Targa roof noise fixes
07-20-2011, 01:38 PM
#2
Instructor
I posted this in the thread 'Targa roof noises' started by esseight. There's an alternative simple version using only the spray posted there as well. But this is what I do:
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Here's my cure for 99% of the Targa roof rattles & squeaks. Looks complicated. Isn't. My roof has been absolutely silent for a year since this fix.
You'll need two products: McLube spray (aka SailKote) and McLube One Drop oil. They're available in the marine market, and from various online sources. I've used them both a lot on boats.
1) Cover your seats - cheap insurance. Retract the glass top. Open the Targa hatch as well. If there is dust or dirt inside the roof rails or the back hatch sills, vacuum it out. Get the remainder with detailers spray and a rag.
2) Clean excess gunk from ALL bits inside the rails of the track with a Q-tip. I didn't use cleaner or solvent. Wouldn't recommend it. Look hard. Find every bit of the track you can, from the top, from inside. To get to the aft track bits, retract the roof a small amount. Be sure to get in (as best you can) to the diffusers/seals both fore and aft of the glass top. The rear is especially tough, barely possible.
3) Do the same for all moving parts of the hatch hinges and the lock flange. The hinge mechanism is pretty complex. Actually quite cool.
4) Use the McLube oil on a Q-tip, to coat the tracks (not the sills, the black track / rails). Coat the back hatch hinges and the flange too. You don't need a lot of oil, just coat the surface. Excess just attracts dust. Again look hard at the track. Find & lube every bit you can - from inside & out, partially & fully retracted roof.
5) Cycle the roof and the back hatch. Repeat the lube process.
6) For the moving bits of the hard plastic diffusers you can't reach, use the McLube spray with the red tube extension. Both diffuser pieces have hinges. I think that the rear diffuser (between the roof and the hatch) is the source of 90% of the problems. So look closely - anywhere that hard plastic sits against a solid piece of the roof.
Do not use the McLube spray on soft seals, just on hard surfaces. Use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the 'weatherstripping'.
The McLube spray dries clean. It will not attract dust and grime. It's possible that the McLube spray would do the whole job. No need for the oil. I'd consider trying that if your car is in a dusty environment. But since Porsche used a more viscous product, I use the McLube bearing oil.
Total time? Maybe 20 minutes
Result? - Silence. No issues.
Oh and don't wear jeans. You'll be leaning over the car a lot, easy to scratch your paint.
Honestly most dealers don't know how to deal with this problem. They know how to align the roof, but...
Tom
-------------
Here's my cure for 99% of the Targa roof rattles & squeaks. Looks complicated. Isn't. My roof has been absolutely silent for a year since this fix.
You'll need two products: McLube spray (aka SailKote) and McLube One Drop oil. They're available in the marine market, and from various online sources. I've used them both a lot on boats.
1) Cover your seats - cheap insurance. Retract the glass top. Open the Targa hatch as well. If there is dust or dirt inside the roof rails or the back hatch sills, vacuum it out. Get the remainder with detailers spray and a rag.
2) Clean excess gunk from ALL bits inside the rails of the track with a Q-tip. I didn't use cleaner or solvent. Wouldn't recommend it. Look hard. Find every bit of the track you can, from the top, from inside. To get to the aft track bits, retract the roof a small amount. Be sure to get in (as best you can) to the diffusers/seals both fore and aft of the glass top. The rear is especially tough, barely possible.
3) Do the same for all moving parts of the hatch hinges and the lock flange. The hinge mechanism is pretty complex. Actually quite cool.
4) Use the McLube oil on a Q-tip, to coat the tracks (not the sills, the black track / rails). Coat the back hatch hinges and the flange too. You don't need a lot of oil, just coat the surface. Excess just attracts dust. Again look hard at the track. Find & lube every bit you can - from inside & out, partially & fully retracted roof.
5) Cycle the roof and the back hatch. Repeat the lube process.
6) For the moving bits of the hard plastic diffusers you can't reach, use the McLube spray with the red tube extension. Both diffuser pieces have hinges. I think that the rear diffuser (between the roof and the hatch) is the source of 90% of the problems. So look closely - anywhere that hard plastic sits against a solid piece of the roof.
Do not use the McLube spray on soft seals, just on hard surfaces. Use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the 'weatherstripping'.
The McLube spray dries clean. It will not attract dust and grime. It's possible that the McLube spray would do the whole job. No need for the oil. I'd consider trying that if your car is in a dusty environment. But since Porsche used a more viscous product, I use the McLube bearing oil.
Total time? Maybe 20 minutes
Result? - Silence. No issues.
Oh and don't wear jeans. You'll be leaning over the car a lot, easy to scratch your paint.
Honestly most dealers don't know how to deal with this problem. They know how to align the roof, but...
Tom
07-20-2011, 08:36 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
I posted this in the thread 'Targa roof noises' started by esseight. There's an alternative simple version using only the spray posted there as well. But this is what I do:
-------------
Here's my cure for 99% of the Targa roof rattles & squeaks. Looks complicated. Isn't. My roof has been absolutely silent for a year since this fix.
You'll need two products: McLube spray (aka SailKote) and McLube One Drop oil. They're available in the marine market, and from various online sources. I've used them both a lot on boats.
1) Cover your seats - cheap insurance. Retract the glass top. Open the Targa hatch as well. If there is dust or dirt inside the roof rails or the back hatch sills, vacuum it out. Get the remainder with detailers spray and a rag.
