Wind noise just behind my head (B-pillar)

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

I was driving this car for some years now and on highways, I heard some wind noises when the music wasn't play loudy. I said to myself that it's normal at the speed I'm rolling on highway (sometime a little higher the limits), until one day my girlfriend said "do you hear this noise, it seems wind". Finally, it wasn't just in my head...

I started searching and it appeared that the pop rivets tightening the black seal (metal and rubber) between front and rear doors (assembled on rear doors) were falling apart because of the pressure (curved part ?) and the corrosion. There are 4 on each door and 3 allowed enough play between parts to create some kind of air leak. (I had this prob first on the SLO but SHO developped the prob too.)

As I don't have a pop rivet tool, I searched another solution (which will be permanent this time). I had some spare screws from my sunroof restauration. These screws are painted in black (look better) and fit perfectly in the rivets holes (once you cleared the remains of the rivets).

To check them, open the rear doors and watch the black part just forward the door window, you will see small pop rivets (black too). Try to see if they are sitting correctly on the part they are tightening, mines had their heads looking quaver and from the door, the seal had some play too. I had just to pry a little and their heads fall out. I took a screw and put it on the remains of the rivet into the hole and tapped gently with an hammer on the screw to retreive the last part (which is falling into the door, I have no choice there). Once the hole is liberated, the screw will bolt perfectly.

No more wind at high speeds. Hope it will help some to appreciate their ride too.

 

[Pablo sho]

Yea. Mine has some noises too. I will check it out.

 

[gamefanatic]

Actually I have been trying to track down the clips that go into the door window seals (the ones the window slides up on the slides and top). Seems all my Tauri are suffering from this now. The few I had something still sticking in the door only had the clip that went into the door and not the seal retainer side. With this broken the window pops out a bit near the entry side of the door and causes wind noise as well. Haven't found the right part, but still looking.

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

I also remarked more recently that the rubber seal all around the rear doors are bad on the front lower corner. It seems a factory defect as all Gen 3 taurus I saw (mines and scrapyards) are bad at the same place... I found Gen 4 seals that were o.k. and I will put them as the doors seem to have the same dimensions.

 

[stephen newberg]

Interesting. I have not had the problem. It is a good idea to occasionally hit all the door seals with seal cleaner, and I do that, so that might have helped.

pax, smn

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

More precisely, the rubber stay solid (at least as it was when the car was new) but the seal expands over time and will not covering the front lower corner of the rear door correctly. All gen 3 taurus seals I saw have expanded at this place.

 

[stephen newberg]

Hmmm. Nope, I looked. Mine is fine. Might be that the car has been parked under cover and out of sun for the last dozen years.

pax, smn

 

[gamefanatic]

None of mine get any reprieve from the sun all the years I have had them, so they are definitely worn in many areas and makes plastic brittle. My Cadillac has done better, but now is getting to the same point that I have to be careful with connectors and such.

 

[stephen newberg]

Yes, it makes a huge difference. UV and heat are just ******* a lot of materials.

pax, smn

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

Ok, I understand now. I repaired the driver door upper hinge which was badly worn the first year I had it. I realize that the door was closing a little bit too low. For a long time, seal were compressed too much at some places (mostly the upper rear corner which is near the driver hear...)

I replaced the seals all around the driver side doors (held by plastic push pins) in additions of first between the doors that I "screwed". These replacement eliminate 80% of the noise now, very silent, "its like flying first class" ! The 20% that still will be harder to eliminate because inners seal (the ones on the car side) seems more complicated to change (not studied a lot this side now).


And here is the corner on rear doors which I saw bad on many Taurus (lower front corner of rear doors).



The seals that goes all around the doors are the same of 2000 to 2007 for rear and front. I recommand to take them because they are younger and they are made in one pievce rubber. The seals of 1996-1999 (not sure for olders years) are made from different parts that were "welded" together (angles are added to straight lines). Over time they take some loose too.

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

Beware even if SHO and SLO are the same, we can find 3 diffrents shapes (maybe only for rear doors, I made that mistake) :

Taurus sedan (and SHO)
Sable sedan
Taurus and Sable wagons

 

[gamefanatic]

Did you get your seals from junk yard sources or were you able to order them online? My wind noise is coming from the seal you show on the left in the picture. It's pulling away from the door.

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

I found them in junkyard. When the guy at the door (who charges for unbolted parts), asked me what I have and saw that I only have these non mechanicals rubber parts, says : "ok then, no fee for that".

Previously in my searches another seller (an older one this time) at the entrance of another scrapyard said to me : did you know how these seals are sold new ? No, I said. It's like 150$ ! (CAD) I thought then that he will probably ask me a lot, even for used ones... and I took nothing there.

Scrapyard trick :
I think the best (for price and stuff quality) is to find them in scrapyard on a younger SLO sedan (2000-2007). Go there on the week-end, it will probably a student or a guy who isn't the boss there (money isn't going into his pockets) and can be willing to negociate the price a little or charge you nothing for them (it's just rubber you know !).

Retreiving method ansd spares :
Another good point with that is you can take the plastic push pins (all around of it). Which aren't coming with a new seal. In scrapyard, you will learn how to retreive these on another car, not yours. If you screwed something, find another one but yours stay o.k. (it's a scrapyard, no one will charge you). Push pins can be hard to retreive, you have to push by the side of the pin between the door and pin head but sometime, they don't want to exit and you have to scrap that pin (some on yours can be already bad too). Better to have some spares. Don't pull very ******* the seal, you will damage it. Pull it a little bit from the door, just to see the pin and then push it by the side with a plane screwdriver.

Good luck,

 

[GEN 3 SHO FAN]

Maybe my 20% of noise that stills on the door on driver side is caused by this TSB... (see image image at the end). Front doors can be assembled too low on the car and the upper part of the seals is not sitting correctly. It can be corrected by adjusting the hinges of the door.

http://v8sho.com/SHO/Side Door Wind Noise TSB 99-6-5.htm

 

[gamefanatic]

I was able to source a couple from my local junk yard. They don't give anything but small bolts and things for free, so I got the both of them for less than $40 from a 2004 and 2007. The plastic clips are in good condition and probably would cost $0.50 to make if someone had a 3D printer. They do run about $120 USD for new ones.