Body/Trim: 70: - V70 Driver's window internal channel

Luxobarge · Oct 8th, 2023, 16:19

Hi all,

So today I decided to investigate a really annoying rattle in the driver's door, quite a loud clunk of metal-on-metal every time I shut the door - worse with the window down, clearly something loose.

I took off the door card and the plastic cover at the top near the lock, and sure enough there's an internal curved U-shaped piece that appears to be a channel for the window glass when it's lowered. It's held in with a torx screw in the door shut, and the piece of metal on the channel that the screw goes into had fractured off. No problem with that, soon welded back up and ready to go back in.

However, there's a similar channel at the front of the door, and this has a U-shaped rubber/felt insert in it, so the glass slides down inside that nice and smooth and quiet. The outer channel that I've repaired doesn't have any rubber insert, and as such I can't really see what it actually does the way it is.

So, can anybody confirm whether I should in fact have a rubber/felt insert in this channel? Yes, I've checked in the bottom of the door void and it's not lying around in there! I suspect it is supposed to have an insert, because in several places down the channel sides there are little barb tangs, that look as if they're there to hold it in.

If it is indeed supposed to have one, anybody got one? Long shot I know, but if anyone's scrapping a car or has a spare door it's very easy to get out once the door card is off. I'd rather not have to take the door card off again, so ideally I'd want to fit it before I put it all back together again, but not the end of the world if it takes a bit of time to get one.

If it's supposed to have an insert I'd really like to fit it, as I want to get back to the traditional Volvo "thunk" as you shut the door, not the current "just dropped a bag of spanners" sound that I have - maybe more quiet when driving too, especially with the window down, which I guess is when this channel does what it's supposed to do.

Hope this all makes sense - it will to anyone who has delved inside the driver's door of a V70.

Cheers!

Baffler · Oct 8th, 2023, 21:31

Yes, it should have the rubber/felt insert as per the front one. It prevents the glass from vibrating too when lowered.

My guess is a previous owner, or mech, flung it in the bin not realising its function or maybe it's just hidden from your view....?

Luxobarge · Oct 8th, 2023, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baffler

Yes, it should have the rubber/felt insert as per the front one. It prevents the glass from vibrating too when lowered.

My guess is a previous owner, or mech, flung it in the bin not realising its function or maybe it's just hidden from your view....?

Perfect, that's what I thought, many thanks. Now the next challenge is to get one....

Baffler · Oct 8th, 2023, 22:08

Tweedle12 is breaking an S70 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=334971 if he still has the doors.

Luxobarge · Oct 10th, 2023, 16:01

Well, the ever helpful Steve Sarre of this very forum came up with a spare window channel complete with rubber/felt insert, and amazingly it arrived today. Huge thanks to Steve, who is very knowledgeable and super helpful, top man.

I decided to do a couple of slight modifications to Steve's item before fitting, a) his was held on by a single pop rivet rather than a torx screw, so I whipped out the welder and welded on a captive nut, which will save drilling out the rivet every time I need to get at the door lock. Although it's working now, lock microswitches are common failure points on these cars so I'm sure I'll want to get back in there again eventually. b) I also welded on a tiny prong to hold the rubber insert fully in the channel.

It's a bit fiddly to re-fit, but a good helping of patience got there in the end, and it's all back together again. I'm happy to report that the door now shuts with a satisfying "whump", with the window up or down, as it should do especially on a Volvo!

So there were actually 3 reasons I decided to go inside the driver's door. The first is the above mentioned window channel, now sorted. The second was that the microswitches have been playing up for a while on the door lock, so the courtesy lights only came on intermittently, if ever. However, just recently they have failed to go OFF when the door is shut, and I've had a flat battery on 3 occasions over the past month, so something had to be done.

