Door Movement

[Spanker]

When I got my A8 D2 I noticed that there was a slight noise coming from the driver's door when going over bumps on the test drive. It was a kind rattle/shaking noise. Very slight, but it is enough to bug the hell out of you.
I also noticed when checking the car for purchase that there were a number of door clips missing. In fact, the bottom of the door card could be pulled back and forward it was so loose. So I thought that I knew that I could fix that when I got home with a few new door clips from our sponsors.
Now that the door clips are in place, the door card doesn't move on the door - as it should be - but I still get an annoying sound from near to my right ear when going over a rough surface. My ears are now so attuned to it that I am sure that above all the other sounds I can hear something similar from the rear (n/s) passenger door too but I may be just imagining things.
When driving, if I reach up and grab the top of my door with my fingers (door obviously closed when driving), I can, with a bit of force, push the the top of the door frame enough (must be millimeters if not less) to create the same sound that I guess I can hear when driving.

So the question is, does anybody else have any experience of this?
Does anyone think that the door would need adjusting at the hinges to create a tighter fit?
Would anyone recommend an Audi dealer to look at it? I know the labour will be high but......
Has anyone had this issue and tried to twist/bend the door frame slightly to create a better fit?

Any help/sharing of experience would be appreciated.
I did a search and found a link on the forum to door fitting but it was for a D3

TIA
Dean

[HPsauce]

Is it just the door seals rubbing, in which case there have been very recent posts recommending a suitable treatment/lubricant for them; just can't recall the name.
Remember you have two layers of seals, inner and outer, so it's usually very good and doesn't need adjustment.
If you want to adjust the striker plate on the door catch (about all you can do) you just need a suitably-sized spline bit. I bought a set of them a while ago to do exactly that job.

[Adrian E]

Gummi Pflege is something I've used to lubricate the door seals - the S5 is pillarless and it's supposed to also stop the windows sticking to the seals in winter

I bought a couple of bottles on ebay a couple of years ago and barely used any - they're 100ml each.

[David's8]

Do your doors open using both remote and the key? Sometimes the mechanical linkage between the key operated part of the lock and the mechanism comes detached and rattles around in there. Also, on mine, the top-most wood trim along the door beneath the window had a slightly loose rear clip which allowed it to pop off slightly and create a slight - but annoying - rattle.

[tintin]

Originally Posted by Adrian E

Gummi Pflege is something I've used to lubricate the door seals - the S5 is pillarless and it's supposed to also stop the windows sticking to the seals in winter

I bought a couple of bottles on ebay a couple of years ago and barely used any - they're 100ml each.

Thanks Adrian - that's good to know, not for my S8, but for my other car, which has a similar design, and this is a (minor) irritant currently, so I'll try this

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by Adrian E

Gummi Pflege

It just means Rubber Care in German, there are several brands! (And just think how many varieties of Leder Pflege there are in Bavaria!)

What variety does anyone who has used it recommend?

[Adrian E]

This looks to be the same stuff, albeit rebranded (mine has 1Z on the top but the design of the packaging is identical and i bought from this seller IIRC)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nextzett-G...1%26rkt%3D1%26

There's also a Wurth spray version, which I haven't tried

This is identical to the ones I have

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Einszett-G...IAAOSw71BXPtvP

[MikkiJayne]

Its probably worth noting that there is actually a hell of a lot of adjustability in Audi doors. You can adjust both top and bottom hinges, and the window frame is a separate assembly to the door skin so you can adjust height and angle of that as well. Its very common on older Audis (particularly B5 and C5) for the top rear edge of the frame to need pulling in a little to stop wind noises as it all seems to get a bit slack with age. I've noticed on my D2 that the window rubber has either shrunk or dropped a little as the top corners don't sit right. I've fiddled with it a couple of times, but I think the whole assembly needs to be dismantled and re-assembled to get it back in the right place. Given how much of an arse it is to get the door panels off a D2 I've just put up with it so far.

I do need to treat all the seals as well though so I might give the Wurth product a try

[Spanker]

Thanks all for the advice.

After driving the car last night and today I have come to the conclusion that the noise I am hearing is the squeaking/compression of the rubber.
I think the top rear part of the drivers door has a slight bit of movement in-and-out and is causing the rubbing of the door on the upper seal.
So I have ordered some of the Gummi Pflege from eBay and will try to see if that removes the noise. However I am sure that the upper frame could be moved in a very small amount to give a better fit. But I will see how I come on with the rubber lube first.

[Spanker]

My Gummi Pflege arrived and I gave all my seals a suitable coating.
What a difference!
The noise I could hear before must have definitely been the rubber seals and has now gone. Nothing. No rubber sounds. This is a good solution (no pun intended).
Unfortunately, with the annoyance of the rubber seal noise absent, I can now hear just a little too much road noise and I think that a small amount of adjustment is needed to pull the door/upper frame a bit closer to the body.
I'm not confident in doing this so may leave it to another time because at the moment the inside (now that my squeaky leather issue is also resolved) is relatively silent and not bugging me.
Thanks for the tip!