2) Clean excess gunk from ALL bits inside the rails of the track with a Q-tip. I didn't use cleaner or solvent. Wouldn't recommend it. Look hard. Find every bit of the track you can, from the top, from inside. To get to the aft track bits, retract the roof a small amount. Be sure to get in (as best you can) to the diffusers/seals both fore and aft of the glass top. The rear is especially tough, barely possible.
3) Do the same for all moving parts of the hatch hinges and the lock flange. The hinge mechanism is pretty complex. Actually quite cool.
4) Use the McLube oil on a Q-tip, to coat the tracks (not the sills, the black track / rails). Coat the back hatch hinges and the flange too. You don't need a lot of oil, just coat the surface. Excess just attracts dust. Again look hard at the track. Find & lube every bit you can - from inside & out, partially & fully retracted roof.
5) Cycle the roof and the back hatch. Repeat the lube process.
6) For the moving bits of the hard plastic diffusers you can't reach, use the McLube spray with the red tube extension. Both diffuser pieces have hinges. I think that the rear diffuser (between the roof and the hatch) is the source of 90% of the problems. So look closely - anywhere that hard plastic sits against a solid piece of the roof.
Do not use the McLube spray on soft seals, just on hard surfaces. Use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the 'weatherstripping'.
The McLube spray dries clean. It will not attract dust and grime. It's possible that the McLube spray would do the whole job. No need for the oil. I'd consider trying that if your car is in a dusty environment. But since Porsche used a more viscous product, I use the McLube bearing oil.
Total time? Maybe 20 minutes
Result? - Silence. No issues.
Oh and don't wear jeans. You'll be leaning over the car a lot, easy to scratch your paint.
Honestly most dealers don't know how to deal with this problem. They know how to align the roof, but...
Tom
-------------
Here's my cure for 99% of the Targa roof rattles & squeaks. Looks complicated. Isn't. My roof has been absolutely silent for a year since this fix.
You'll need two products: McLube spray (aka SailKote) and McLube One Drop oil. They're available in the marine market, and from various online sources. I've used them both a lot on boats.
1) Cover your seats - cheap insurance. Retract the glass top. Open the Targa hatch as well. If there is dust or dirt inside the roof rails or the back hatch sills, vacuum it out. Get the remainder with detailers spray and a rag.
2) Clean excess gunk from ALL bits inside the rails of the track with a Q-tip. I didn't use cleaner or solvent. Wouldn't recommend it. Look hard. Find every bit of the track you can, from the top, from inside. To get to the aft track bits, retract the roof a small amount. Be sure to get in (as best you can) to the diffusers/seals both fore and aft of the glass top. The rear is especially tough, barely possible.
3) Do the same for all moving parts of the hatch hinges and the lock flange. The hinge mechanism is pretty complex. Actually quite cool.
4) Use the McLube oil on a Q-tip, to coat the tracks (not the sills, the black track / rails). Coat the back hatch hinges and the flange too. You don't need a lot of oil, just coat the surface. Excess just attracts dust. Again look hard at the track. Find & lube every bit you can - from inside & out, partially & fully retracted roof.
5) Cycle the roof and the back hatch. Repeat the lube process.
6) For the moving bits of the hard plastic diffusers you can't reach, use the McLube spray with the red tube extension. Both diffuser pieces have hinges. I think that the rear diffuser (between the roof and the hatch) is the source of 90% of the problems. So look closely - anywhere that hard plastic sits against a solid piece of the roof.
Do not use the McLube spray on soft seals, just on hard surfaces. Use 303 Aerospace Protectant on the 'weatherstripping'.
The McLube spray dries clean. It will not attract dust and grime. It's possible that the McLube spray would do the whole job. No need for the oil. I'd consider trying that if your car is in a dusty environment. But since Porsche used a more viscous product, I use the McLube bearing oil.
Total time? Maybe 20 minutes
Result? - Silence. No issues.
Oh and don't wear jeans. You'll be leaning over the car a lot, easy to scratch your paint.
Honestly most dealers don't know how to deal with this problem. They know how to align the roof, but...
Tom
08-03-2011, 06:43 PM
#5
Instructor
Glad you liked it. Hope it helps you enjoy your car.
I think a lot of the problems come from over-zealous "detailers" in production-line settings where the goal is to just clean it all out, shine it up and get it on the lot. They use some pretty aggressive degreasers. It strips the roof mechanism of lube. That, and the majority of P-techs have little experience with the roof. They'll usually hit the track with a thick Vaseline-like product, and call it done. Too bad, because the fix is so simple.
Of course the much-discussed problem of salespeople dissing what they don't have on the lot doesn't help either.
Net/net, every time I hear a non-owner crowing about how the roofs all squeak, and about how the car is heavy, I just shake my head and laugh. Then I enjoy that next sunny drive all the more.
I think a lot of the problems come from over-zealous "detailers" in production-line settings where the goal is to just clean it all out, shine it up and get it on the lot. They use some pretty aggressive degreasers. It strips the roof mechanism of lube. That, and the majority of P-techs have little experience with the roof. They'll usually hit the track with a thick Vaseline-like product, and call it done. Too bad, because the fix is so simple.
Of course the much-discussed problem of salespeople dissing what they don't have on the lot doesn't help either.
Net/net, every time I hear a non-owner crowing about how the roofs all squeak, and about how the car is heavy, I just shake my head and laugh. Then I enjoy that next sunny drive all the more.
Last edited by RennlistTomE; 08-03-2011 at 07:11 PM. Reason: Unfinished post
08-03-2011, 09:48 PM
#6
Drifting
You can counter with how the Coupe is so dark and oppressive inside and so easily deflected by a slight side-wind, and the Cabrio is so loud with its rag-roof. I mean, in the spirit of just preaching hyperbole about what one doesn't really understand. ;-)
