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Old 02-12-2020, 10:37 AM   #1
fstop
Gone Wild
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 646
Default Club Car extended top (DoubleTake OEM) squeaks - remove rivets?

I solved the squeaks coming from the upright supports to alum. perimeter frame point of connection (nylon washers) a few months ago, but the plastic top is squeaking apparently at the rivet points (rivets holding thin plastic top onto aluminum track frame) due to movement. Mainly just the front cross frame member (running driver side to passenger side, only about 3').

I've shimmed with various thin nylon, rubber, foam etc... as near to the rivets as possible to limit or quiet any movement (which you can hardly see if you try to move the top around while looking at the rivets - they are petty tight). Still squeaks.

I know some on the forum are drilling out the rivets and using screws / washers from the top side to re-secure the top to the aluminum track frame, with gasket material of some kind sandwiched between the plastic top and the aluminum.

My thought is that the rivets you drill out (14 of them in total) will bounce around in the aluminum track tube frame right around your head and make their own noise, even if you solve the squeaking?

So I was thinking I'd have to pop the aluminum track tube frame apart at a minimum of one corner (where the aluminum has a plastic corner piece that holds the aluminum at 90 degrees), and blow or vaccum the bits of rivet out before going back with screws.

So my questions to those who've done it are:

1) What material did you use between the aluminum track frame and plastic top skin? (Thinking super thin innertube material or neoprene rubber)

2) Did you use sheet metal screws with a washer, or are some actually through-bolting? I'm not sure how thick the aluminum is on the top side of the track for the sheet metal screw to tighten into. I don't think you'd have to torque them crazy tight really?

3) Did you remove the old drilled out rivets or leave all that stuff inside the track? Do you hear any of it bouncing around in there when you drive?

4) How to remove the plastic corner brackets (circled in red in one of the photos) from the aluminum frame w/out breaking them? They don't really look like they were engineered to come apart, but maybe they do. I don't have spares and don't want to have to track one down if I break one.

At this point I may consider drilling out the front 3 that seem to be the ones I hear, and replacing with sheet metal screws / washers and just hope I don't hear the rivets in there. If so I'll have to disassemble it all and do the rest at that point I guess.

Any tips from those that have already gone down this path would be appreciated!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg top rivets.jpg (112.7 KB, 0 views)
File Type: jpg top frame inside.jpg (88.4 KB, 0 views)
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