I removed the lock, and thoroughly de-greased it. I could see the suspect microswitch, it's the one that is activated when the door is shut and de-activates when the door is open, it's operated by a long curved piece of white plastic that pivots at one end. I've had this problem before on another door, and the solution in both cases has been to carefully clean up the part of the plastic arm where it pushes the microswitch, rough it up with a piece of abrasive paper and glue on a thin square of additional plastic. I used a section of the bottom of a yoghurt pot and cleaned the surfaces up with carb cleaner, then glued it on with superglue. I left it overnight to harden with the switch in the engaged position to put some pressure on the new patch, and it works a dream. Before re-fitting I lubed up all of the plastic parts with Silicone lube (especially the pivot of the aforementioned white plastic arm), and lubed all the metal parts with GT85. Now works smoothly and reliably EVERY time, so a fiddly job but well worth doing.

Third reason wasn't a major problem but the switch on the driver's door switch pack that operates the right rear window was stuck and wouldn't move. Took the switch pack apart (carefully, there are four or five spring-loaded rods that like to take flight across the workshop) and found the problem that the relevant switch didn't have the operating rod properly located in its slot. This was made worse by the two halves of the switch not wanting to stay totally closed together when assembled, due to some wear/damage on the little plastic tangs, so I sorted that by judicious use of a tiny self-tapping screw. While I was in there I noticed that all the switch arms were quite dirty and dusty, and I know these units are prone to failure with the switch contacts burning, so I gave it a thorough clean up and blast with carb cleaner and contact cleaner, and it all looks in pretty good condition now, so hopefully that'll last for a good few more years. Plugged in the unit and re-connected the battery and it all works spot on, just as it should.

So all in all a very successful and worthwhile foray into the inside of the driver's door, sorted all the problems and hopefully it'll be good to go for a good few more years.

Thanks again to all on here and especially Steve, what a top forum this is!

Cheers

Baffler · Oct 10th, 2023, 16:56

Brilliant result and nice to have everything behaving as it should. You'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat for several weeks 😸

Credit to Steve for getting the guide out to you so fast!

Oct 8th, 2023, 16:19	#1
Luxobarge Premier Member Last Online: Apr 26th, 2024 09:37 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Horne (Nr. Horley)	V70 Driver's window internal channel Hi all, So today I decided to investigate a really annoying rattle in the driver's door, quite a loud clunk of metal-on-metal every time I shut the door - worse with the window down, clearly something loose. I took off the door card and the plastic cover at the top near the lock, and sure enough there's an internal curved U-shaped piece that appears to be a channel for the window glass when it's lowered. It's held in with a torx screw in the door shut, and the piece of metal on the channel that the screw goes into had fractured off. No problem with that, soon welded back up and ready to go back in. However, there's a similar channel at the front of the door, and this has a U-shaped rubber/felt insert in it, so the glass slides down inside that nice and smooth and quiet. The outer channel that I've repaired doesn't have any rubber insert, and as such I can't really see what it actually does the way it is. So, can anybody confirm whether I should in fact have a rubber/felt insert in this channel? Yes, I've checked in the bottom of the door void and it's not lying around in there! I suspect it is supposed to have an insert, because in several places down the channel sides there are little barb tangs, that look as if they're there to hold it in. If it is indeed supposed to have one, anybody got one? Long shot I know, but if anyone's scrapping a car or has a spare door it's very easy to get out once the door card is off. I'd rather not have to take the door card off again, so ideally I'd want to fit it before I put it all back together again, but not the end of the world if it takes a bit of time to get one. If it's supposed to have an insert I'd really like to fit it, as I want to get back to the traditional Volvo "thunk" as you shut the door, not the current "just dropped a bag of spanners" sound that I have - maybe more quiet when driving too, especially with the window down, which I guess is when this channel does what it's supposed to do. Hope this all makes sense - it will to anyone who has delved inside the driver's door of a V70. Cheers! __________________ Some people are like Slinkies, they serve no useful purpose but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.

Oct 8th, 2023, 21:31	#2
Baffler Premier Member Last Online: Yesterday 23:48 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Co. Limerick, Ireland	Yes, it should have the rubber/felt insert as per the front one. It prevents the glass from vibrating too when lowered. My guess is a previous owner, or mech, flung it in the bin not realising its function or maybe it's just hidden from your view....? __________________ Liam... '96 854 TDI SE, '99 V70 2.5D S, '05 C70 2.0T Collection, '05 S80 2.0T SE, '15 V70 D4 SE Lux Nav.

