Bad wind noise from truck door

[Ramblin__Ralph]

Had my 2006 GMC 2500HD over 11 years. Have been sporadic times when wind noise from driver's door was very bad over about 50 mph. Could eliminate most of it by wiping door edge and rubber strip with rag. Now can't do it, and it's driving me nuts. Loud enough that it might be bad for my already lousy hearing, too.

I think I know what caused it. Was pulled over to the side of the highway with my driver's door open and a gust of wind (from a passing semi) slammed the door forward hard. Maybe enough to affect the sealing of the door.

Any suggestions on a fix other than taking it into a dealer? I'm on my annual trip to Montana and can't put up with the noise until I get back home in the fall. Also, I wonder if a collision repair place might be better at fixing it than a dealer?

Thanks,

[jyrostng]

Striker adlustment

[pickjare]

The only reason to adjust the hinges is if the door to fender gap is to wide, to narrow, or not even from top to bottom. Or if the door is too far in or out relative to the fender when the door is closed. I bet your gaps are ok, and I'll bet your door and fender are flush to each other. So don't worry about adjusting the hinges.

To fix it, you need to go to a GM dealer and buy a new door opening seal. That is the name of the weatherstrip that surrounds the door opening on the cab. It's about 4 feet long. You will see how to install it, it's not hard just tucks under a-pillar trim panel, and b-pillar trim, and along bottom kick panel. Start at the bottom, end at the bottom just like the one you are removing. The seals are compressed when door is shut and loose their elasticity with heat and cold over time.

Obviously I cannot see your truck, just suspecting it needs a new seal. After that is on you'll need to adjust the frame of the door. This is where you'll be surprised, but take it to body shop OR dealer and this is what they'll do. Door frames get bent over time, so bend it back. Roll down the window and open door. Get a 6" length of 2x4 and close the door on the board gently while positioning board where it contacts large portion of door near latch/striker area but position so no scratch or dent will occur. The board is meant to keep hold door open and keep door from closing when you push on it. Now with that in place you firmly push hard inward along top of door toward roof. Stand on a stool and go a little at a time. Recheck resistance with dollar bill and keep working door frame inward along top until dollar is hard to remove. This sounds incorrect, it works, you can do it or pay someone else to do it.

[Ramblin__Ralph]

Well, the electrical tape on the door seemed to help just a bit. So I bought some 3/16" thick rubber weatherstrip at an auto parts store. Put it over the tape. Result? Didn't notice any improvement. If the "leak" was in that area, surely the 3/16" rubber would have shown noticeable improvement.

So, tomorrow I'll try tape over the side of the windshield (per previous post) and report what happens.

If no improvement, then I guess I'll buy a new truck. 🙂

[ktmrfs]

Ramblin' Ralph wrote:
Thanks for all the tips!

I tried the "dollar bill" one and found that about a 6" part of the door has much less resistance than the rest. It's around the area that curves downward from horizontal to a slant.

I put a couple of layers of black electrical tape in two places on the door where I thought it would be contacting the rubber seals. Definitely increased the resistance of the bill. Will be driving to a new campground today and will report back the results when I have a Net connection.

put a strip of duct tape along the windshield pillar on the outside covering the pillar to the glass on the windshield. if this reduces or stops the noise, then at least part of the issue is the issue I pointed to on a previous post that is covered by a TSB.

[Ramblin__Ralph]

Thanks for all the tips!

I tried the "dollar bill" one and found that about a 6" part of the door has much less resistance than the rest. It's around the area that curves downward from horizontal to a slant.

I put a couple of layers of black electrical tape in two places on the door where I thought it would be contacting the rubber seals. Definitely increased the resistance of the bill. Will be driving to a new campground today and will report back the results when I have a Net connection.

[wa8yxm]

More than likely the door is slightly bent.. YOu will need to inspect the seal and find where it's not sealed.. then grab the door with both hands and.. well, adjust.

[bucky]

AJBert wrote:
If none of the above works out, take a look at the hinge pin holes. They may have worn themselves out throwing off the alignment.

This is a common problem with older GMs. Lift the rear edge of the door by hand and watch the hinge pins for movement. If they are loose the door is sagging. Another thought is that the striker is out of adjustment, worn, or loose.
To eliminate the w/s mldg put some painters tape along the mldg gap to body and w/s and drive it.

[AJBert]

If none of the above works out, take a look at the hinge pin holes. They may have worn themselves out throwing off the alignment.

[joelm]

X2 on the window frame. That's what mine was.

[Horsedoc]

look at the stud on the door frame that the latch on the door wraps around when the door is closed. I had a similar situation on my Ford 250. Somehow the plastic or vinyl that encircles it had either broken or split off and the door would not close tight. Drove me bonkers for a while and I finally figured it out. I could not figure out what to do. Finally the old redneck country boy genes kicked in and I wrapped it in electrical tape (same width) until it was a thick as the missing band - several layers. Worked great and no more noise. The door was not being held closed tight enough.

[K_Charles]

What he said, adjust the hinges.

[bartlettj]

The way to tell if it is the door weatherstripping is to close the door on a dollar bill on various spots around the opening and try to pull it out. It should have some resistance to pulling, if it doesn't your door needs adjustment. You should check the known good side first so you know what it should feel like.

I've adjusted the doors on a few trucks. The procedure varies and is hard to describe, but after the hinges and striker plates are checked and adjusted, sometime you have to bend the window frame one way or the other with a carefully padded 2x4 to get the gap to close evenly all the way around. A body shop should should be able to do this for you for a minimal labor charge if you catch them in a good mood on a non-busy day, maybe bring donuts.

[ktmrfs]

are you sure it is from the door, and not the trim on the side of the windshield? the reason I ask is that there is a TSB for wind noise, my 04 had it. cause wasn't the door, but the strip on the side of the windshield that would start vibrating with wind in certain directions, sounded like wind noise but it wasn't. the sound was amplified by the glass.

If it is loose, they apply VHB tape to it solved the problem. as the weatherstrip gets looser and looser, the noise keeps getting worse.

I swore it was wind noise from door weatherstriping, but after seeing the TSB and doing that, noise was GONE.

a bug deflector can make the noise worse, but it does happen without it as well.

tsb:
Some customers may comment on noise coming from the windshield and door area.

Correction
Replace the left and right side windshield reveal molding. Refer to the Windshield Side Reveal Molding Replacement procedure in SI.

[Lynnmor]

New weather stripping and a door adjustment at a body shop should do it. Of course if the door is sprung out of shape, you might need that fixed. Some types of weather strip can accept a length of surgical tubing inside to help with sealing.