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      10-16-2009, 12:09 PM   #1
SinkingShip
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E85 Hardtop rattle

Hello there,

As the cold weather sets in way too quickly I have recently installed my hardtop and I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help reduce wind noise and rattling.

On the driver side at the top I can feel a little gap and wind breaks through at high speeds. Additionally on the back passenger side their is a louder noise that sounds like a rattle when I go over any bumps.

Just wondering if any one has tips or tricks to lessen either one of the problems. Thanks in advance.

Matt
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      10-16-2009, 01:11 PM   #2
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I've read there's a way to adjust the hardtop so it fits better, but I've never seen the PDF file posted. I'd kinda like to know this as well, I'm going to be ordering the prep kit for my car in the next couple days. The top doesn't do me much good sitting on the floor in the garage.
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      10-17-2009, 12:38 PM   #3
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What exactly is the prep kit, my car is wired for the rear window defroster and it bolts in quite tightly. I also bought it from the dealership and they didn't suggest the hardtop prep kit. Perhaps this is the solution to my problem.

Psygnosis let me know how it goes for you.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1287964

I found this link with some good photos of the various parts.

Anyone else using the hardtop prep kit?

Cheers
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      10-17-2009, 03:29 PM   #4
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The prep kit is just the anchors under the trim pieces, they didn't come preinstalled on a lot of US spec cars, mine being one of them. Almost all still had the wiring for the rear defroster though. Right now I have no way to lock back of the hardtop to my car.
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      10-18-2009, 07:24 PM   #5
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the hardtop prep kit was a $75 option when new, and dealer installed price is you wanted to add it later I was told is $350 (of course they told me that when I was ordering my car and I told them I could care less, I don't ever intend to have a hard top on the car).
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      10-19-2009, 03:26 PM   #6
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Thanks 155MPH

I have the posts in my car but I don't have the rubber mounts as seen in this photo.

For those with a hardtop are you operating with or without the rubber mounts and does anyone know the part number for this part?

Cheers
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      10-25-2009, 03:53 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SinkingShip View Post
What exactly is the prep kit, my car is wired for the rear window defroster and it bolts in quite tightly. I also bought it from the dealership and they didn't suggest the hardtop prep kit. Perhaps this is the solution to my problem.

Psygnosis let me know how it goes for you.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1287964

I found this link with some good photos of the various parts.

Anyone else using the hardtop prep kit?

Cheers
Thanks for the reference to my post - by the way - I sold the top!

Hardtop prep - I call it the addition of a "receiver" for the post on each side of the top to fit down in to.

See these jpg's of a document I printed from a BMW installation CD I bought on EBay.

This picture shows the top of where to receiver is found on each side - also a pic of what the part looks like - -

This picture shows the panel behind the driver's seat and on the side where the plug wire on the "receiver" is inserted into the wiring harness - - -

Too bad the pics are gone from the post below – his account is inactive so no chance for a PM. Read the comments toward the bottom.
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...t=hardtop+prep
Hope this helps!
Jack
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Last edited by JackB1; 10-25-2009 at 04:35 PM..
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      10-25-2009, 04:25 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SinkingShip View Post
Hello there,
As the cold weather sets in way too quickly I have recently installed my hardtop and I was wondering if anyone had any tips to help reduce wind noise and rattling . . .
Matt
Rattling - make sure you have turned the post on the side with the "allan wrench" locking it down. Also might be the passenger seat belt metal insert as it rides in that same location when you don't have a passenger and sometime rattles against the door jam area - experience!

On the adjustment for wind noise - I copied these from a post on the old "Z4UM" days before it crashed! The only thing I take credit for is the good luck in printing it out! Thanks to how ever wrote it up!











Sorry to take up so much space but it is good info to pass along!

