[gokings55]

Now that it's been colder I notice what seems like more noise coming from the seals around the doors and windows. I notice the noise more when I go up an incline at an angle. It seems as though the noise comes from the frame of the car twisting and the doors shifting to conform to the position of the frame. the noise sounds like plastic wrap being scrunched together. Is it the rubber of the moldings expanding and contracting, or what? Part of me thinks it's probably normal but just want to be sure. The part about the noise being more noticible going up a little hill at an angle (such as entering a driveway at an angle) reminds me of a post about a test they put some trucks through where they dirve the truck with the doors open for a while and then see if the doors still close afterwards. Thanks for your replies

 

[TheWorm]

Drew posted a description of the frame twister test you're thinking about. It looks like this:

originally posted by Drew:
What is mentioned above is called a frame twister test. I think there is a misunderstanding here. You don't actually drive with the doors open.

The idea here is to demonstrate and compare torsional (twist) rigidity, visibly, between the vehicles. This is why doors are opened and closed while the vehicle is in an off-cambered position. If the vehicle's structure is not torsionally rigid enough, the door will open, but will not be able to successfully close because the door frame is slightly warped while the vehicle is in that position. The most difficult is the tailgate open/close since it significantly larger than the doors.

Insofar as your current experience, I don't see how that could be a possible culprit - there's not much torsional action going on just climbing a paved hill! Certainly contracting seals could be, however.

Does the sound come from all over the car? All 4 doors? Just 1? I can make some guesses (have had a couple noises that could be characterized as plasticwrap scrunching), but only if the sound's localized

 

[gokings55]

Most of the time I notice the sound coming from the driver's side front window, but it does seem to depend on which angle the car is traveling up the incline. The doors seem to open and close normally. The sound is not very loud, like I said plastic wrap scrunching or velcro being unfastened slowly.

 

[TheWorm]

Out of curiosity, have you done DMor's screen spline fix? If so, make sure the spline is firmly in the channel.

Also, if the up-the-driveway sound is more pronounced right on the bump, check the fusebox panel -- it's on the side of the dash, and is meets the door speaker when the door's closed; sometimes it can make that noise.

Finally, you could try and condition the moldings w/303 or Vinylex to see if it is just rubbing...wash first, of course, around the moldings in the frame...

 

[gokings55]

Thanks for the advice Worm, It is definitely the window shifting around slightly when I go up or down an incline. If I push out on the top portion of the window while sitting inside the truck I can reproduce the sound. It sounds like the glass knd of peeling away from the seals. So I assume I'm not the only one who can do this to their window. Maybe someone else can try it and let us know. Thanks!

 

[TheWorm]

I'll try that out later and let ya know...BTW, I posted awhile back about window rattle which actually could be the core issue: window's not centered or tight enough in the track, so it could shift.

I was hoping it was the screen spline -- ours came loose on the hwy and at certain speeds (and wind directions) it sounded like faint radio static, but was tough to isolate where, exactly, it was coming from

 

[TheWorm]

If I push out on the top portion of the window while sitting inside the truck I can reproduce the sound.

gokings55,

Tried that...

(dealer voice on)

Sorry, cannot duplicate the problem.

(dealer voice off)

Be sure and let us know what they ultimately find out!