while you might want to add a few 'while I'm in here' items to the list. The nylon cable pulleys wear over time so ordering a few of those + the circlips that hold them in place might save you a bit of delay if they turn out to be beyond saving. Also, the locking clips that hold the door rods in place sometimes break up so I'd add a few of those to the list.

Taking the window frame out of the lower door isn't that long a job - I've had mine on the bench in 15 mins before now - but putting it back might take a bit longer. It depends how dextrous you are with getting the lock clips and rods back in place. Long thin fingers that move in all directions and grip like a vice would certainly help
I strongly suggest taking pictures of how the door parts go together before you take it all apart. It might seem logical at that stage but it'll be a 3D jigsaw puzzle when you come to reassemble it.

[Robho]

Thanks all, for your hard-earned wisdom and tips (and a couple of smiles on the way). I'm new to this forum and, sorry, didn't go through the search first - I'll take a look.

thanks again.
Rob

[rgh0]

Was it Chapman or someone else who once said "Shutting an Elan door was like throwing a cheap cardboard suitcase full of cutlery down a flight of stairs" ?

cheers
Rohan

[elanner]

Was it Chapman or someone else who once said "Shutting an Elan door was like throwing a cheap cardboard suitcase full of cutlery down a flight of stairs" ?

Perfect - that made me laugh!

After a couple of careful efforts I've managed to get my doors so that they don't rattle and they shut with a good solid thunk. Not a Mercedes, but they're better than my daily driver Audi doors, which rattle cheaply when closed with the window open.

I think the important things to get right are:
- The door seal around the body opening needs to be good. I've read that originally the cars were fitted with a flap seal (I don't remember from my early cars). My current car has a bulb seal purchased from Sue Miller a while ago. It seems excellent. I suspect it compresses more gently than a flap seal, softening the closing action. And perhaps it holds the door more firmly when driving?
- The anti rattle pads under the glass and cable have to be exactly the right thickness and firmness to stop all the bits and pieces from banging into each other. This takes time and patience to get right.
- The motors need to be attached to the door shell with a bracket of some sort so that they don't simply hang off the bottom rail of the frame. Mine are firmly attached, but something with some rubber to provide a bit of flexibility might be even better. Some Elans apparently don't need a motor support - I guess if the frame bottom rail is strong enough - but all three that I've owned certainly have.
- As I mentioned earlier, some sound dampening placed on the inside of the outer panel, uh, dampens the sound.
- There needs to be some felt attached to the door under the rods to stop them rattling.
- As an aside, I also fitted a small angle bracket over the rod that goes into the locking flap to stop it working its way out. Held in place by the screws that secure the interior door handle to the door shell (S4/Sprint only, of course).

I'm sure I've forgotten something. Either way, the windows can be made to work nicely given sufficient anal retentive attention. The next step for me is to get the door fit decent. I've finally managed to get one of them really quite good, but the other.....

Nick

[Robho]

Thanks Nick, some good tips.

re door adjustment - on a prior car I too managed to get one to a satisfying alignment. I started with the worst of the two, and filled with what turned out to be misplaced confidence, decided i could further improve the 'good' one.

Once moved, I never got it as good as it was before I meddled with it! Infuriating doesn't do it justice...