Best!
Jack
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      11-02-2009, 06:55 PM   #9
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Because I haven't seen a good picture of them yet anywhere. I just got my parts in today. This is pretty much all there is to the hardtop prep kit. These two receivers. Now all I have to do is figure out how to install them.

edit: also here's a before picture without it installed
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      11-04-2009, 09:26 PM   #10
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So I have the hardtop on now, but shouldn't the buttons to raise and lower the softtop stop working with the hardtop in place?
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      11-10-2009, 02:36 AM   #11
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In the trunk, there's a ring with cable that you can pull that suppose do disengage the soft top from closing. The safest option is to go behind the glove box, there's a fuse box and pull out the the fuse for the soft top and you can never again accidentally raise your top...and when you take the top off, putting the fuse is about a 90 to 120 seconds job.
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      11-10-2009, 02:38 AM   #12
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I installed the prep on my car, but for some reason the electrical connectors don't match on my car.... ???? It's the wrong mating connector... I have the same one as shown in your picture, but the one on my car has the wrong mating connector...is this normal? I have an 07.
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      11-10-2009, 11:04 AM   #13
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The car has blank/empty connectors in it, pull them out then you can plug the wires in.
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      11-10-2009, 10:59 PM   #14
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Hmm... so you're saying that the connector on the car, already has a mating connector attached and I need to remove it to install the hardtop prep connector to it? I didn't think of it...was too tired and it was lated...I saw it didn't fit and gave up cause it was late.
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      11-25-2009, 02:51 PM   #15
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Hi,

Sorry to hijack/bump an old thread. How long does it take for a DIY install of the prep kit and hardtop? I'm looking hard into getting a hardtop for my car. I'm from Vancouver BC, and Seattle BMW is charging more than $1000 less than the local dealership for the hardtop itself. However, when I e-mailed the guys in seattle, they said it would take 5 hours of labour, which bumps the price up considerably.

How hard it is to install everything yourself? Keep in mind i'm not too mech/tech savvy.

Thanks
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      11-25-2009, 03:27 PM   #16
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Seattle BMW wanted 600 for parts and labor to install the mounts and fit the top on my car. I decided to pass on that do it myself. It's actually not that hard. I'd say it would take 1-2 hours to figure out the first side, then about half that for the other once you know what your doing. If you're comfortable with the thought of removing the radio or any trim pieces this isn't that much harder. You do need a good collection of torx bits though.

The most difficult part is removing the bolt that holds the bracket to the convertible top assembly. ( The black arrow in this picture http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...iver700001.jpg the picture is a cutaway ) On my car part of the body was blocking the bottom of the bolt on both sides. It looks like the proper way to do it is to remove/loosen the top assembly so you can get the quarter inch of clearance you need. I just bent/cut the metal that was blocking the bolt, then bent it back when I was done.
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      11-25-2009, 04:45 PM   #17
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Thanks for the reply. The Seattle guy said the installation of the wire harness takes the longest time. What are your experiences with that?
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      11-25-2009, 05:22 PM   #18
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My car already had all the wiring in place. I was under the impression that only cars from late 2004-early 2005 (or something like that) were missing the wiring, post facelift I'm not sure.
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      11-25-2009, 05:24 PM   #19
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My car already had all the wiring in place (the defrost works great! But the soft top buttons still work for some reason, but I can just pull the fuse for that). I was under the impression that only cars from something like late 2004 to early 2005 were missing the wiring, but post facelift I'm not sure.
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      11-25-2009, 11:09 PM   #20
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Hmm, is there anywhere I can check this for sure? If it's true, then they're trying to rip me off, because I have a 2003. Haha.
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      11-25-2009, 11:23 PM   #21
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This is from memory but if you pull off the driver side subwoofer cover and as your looking in on the right side of the opening a short ways back look for a two prong connector that's similar to the ones in my picture above.
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      11-26-2009, 04:38 PM   #22
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Awesome. So I opened up the sub cover, and it should be on the lateral side (closest to the door), correct? I see three electrical connectors in a row: a black one, a white one, and a black one. I can't really get in there to see well, but I think I feel two holes on the top of the black connector. I hope this is it?

As an added bonus, I found a subwoofer in there. I thought I had the basic sound and therefore no subwoofer in there...but now I have no idea which sound system i have. haha.
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