Oct 8th, 2023, 22:08	#4
Baffler Premier Member Last Online: Yesterday 23:48 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Co. Limerick, Ireland	Tweedle12 is breaking an S70 https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=334971 if he still has the doors. __________________ Liam... '96 854 TDI SE, '99 V70 2.5D S, '05 C70 2.0T Collection, '05 S80 2.0T SE, '15 V70 D4 SE Lux Nav.

Oct 10th, 2023, 16:01	#5
Luxobarge Premier Member Last Online: Apr 26th, 2024 09:37 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Horne (Nr. Horley)	Well, the ever helpful Steve Sarre of this very forum came up with a spare window channel complete with rubber/felt insert, and amazingly it arrived today. Huge thanks to Steve, who is very knowledgeable and super helpful, top man. I decided to do a couple of slight modifications to Steve's item before fitting, a) his was held on by a single pop rivet rather than a torx screw, so I whipped out the welder and welded on a captive nut, which will save drilling out the rivet every time I need to get at the door lock. Although it's working now, lock microswitches are common failure points on these cars so I'm sure I'll want to get back in there again eventually. b) I also welded on a tiny prong to hold the rubber insert fully in the channel. It's a bit fiddly to re-fit, but a good helping of patience got there in the end, and it's all back together again. I'm happy to report that the door now shuts with a satisfying "whump", with the window up or down, as it should do especially on a Volvo! So there were actually 3 reasons I decided to go inside the driver's door. The first is the above mentioned window channel, now sorted. The second was that the microswitches have been playing up for a while on the door lock, so the courtesy lights only came on intermittently, if ever. However, just recently they have failed to go OFF when the door is shut, and I've had a flat battery on 3 occasions over the past month, so something had to be done. I removed the lock, and thoroughly de-greased it. I could see the suspect microswitch, it's the one that is activated when the door is shut and de-activates when the door is open, it's operated by a long curved piece of white plastic that pivots at one end. I've had this problem before on another door, and the solution in both cases has been to carefully clean up the part of the plastic arm where it pushes the microswitch, rough it up with a piece of abrasive paper and glue on a thin square of additional plastic. I used a section of the bottom of a yoghurt pot and cleaned the surfaces up with carb cleaner, then glued it on with superglue. I left it overnight to harden with the switch in the engaged position to put some pressure on the new patch, and it works a dream. Before re-fitting I lubed up all of the plastic parts with Silicone lube (especially the pivot of the aforementioned white plastic arm), and lubed all the metal parts with GT85. Now works smoothly and reliably EVERY time, so a fiddly job but well worth doing. Third reason wasn't a major problem but the switch on the driver's door switch pack that operates the right rear window was stuck and wouldn't move. Took the switch pack apart (carefully, there are four or five spring-loaded rods that like to take flight across the workshop) and found the problem that the relevant switch didn't have the operating rod properly located in its slot. This was made worse by the two halves of the switch not wanting to stay totally closed together when assembled, due to some wear/damage on the little plastic tangs, so I sorted that by judicious use of a tiny self-tapping screw. While I was in there I noticed that all the switch arms were quite dirty and dusty, and I know these units are prone to failure with the switch contacts burning, so I gave it a thorough clean up and blast with carb cleaner and contact cleaner, and it all looks in pretty good condition now, so hopefully that'll last for a good few more years. Plugged in the unit and re-connected the battery and it all works spot on, just as it should. So all in all a very successful and worthwhile foray into the inside of the driver's door, sorted all the problems and hopefully it'll be good to go for a good few more years. Thanks again to all on here and especially Steve, what a top forum this is! Cheers __________________ Some people are like Slinkies, they serve no useful purpose but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs. Last edited by Luxobarge; Oct 10th, 2023 at 16:05.

Oct 10th, 2023, 16:56	#6
Baffler Premier Member Last Online: Yesterday 23:48 Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Co. Limerick, Ireland	Brilliant result and nice to have everything behaving as it should. You'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat for several weeks 😸 Credit to Steve for getting the guide out to you so fast! __________________ Liam... '96 854 TDI SE, '99 V70 2.5D S, '05 C70 2.0T Collection, '05 S80 2.0T SE, '15 V70 D4 SE Lux Nav.

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