After fixing an initial creak or two from the softop I enjoyed about 1 year of quiet cabin interior.... after about 3 months ago I noticed rattle latch.....more prominent on the passenger side. Well I don't know about you...but I find it quite embarrassing when I have a passenger in the car and all I'm thinking about is the damn latch rattling...

I investigated the fix...and there is a TSB for it. It is a TWO PART fix. Shin-etsu grease AND "EPT SEALANT" I know many of members including myself have stopped after the grease..... well without the sealant..the biggest part of the fix is not completed.

Here is how to fix the latches with the sealant:

1. Lower your softtop so you can work on your latch. It should look like this.


2. Push the button on the side and lift the top portion of the latch open and you will see the gap/space between the actual latch itself and the side casing/cover. The arrows indicate where you will stuff the sealant.



3. WTF is EPT SEALANT???? well here it is and the part # to ask for. I bet that if you call a parts dept....most of the people do not even know what this is. It comes in a box on a roll...similar to toilet paper. You only need a very small portion from the dealer to cut you off a piece. The sealant is very soft and springy to allow is to fill the void space causing the rattle and then molding itself to fill the space. Not only does it fill the space but dampens any sound.



4. Cut off a very small slim piece similar to the one I have.


5. Using a small tool....I used a dental pick that I broke when I used it for the clutch delay mod. Now START STUFFING!!!!! and remember to do BOTH SIDES!!!!



Close the latch completely and you are done.

The hardest part of this mod was finding the EPT SEALANT. The actual time it took to stuff the sealant was 3-4 minutes. THIS WORKS!!

I've since ran over rail road tracks and cobblestone to test it.... total silence....

ENJOY......

Tim

 

Just did the exact same thing. Works like a charm.

 

haven't had this problem since the top is always down, but thank you Tim for being so considerate to help everyone out.

 

You (SIIK2NR) are the man. I followed your other DIY for the creaks and it worked like a charm.

People like you are a great asset to the S2000 community and reason I spend so much time here. Thank you for your efforts!

 

then pay the 20 bux!!

 

I have the same rattle and it drives me nuts! Thanks for the write-up. I am going to pick up some of that sealant when I get an oil filter. Thanks alot man.

 

Thanks for the write up, i just did this in the morning and no rattling from the latch anymore, it is very helpful. I did not use the seal you provided above, instead, i used those plastic thingie that they use to hold eggs in the supermarket. O well, but it works!!

 

Thanks very much SIIK2NR, I just put some Arclad foam pieces in those locations and NO MORE RATTLE! Nice little DIY.

 

 

Thank you for the write up and pictures SIIK2NR.
Just a quick question--does the EPT sealant have an adhesive surfact to it on one side (the side that is apposed to the brownish paper in the picture above)? If so, does this have any purpose?
I'm curious if any soft & springy material would work (ex: a bone sponge (i think that's what it's called--you know, the ones that don't get hard when there's no water inside them), which costs 99 cents or so and would last you and several fellow S2k owners a lifetime!!).
Sorry for the long post...i've been away from my S and from home for a while, so i haven't been able to check the anatomy of the latch closely with my own eyes.