Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Air Noise Drivers Side Window (Read 1126 times) previous topic - next topic

Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Last trip loud whistling air noise from the drivers side window.  The noise is being generated where the two panes overlap.  I can tell that the plastic seal in the metal strip on the fixed pane is damaged.  I know how to remove the sliding pane.  Anyone know if the plastic seal can be replaced without removing the metal strip?  The metal strip has a rusty screw at the bottom that I haven't been able to remove.  I can get rid of the noise by covering the gap with masking tape, but that is not a good solution as it has to be replaced at toll booths and park entries.  Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.  Not sure where I could find the seal too.  Also wondering if a piece of the fuzzy part of velcro on the sliding pane would work.
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #1 –
You might try contacting Peninsula Glass.  I know they make replacement sliders for my '03 that are almost identical to OEM.
They may know where to steer you if they don't have what you need.

Peninsula Glass Co.
6005 NE 121st Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98682
Phone: (360) 944-4446

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #2 –
Jerry, you reminded me that I needed to look at my window since last trip I was bugged by the wind noise coming from the drivers window.

Let us know what you find out.
2014 ih45  (4th Foretravel owned)
 1997 36' U295 Sold in 2020, owned for 19 years
  U240 36' Sold to insurance company after melting in garage fire
    33' Foretravel on Dodge Chassis  Sold very long time ago

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #3 –
The driver window in my 96 has always whistled, however, if opened, then slid to almost closed (not latched) it is almost silent.
I also would be interested in a solution!
Wyatt
96 U320 40 WTFE, build 4943
84 Toyota Supra towd
2015 Jeep Wrangler towd
Victoria, BC, Canada

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #4 –
Quote from: P. Wyatt Sabourin –
The driver window in my 96 has always whistled, however, if opened, then slid to almost closed (not latched) it is almost silent.
I also would be interested in a solution!
I tried that and while the whistle went away, another air noise replaced it.  I went to the MH and took another look, removed the screen and sliding window.  Noticed that the outside vertical piece of rubber that wipes the sliding glass has shrunk about 1.5 inches. All the other windows are like that too.  My slow motion brain finally remembered that I bought new window latches for all the windows about a year ago.  I believe these are Hehr windows and parts are available from Creation windows I need to do some more measuring and take some pictures before I give them a call.
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #5 –
Phillips head screws that are damaged can sometimes be removed by using a wide rubber band shoved down into the slots with pressure from proper sized screw driver. Rubber helps grip, and prevent the screwdriver from climbing.
Old Phart Phred, EIEIO
89 GV ored 36' #3405 300 hp cat 3208 ATAAC side radiator, mountain tamer exhaust brake

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #6 –
Valve grinding compound can also help grip a worn screw head.  Also, if space permits, a speed handle allows more leverage to be applied.  There are different shaped #2 phillips apex tips.  Some are better at extracting worn heads than others.  Last ditch effort is an "easy-out".
Mike and Mari
'98  36 270 WTFE
Build #5272
Club #17504

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #7 –
I personally hate Philips head screws and replace with Robertson every time the head gets worn. Still cannot figure out why everything you buy that needs screws contains the ones with Philips. Surely most know by now that there is a world of difference between the design of these heads and how secure the Robertsons fit the drivers.
JohnH
Coachless, now use aircraft. 2003 Ford Travelair TC280 class C. Super shape. Just for 1 yr .
1994 Ford E350 ClassC,total renovation inside and out. Now sold.
2000 U295  36' Cummins 350 c/w Banks Stinger, Resonator upgrade,Solar, LED lites.Residential fridge with slide out pantry. Build 5674. Sold
ex 92 GV 022C ored Cummins. Sold
ex 95 GV240 cat 3116. Sold
2017 Mini cooper s & 2016 land Rover LR2 HSE  LUX.
jhaygarth@aol.com    SKP #130098
treat everyone as you would like to be.

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #8 –
Jerry, I also noticed that the outside rubber scraper is 1.5 inches too short. It is also too narrow so the lip does not touch the glass. Under that rubber scraper is a window seal which is visible through the glass. This seal only touches the glass when I push on the window. If you find new replacements for these parts, please post.
Wyatt
96 U320 40 WTFE, build 4943
84 Toyota Supra towd
2015 Jeep Wrangler towd
Victoria, BC, Canada

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #9 –
While I  haven't looked for  this particular part,  I  have been buying numerous rubber glazing extrusions for refitting a boat. I bet you can find it by searching for  automotive weatherstrip in this online catalog.

http://crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/default.aspx?GroupID=42729

They sell to the trade only but googling a part number will generally yield an online supplier.





"Not so  long ago we were a nation of risk takers, riding five million pounds of  thrust straight into space."  Joe Gresh
Chuck Pearson
1996 U295
2018 Can Am X3 TurboRS

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #10 –
Quote
I personally hate Philips head screws and replace with Robertson every time the head gets worn.

