FIXED-Wind noise on Pass side mirror

[jsla]

ok, i think i figured it out. The reason the problem happens over time and not right from the purchase date is the metal flexing. I have had the TL for 2 years and never had the wind noise till 6 mths back. Acura would not help. So i looked more closely and noticed on the 'good side' - the driver side, that the A pillar, fender and mirror seams all triangulate together to form a perfectly smooth surface. Despite breaks in that surface (lines where the A pillar, mirror and fender meet) air passes over top and little air gets in. When i checked the passenger side i noticed a couple things - first, the mirror body housing where it meets the fender was pushed out in front of the fender line. Then i noticed the A pillar that meets the fender and mirror housing - is slightly twisted. So when air passes over it is directed into first a void where the fender and mirror housing meet, then the air has to travel up over the mirror housing itself. At 60km+ i would hear a pronounced wind noise bc of it and the faster i went the worse it got. So i first adjusted the fender - open the hood, there is a bolt under the plastic cover on the seam of where the fender meets the engine bay - loosen it. Then open the p-side door and look in the corner at the top...there is a bolt there that attached the fender over top the door hinge - remove it. Install a couple washers that would add 3-4mm of thinkness and put them behind the fender bracket that is over the door hinge - this pushers the fender our slightly 3-4mm more, then feed the fender bolt through the fender bracket and the new washers and tighten. Then go back under the hood and pull out the fender slightly to make the fender panel come out more to make it line up more with the leading edge of the mirror housing. it may not close the gap completely, over may come out more than the mirror (which is what mine did). Tighten. Step two - remove the door panel. There are two screws behind a removable panel directly where the interior door pull is. Then directly under the arm rest, another screw. Then a bumper stop cloer to the back of the door, remove all these. The rest is plastic clips that are attached to the interior door panel, just tug gently and you will hear all pop off the door body - the clips stay on the panel so no worries. Unscrew the door lock knob and pull it right out of the door panel, it will pull out. Pull up on the entire door panel, it will be snug but will come up and over the window lip. disconnect a couple of the electrical connections and especially the one for the mirror. Now you have exposed the steel behind the panel. Look to the top line of the door - where the door rubbers are. There is a plastic piece that sits on top of them that covers the bolts where the mirror is mounted. In the corner closest to the door hinge, pop out the white push in screw, now the plastic rubber cover is loose. carefully remove the leading edge of the door rubber by the hinge from the steel of the door, these are just small green clips and they pop out easily. Then remove the plastic that covers the mirror bolts, again, this piece is long and carries over the window, you just need to remove enough to access the mirror bolts. Step 3, remove the mirror off the body of the car. You will see it has a rubber membrane, remove it. Along the edge that meets the door panel and edge that is near the glass, install 3/4 inch wide, 1/4 inch thick weather stripping, cut to measure the body of the mirror along these two edges. Think of it as a triangle, put the weather stripping along (>), the arrow that faces the wind gets weather stripping, so install along the bottom that would be along the door edge and the top that would be leading up the door frame that houses the window. The weather stripping goes on the INSIDE of the mirror housing. Put the membrane back in. You will notice now that the membrane bulges out a little, thats good. Install it all back again. This job took me 1 hour, i test drove after (it was pretty windy out and i was hearing noise more than usual earlier in the day) and now, after my test drive in all directions at speeds of 80km/hr, up to 170kms/hr, no more noise. After the test drive i checked the mirror and noticed it was now flush with the fender i had moved out earlier. Of course i couldn't fix the A pillar issue, but now less wind comes in and when it does, the weather stripping pushed the mirrors rubber membrane much tigher than before, closing the gap where the air was getting in. I imagine this woudl work on the pass or drivers side.

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