E30 Zone

My cabby rattles along when i'm driving.
It seems to be coming from the rear driver side (rhd).

Anyone know what it could be?

a worn or poorly adjusted horseshoe cover latch.

is it auto roof or manual roof?

mrLEE30 wrote:a worn or poorly adjusted horseshoe cover latch.

+1

mrLEE30 - is this easy to adjust? I have the same problem on the other side when the hood is up (manual)

Its a manual roof.

Someone had a look at it and said it may be a worn shock absorber top...or something like that.

Does that sound right?

top mount gone, really easy to change on a cab

OK i think what you need to do is give a more accurate description of what the noise is.

is it a constant rattle or only when you go over bumps.

if its a constant rattle then check the horseshoe, what i did was put some PVC tape around the "male" part of the lock to see it this cured the noise(see pic) This I did on one side at a time.

If is does stop the noise then you have found your rattle, now you can remove the tape and loosen the two bolts seen in the pic below and slide it back or forward a bit to tighten the clasp in the latch, thus stopping rattles

if the noise is when you go over bumps then i would inspect the top mounts as suggested.

And finally shock absorbers on the horseshoe will have no effect once the lid is closed, it is only used to hold the horseshoe open

I must admit. The rattle seems a lot less when the roof is off. It still rattles but not as noisy.

Also it does rattle almost constantly and not just when going over bumps. I'll try the tape thing and see how it goes, but my mechanic said he thinks its the top mounts on the shocks.

I've removed the rubber grommet from under the horseshoe and the o/s/r shock absorber moves a lot more that the n/s/r.

Does that indicate a faulty top mount? as the taping of the horseshoe catch didn't make a great deal of difference.

Top mounts probably... mine were noisy so i replaced them both (better to do in pairs) i have never done any before and it took me about 2 hours in all... that included stripping the interior in my boot to get to the mounts... 1 bolt on the bottom of the shock then the 3 smaller ones in the boot area then the whole assmbly comes out and then just take the big bolt off and the mount slides off.. easy... to refit just reverse the procedure..

(Think i remembered everything)


Andy

lawriejones wrote:I've removed the rubber grommet from under the horseshoe and the o/s/r shock absorber moves a lot more that the n/s/r.

Does that indicate a faulty top mount? as the taping of the horseshoe catch didn't make a great deal of difference.

yes you must replace the top mounts (best as a pair)

Buy genuine BMW replacements for an E46 cabriolet. They appear to be identical, but are of a stronger construction, cost no more, and should last for ever, assuming you don't have some ridiculous "drop" on this car.

bobbin1982 wrote:Top mounts probably... mine were noisy so i replaced them both (better to do in pairs) i have never done any before and it took me about 2 hours in all... that included stripping the interior in my boot to get to the mounts... 1 bolt on the bottom of the shock then the 3 smaller ones in the boot area then the whole assmbly comes out and then just take the big bolt off and the mount slides off.. easy... to refit just reverse the procedure..

(Think i remembered everything)


Andy

Even easier on a cabbie;
open the hood cover,
prop the back of the hood up,
remove the grommet at the bottom of the hood compartment,
remove the two 13mm nuts,
remove the lower damper mounting bolt(19mm and will be tight!)
fit new mount and re-assemble.
Can even be done without jacking the car up if you are careful.

One point to remember, if you do jack the car up, is not to tighten the 19mm bolt at the bottom of the damper until the car is back on the ground and at normal ride height.

Brianmoooore wrote:One point to remember, if you do jack the car up, is not to tighten the 19mm bolt at the bottom of the damper until the car is back on the ground and at normal ride height.

Why's that Brian

Because you will be permanently twisting the rubber bush in the damper otherwise. Same reason that you drop the front back onto the ground before the lubricant dries after changing the control arm bushes.

Brianmoooore wrote:Because you will be permanently twisting the rubber bush in the damper otherwise. Same reason that you drop the front back onto the ground before the lubricant dries after changing the control arm bushes.

Gotcha