I'm with Haygarth. Those Robertsons are the way to go. And, of course, they are a Canadian invention!
jor
93 225
95 300
97 270
99 320

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #11 –
I have been to the coach twice now trying to figure out a solution.  Talked to Parkin Accessories about the problem and they have at least one part 009-421.  The other seal that is between the vertical metal mullion and the sliding pane and which I cannot find on their website and they do not seem to know what I am talking about.  I removed the vertical piece of rubber they call a sweep seal from the vent window on the passenger side so that I could mail it to Parkin and get the right part; it is sold by the foot.  I also wanted to remove the other seal and send that too, but I have to remove the fixed pane and the mullion in order to slide that seal out.  Took some pictures of the drivers window, but the camera wanted to focus on the background, so the seal pic is not as clear as it should be.  You can see how the rubber seals have shrunk.  The mullion actually is overlapping the head of the rusty screw a little bit.  The black rubber around the fixed pane can be removed and replaced with out much effort.  The fixed pane seems to be fastened to the metal frame with a black rubber like adhesive. Not quite sure how to remove the fixed pane, maybe slide a razor blade between the glass and metal, but then I need the adhesive to replace it.  Seems like the fixed pane has to be removed in order to remove the mullion and seals.  The rusty screws (top & bottom) may only be there as a stop for the mullion.  The inner seal seems to have a stiff piece of plastic that slides into a slot on the mullion.  I can slide it up and down a little, but it does not bend enough to remove it.  Found this Hehr service manual, but it is not specific enough for my problem, unless I missed something. http://www.hehrintl.com/pdf/Hehr%20Service%20Manual.pdf
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #12 –
Jerry we discovered that the air coming between the awning brace and the body was a source of much noise. Solution was to cut a piece of that foam floaty tube material and place over the awning arm. I learned this from a newmar owner. Sorry I have no pix as I have sold the coach.
email me if you have any ???  bobeguttenberg@gmail.com
 
Every day is a gift
Bob and Pat
2000 36 U295 cummins 350hp
Coach has been sold thanks to MOT 11/2016

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #13 –
Quote from: gootie –
Jerry we discovered that the air coming between the awning brace and the body was a source of much noise. Solution was to cut a piece of that foam floaty tube material and place over the awning arm. I learned this from a newmar owner. Sorry I have no pix as I have sold the coach.
email me if you have any ???  bobeguttenberg@gmail.com
This noise just started on the last trip in May.  The Hehr service manual does say that things mounted on the coach like mirrors can cause air noise.  I haven't been able to work on the problem every day, but will try to remove a fixed vent pane and see if I can remove the mullion so I can send a sample of what I need to Parkin Accessories.  If that works will work on the larger window.
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #14 –
I am still working on this problem.  I have some parts ordered, but I need 16' of new rubber strip for the outside of the mullions and they didn't have that much, maybe around the 1st of August. On every window this strip is about 1" -1.5" short like it shrunk with age.  You can just pull it out, but putting it back is difficult unless the mullion is removed.  I was successful in removing the passenger fixed vent pane as a test for the larger driver pane.  Most of the other windows have the mullion secured with a pop rivet at the top and bottom, but the driver window and the small vent windows have screws??  With the screws and fixed pane  removed the mullion can slide in the frame and by twisting it a bit and moving the  top and bottom ends in opposite directions it can be removed and reinstalled.  Part of the mullion on the driver window is overlapping a screw head making it impossible to remove the screw even though I can get a screw driver in the slots.  The fixed pane has to come out to address this problem. The rubber strips around the fixed and moving panes can be pulled out and reinstalled fairly easily by pushing it in the groove with your thumbs.  Except for the small vent windows most of that rubber did not shrink.  I got the fixed pane out by softening the adhesive with mineral spirits and carefully wedging a putty knife between the frame and glass.  After getting it loose from the frame, it has to be worked out of the mullion.  Parkin  has a $25 30' roll of butyl sealant for the fixed panes.  Much more than I need.  The outside rubber strips are holding the loose fixed pane in place until I get the sealant.  I worked a little on the driver fixed pane today and found it had a small gap in the sealant at the top edge.  The sweep seal is $3.30 per ft. and the vent seal $6.35 per ft.  More later after I get the parts.
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #15 –
The whistle is gone, even at 70 mph.  I will try to explain what I did.  This is for single pane Hehr windows, double pane may be different.  This could also apply to other problems with these windows, such as just removing the screen for cleaning.

The first step is to remove the sliding screen.  There is a piece of plastic track at the bottom of the screen.  You have to pull it out to remove the screen.  It has to bend to clear the frame and you may have to remove a valance as well on some windows.  Use something to lift it out of the slot so you can grab it.  If it is old like mine it is probably brittle and may crack or break.  Warming it up with a hair dryer or heat gun may prevent that.  But if very old the screen tracks may need to be replaced.  With the track removed the screen drops down and the top clears the upper slot and can be lifted out.  When replacing the high side of the "H" shape track is toward the inside of coach.

Next is the sliding window pane.  It is held in place by rubber tracks at the top and bottom.  You only have to remove the bottom one.  It has some slots for draining water.  With the window closed lift up the end that is exposed as much as possible and clean the slot.  It could be stuck with a sealant at some point or point of an outside screw.  May help to wax the track. Push it back in place, open the window and do that with the other end.  Don't pull too hard where the slots are or you could pull it apart.  Close the window part way, and slide out the track.  Moving the pane with the track helps reduce the force needed.  You may need 3 hands and a flat screwdriver in one of the slots as well in order to get it to move.  Move the pane back an forth after the track moves a little.  Once the track it out, the sliding pane comes out like the screen.  Would be good practice to remove and reinstall the track and pane a few times to get the hang of it.

