Here is the modified
version of the Rattle
TSB that I did on my RAV. The basic difference is that I
applied the felt pad to the bottom edge of the windshield rather than to
the retainer clips on the cowl. I left the original factory felt
pads on the cowl so there is now twice the padding.
The felt pad I used is a heavy duty self
adhesive felt used for putting on furniture legs and such. It cost
about $2.00 at Home Depot and you should be able to get something
similar at any hardware or home improvement store.
I first cut four pieces 1-1/8" x
1-3/4" from the pad. Don't need to be too exact here - just
cut a strip about 1-3/4" wide and cut this into 4 pieces.
Now for the cowl panel removal.
First remove the battery cover cowl by removing the six plastic screws
and then carefully prying out the body of the clips under the
screws. If you haven't already looked at the fix page for this you
may want to consider replacing the plastic screw-clips with real screws
when you're done. Instructions for this process are HERE.
Once the battery cover cowl is off you
need to remove the main cowl. First remove the windshield wiper
arms. This is done by first carefully prying off the plastic cap
at the base of the wiper arm and then removing the 4mm nut that holds
the arm in place. Pull the wiper up away from the windshield
before removing the nut to take the pressure off the wiper arm.
Once the nut is removed the whole arm will pull off fairly easily.
The arrow on the picture below shows the plastic cap already removed.
Next remove all of the plastic rivets
that hold the cowl panel in place. There are seven of these total
- two along the tow edge near the windshield, four along the bottom edge
and one on the edge that is under the battery cover cowl. To
remove the rivets press the center pin into the body of the rivet about
half way. Don't push it all the way through or you won't be able
to retrieve it on a couple of the rivets since there's no access to the
back. Once the pin is pushed in carefully pry up the rivet out
using a small screwdriver. Be careful not to break the head of the
rivet by prying too hard. The rivets at the bottom edge of the
cowl are exposed in the back and for these it's easier to reach behind
and pull the center pin out completely after pushing it through from the
top. You can then push the rivet out from the back with you finger
and avoid having to pry it at all. Note the length of the rivets
as you remove them - they are not all the same size and need to be
reinstalled in the correct location.
Next pull the cowl panel off by pulling
it up slightly and away from the windshield. There are four
plastic clips holding it to the windshield (which are the cause of the
rattle). Here's what it looks like with the cowl
off.
You now need to mark the location of the
clips on the the cowl on the windshield. The best way to do this
is to do this is to use a permanent marker or grease pencil. First
mark the location of the four clips on the rubber strip on the top edge
of the cowl (on the outside of the rubber strip). Next put the
cowl back in position on the car being sure that the rivet holes all
line up. To replace the cowl you need to use the reverse of the
removal method - tip it slightly forward and make sure that the clips
slide in under the windshield. Here's what
the clips look like. The arrow shows the mark made on the rubber
edge.
Once the cowl is back in place transfer
the marks from the rubber strip to the windshield itself. Now
remove the cowl again. Apply a piece of felt to each marked
location on the windshield. The felt should wrap around the edge
of the windshield with about an equal amount on the front and
back. It's important to cover enough of the BACK of the windshield
with the felt as this is where the clip makes contact.
Now reinstall the cowl using the reverse
of the removal process. To put the rivets back in first remove the
center pin completely and squeeze the four sides of the clip
together. Carefully push the body of the rivet back through the
cowl and mounting bracket below. Then insert the pin into the
rivet and press down until the pin is just flush with the top of the
rivet body. Finally, replace the wiper arms being sure to line
them back up approximately where they originally were.