A different kind of "pirate-ship creak"

[Oli77]

Hornung's original pirate-ship creak makes me think of the one I have.

Its inside the cabin and I think it is the rubber around all the doors creaking on the "inside frame" of the car.

Am I the only one with that and can we apply a lubricant on the door rubber (#1 below)?

http://realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/l/d/180.png

[nike001]

When does it creak?

[Oli77]

Driving around neighborhood slowly 20-24 mph. Just following the contour of the asphalt, going over the driveway gutter really slowly.

[Ryans323i]

No you're not alone, and yes you can apply lube. I had the creak and I applied white lithium grease with a rag (the grease was in a spray can). It made some of my rubber white, which I didn't like so I suggest a different lube, but it's been 4+years and no more creaks and the rubber has not deteriorated.

[Oli77]

AhAh! I guess armorall protectant won't last long enough. Silicone grease?

[danewilson77]

AhAh! I guess armorall protectant won't last long enough. Silicone grease?

I have a black lithium grease.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Oli77]

Do you also apply the black lithium grease on part #1 in the above-displayed diagram Dane?

[danewilson77]

Do you also apply the black lithium grease on part #1 in the above-displayed diagram Dane?

Oh....hell no! I thought we were talking about suspension related components. Hehe......I was completely OTL on this thread. My bust.

Say.....I have some of that Wurth trim/edge dressing I could send you to give a try?

[Oli77]

Wurth trim/edge dressing...hmm.. googlelinging as we speak..

[Oli77]

If it is like this stuff (http://www.superiorcarcare.net/wurucagelst.html), its a win! Designed for door seals.

[Oli77]

Dane, you left me high and dry over here. Has any one used this stuff?

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/everythingautomotive_2198_49717691

[danewilson77]

I have used it. It works.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Oli77]

I'll give it a whirl and report back on my "other kind of pirate creak".

[Oli77]

Got it today.

Can't wait to try it.

[Oli77]

Applied liberally to the rubber pieces around all doors, trunk and sunroof.

The "different kind or pirate ship creak" is still present.

[danewilson77]

Applied liberally to the rubber pieces around all doors, trunk and sunroof.

The "different kind or pirate ship creak" is still present.

Damn. Give it a week.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Oli77]

yeah, a maybe a second coat next week...

[brettbimmer]

Oli, most folks aren't aware that Armorall products (while very popular and easy to purchase at the local retailer) are actually petroleum based products (or at least they were up until a couple of years ago), and they tend to dry out and shrink rubber & vinyl. I have seen it make a dash board come apart as it dries out over time, as it happened to a the dash of a roommate's Jeep Grand Cherokee back in college in Florida which he religiously treated with Armorall. It pulled the recessed dash tray inlay inward, separating it from the dash itself.

I suspect that if you have been using Armorall on the door seals, this shrinkage is probably the issue. If you need a good citrus-based vinyl & rubber dressing which will not dry out the rubber and will not cause it to shrink, check out a product called 303 Aerospace Protectant. It is wonderful stuff, though not cheap. I cannot be sure it will fix the shrinkage of the door seals, but it may be worth a try if you are still searching for a solution. I highly recommend this product for vinyl and rubber conditioning, and have used it for many years in the harsh marine industry. Hopefully this will help quiet the land-yachting issues with the pirate ship creaking!

[Oli77]

Good Brother Brett,

I have never used ArmorAll products on the rubber, vinyl, dash, seats, etc... (way too shinny) and indeed, I love and use 303 Aerospace protectant just about on everything (even the engine bay).

I bought this Wurth rubber care gel stick because it was designed for door seals.

Helas, it did not stop the creak (it may have helped the rubber somewhat, time will tell.

But you amke a good point, and I will try the Aerospace 303 on those same rubber seals around the door to see if they stop the pirate ship sound...

[zhp43867]

I doubt 303 Aerospace will stop any creaks that the Gummi pflege can't handle unfortunately... I have tried both. Is it more of a groan, a middling creak, or a squeak?

[Oli77]

It's a creak around all doors I think.

[Oli77]

Well I'll be. This morning the creak is 80% gone.

Guess it took a while for the product to do its' magic on the rubber and enlarge it a little.

[danewilson77]

Like I said......lets re-evauate on Friday.......

Good news.

[Oli77]

The creak is bad. I'll live with it.

[danewilson77]

The creak is bad. I'll live with it.

Ugh. Sux. Sorry it didn't work out.

Sent from SIGFest 2012

[spencers]

Gummi Pflege!

[Oli77]

Is that another product I should try?

[danewilson77]

Yeah...I hear that is good stuff as well.

I think the creak is partially enviromental dependant as well.

[kayger12]

Gummi Pflege!

I read that Gummi actually dries out the rubber and is no longer recommended.

I'll see if I can dig up the info.

Edit:
Keep in mind that BMW has phased out use of gummi-pflege due to the damage caused to rubber seals by silicone products.

BMW now uses carboflo, (Carbaflo KSP105. BMW P/N 83230309627, $38.78) for all seal maintenance and squeaky seal issues.

This should be used after a silicone remover if you've been using gummi-pflege.


I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

[Hornung418]

There is a substance that is sold in a roll and is about 3/4 inch. It slides on around the outside of the inner door seal and fills the gap.

All I remember is that a Japanese man was filmed using it on his e60...some kind of Japanese DIY.

I'm on the moon.

[Oli77]

Keith you-da-man!

I'll bookmark that for rainy fund pay day.

[kayger12]

^Anytime, my friend.

Just passing on the bookmarked knowledge of others. :)

[danewilson77]

I read that Gummi actually dries out the rubber and is no longer recommended.

I'll see if I can dig up the info.

Edit:


I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

Great info KG.

Sent from SIGFest 2012

[Oli77]

May be I can have it shipped to Switzerland for cheaper. Looks like that stuff it 57 pounds, that's 80 bux!

[Oli77]

Update.

The ship creak was largely gone after ~ 9 months of not messing with it and yesterday, I used 303 protectant on the inside of the car. I added some to the rubber around each door and guess what? The creak is back big time.

So I do not recommend using 303 protectant on the door seals, unless you like the creak.

When I was in Europe this summer I picked up a little bottle of Carbaflo KSP105 Keith mentioned above. I will let the 303 were off and then try the Carbaflo.

[Washburn]

Krytox.

[Oli77]

That is as expensive as the carbaflo (if not more 2 KG for $5900! :(). Thanks for the info I'll bookmark it. I will try my free 3 mL of carbaflo first.

[Washburn]

GM sells it too, and "only" like 40 bucks (same stuff as VW branded or sold under Krytox name itself)

"...Here's another affordable alternative. You can get GM part number 3634770 for $32.49 at GM parts Direct. Its worth reading their product description. After reviewing the MSDS sheet from GM, I was able to determine that this is the liquid Krytox GPL 105 which is an exact match to the VW part number G 052 172 A1 in the Eos owners manual at 1/3 of the price. The quantity listed on the label is 29ML. It has been mentioned that the liquid may be more difficult to apply precisely, and may be prone to unintentional spreading over time. So you may prefer the thicker GPL-205 grease instead of this.
http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/"

[Oli77]

Never reported on the Carbaflo KSP105 I got last time I was in Europe. I got a free sample, maybe 4 mL.

I applied to all rubbers around door once and it did nothing.

Waited a couple a weeks and applied a second more liberal coat and I feel like there is a 50% reduction of the ship creak but it is not gone.

I don't think I will ever be able to cure that.

Maybe i will try that krytox next...