I was able to remove the fixed pane by applying mineral spirits to the adhesive between the window and frame inside and outside.  I used a syringe like dispenser with a plunger to get the mineral spirits where I wanted it.  You can just pull out the rubber trim on the outside of the window.  It is not hard to replace and can be replaced by pushing on it with your thumbs. Pull up a few inches and put it back for practice.  This trim had shrunk on some of my windows, mainly the driver window and the small sliding windows.  All of the mullion rubber wipe seal on all windows are too short.  Takes awhile for the mineral spirits to soften the adhesive and then a lot of careful work with a putty knife between the window and frame.  After the window is loose from the frame the mullion is still attached but will move forward with the window.  The 2 screws only keep the mullion from moving aft.  On most of the other windows the mullion is fastened with a pop rivet.  I put a thin 1/8 x 3/4 x 16 5/8" piece of wood at the top of the pane between the mullion and frame to hold it in place while I pulled down on the front of the pane to work it out of the mullion.  After it moved a little I moved the wood to the bottom of the pane and pushed up.  After a few trys the pane came out of the mullion.  Don't know what kind of adhesive was used, but it was clear and very sticky.  What I got from Parkin is butyl, black, and very sticky.  I cleaned most of the old adhesive off the frame, and all of it on the window. This is a good opportunity to clean and polish the glass with 0000 steel wool.  There was not much adhesive in the mullion.  I did a trial fit and marked the  aft edge of the pane on the frame.  Applied the butyl and flattened it a little before removing the paper.  It sticks wherever you place it and cannot be moved.  The pane has to be placed exactly where it should be and pressed onto the butyl.  I put the old rubber trim back on next to hold the pane in place.  I was able to reuse it as it was the correct length.  At this point I was uncertain about what to do with sealing the mullion to the window.  I used some black latex caulk in the mullion groove.  That seems to have worked okay although some squeezed out, which I let dry and trimmed off the next day.  After thinking about it I think the correct thing to do is put a strip of butyl on the aft edge of the window and then slide on the mullion.  The butyl is only about 1/8" in diameter.  Of course you have to remember to replace the rubber wipe seal and the fuzzy seal before you put on the mullion.  I only made that mistake on the small window, so it was good training to do the small one first.  The fuzzy seal is different from the old as it is only fuzz without the thin sheet plastic in the middle of the fuzz.  It had adhesive on the back covered with a waxed paper.  Won't go in the slot with the paper on, but with the paper removed it did slide in the slot without sticking, but I was careful that it didn't touch the back of the slot sliding it in place.  I think it could also be used to replace the fuzz seal on the screen as it looks similar.  The new fuzzy strip is thicker than the old, so it caused some difficulty in replacing the sliding pane and track.  I had to use quite a bit of force with one hand on the middle of the pane at the mullion while trying to slide the track and pane into place.  After a few attempts the track and sliding pane were in place and could be opened and closed.  I put in new rubber trim for the sliding pane.  Trimmed some of the backside rubber at the screw heads to make it fit and cover the screws.  The new rubber trim is a little harder to install than the old stuff.  It might be possible to remove the old trim that is too short and stretch it, but I didn't try that. 

It might be possible to just remove the mullion to replace the seals, but I could not do that because the mullion overlapped a little bit of the bottom screw making it impossible to remove the screw until the mullion moved out of the way.  Hehr's service manual says to check that the mullion is not bent.  If your fixed pane looks like it has a good seal (remove outside rubber trim to inspect), I would recommend trying to remove the mullion first and if you can get it off that would save some work.  Screws or pop rivets removed, adhesive softened and drive it off by inserting putty knife and pushing up and down the mullion inside and outside, maybe give the putty knife handle a wack with a rubber mallet.  Mullion must be removed to replace the fuzzy seal, but it might be possible to replace the rubber wipe seal without removing the mullion, but I haven't tried that.

What I bought from Parkin Accessories : #I 009-421 mullion rubber vent/wipe seal $3.30 ft. , 110-236 vent seal - fuzzy $5.50 ft. #J 009-842-3535 vent glass rubber, Butyl tape 009-495  30' $25 , Slotted track 009-984S $5.46 ft,  freight $21.15
Jerry Whiteaker former owner 96 U270  36' #4831 Austin,TX-Owner Mods LCD TV w/front cabinet rebuild - LCD TV bedroom - Dual Central AC, either can cool coach w 30 amp - Skylights at roof AC openings - Drop ceiling for ducting of AC - Shower skylight white gelcoat/wood/epoxy frame - Air Springs/Shocks replaced - 2014 CRV - 8K Home Solar - Chevy Volt
 

Re: Air Noise Drivers Side Window

Reply #16 –
Xtreme uses a rubber tube seal between the window and the coach which is much less messy than butyl.
Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R