Removing plastic in the trunk
 

Hey, I have a rattle that i have tracked down to the plastic piece of the boot, right near the latch.

It moves up and down slightly, this causes a rattle. I plan on putting some foam or rubber in behind there to either stop it moving, or stop it making rattling noise.

Thanks to someone else posting a pic, which i have modified so you guys can hopefully help me.....

To put the foam in i could just slide a thin piece in, but i think that if i could remove the plastic boot trim then put the foam in it would work better.

Now my question is how do you remove the plastic trim, is it easy? Can anyone help me?? what will i need?

I don't think i need to completely take it off, there are 2 circular pins at each side of the latch. If i could take these off it would give me more room to slide a thicker piece of foam in.

Do these cover bolts or some sort?? I imagine what i am trying to do is very easy, if you know what you are doing!

please help!

hmmmm ... that pic looks familiar! ;) the bad part is that the bottom right near where you want to place the foam has expanding rivets (bottom edge if you look at the end of the hatch when it's raised). those don't like to come out easily and will most likely break (pretty much a one time use item) so be prepared to put something else back in to replace them or get some replacements before you start. i also broke some of the other plastic clips that hold that trip piece on when i yanked it off (even getting my hands as close to either side of the clip i was working on). over time, they get somewhat brittle. how soon are you going to do this? i'm waiting for a couple parts orders and can provide you with part numbers when they come in. not sure the ETK is super clear on which clips are used in what areas. i could take some pics in the next couple days too if you want to see some of any particular area. just let me know and provide me your email address (private message or here if you don't care that people know it).

if you do take that whole trim piece off, i suggest getting into the interior of the hatch down near the trailing edge (couple drain holes down there almost directly under the license plate) and cleaning and WAXING so you hopefully won't get rust developing there like i have. might as well do it while you're in there :)

Actually I've taken the back piece off an yes the "pins" do break easily. However if you go to advanced auto parts store and look for 1/4 plastic rivets they work quite nicely. You can take a broken one in and they should be able to point you to the spinning rack where they are located.
I suspect the rattle is coing from the wire harness that is located behind the plastic trim piece. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks alot for the replies, I love this place!!

Yeah the rattle is only minor, pretty much just a little nuisance only the driver notices, I don't neccesarily have to do this any time soon, just gathering the right information. If i feel confident it's somthing i won't f**k up then i will do it sometime in a few weeks, I hate being so busy!

Do the plastic rivets either side of the latch hold the trim in place at the bottom solely?? or are their other clips behind the trim that i can't see as well?

How do you suggest getting these out? I don't want to break them and have them stuck in or something!

I don't think i need to completely take off the trim, hopefully just these 2 pins to do what I plan. Unless the problem is the wiring harness like suggested, then would I need to take the whole thing off??

my email is mikahli@hotmail.com if you have some pics, like i said i am in no real rush to do this, and will probably try just sliding a piece in first and see if that works first!

thanks again guys

not sure when i will get to it, but i could take pics of where the clips are on the removed trim piece and what it looks like without the trim piece (location of wiring, etc) for you. probably wouldn't be until sunday. what size pics would you want? not sure what hotmail's file size limit is anymore since i switched to gmail. i have a 4mp digital camera so i could go real big if you wanted it :p

you can mail them to michael83r@gmail.com, if you get the chance.

. so most likely the rattle will be wiring behind the plastic?? what will i need to secure the wiring from rattling?

thanks for your help

Thanks alot for the pics!!! very helpful.

Dodj,

When do you hear this rattle? I have a rattle near that area of the car but have not determined if it was inside or under the car. I thought it was my exhaust but it doesn't happen when I am parked and rev the engine. It only happens when I am moving. Does this sound like your noise?

Thanks

the noise i hear is deffinitely inside the car, in the boot trim i am almost 100% sure.
I thought it might have been the parcel shelf but i removed it, i also thought it might be some tools in the compartment to chagne the wheel. I am sure it is inside the plastic trim of the trunk

i hear it when i am moving slowly and go over a bump, when the road is smooth and i dont hear it, i seem to hear it less when im going faster as well.

i dont hear it all the time either when i go over bumps, so i don't know exaclty what it is. its not bad or anything, just one of those things that the owner notices.

most likely like someone has said hte wiring inside the plastic has come loose at some point as is moving around.

speaking of rattles ... i solved one last night. anti-rattle clip was missing on the driver's side rear. it was getting quite obnoxious (especially noticeable since i have the whole rear interior out of my car right now).

what is an anti-rattle clip?

part #3 on this diagram, it holds the pads tight in the caliper.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...67&hg=34&fg=10

thanks alot cali-t i just checked my gmail.
still dont know how to use it properly and didnt notice you had replied twice!

Could you just repond to my email one more time to clarify a couple points abuot removing the trim.

thanks again for hte pics and instructions on removing the trim, i would'nt have had the confidence to do this without your help!

and i from what you ahve given me i could probably work it out if ihad another look at my trunk, but i just haven't looked recently sorry,

not a problem, glad to help out :) i responded to your email dodj and also sent pics to 318tiwinner. let me know if you need anything else. i'll be in the garage working on all the crap that needs to get done asap.

believe i found what is causing a rattle occasionally in my hatch. jiggling the piece circled in red on the attached pic certainly sounds like the rattle i'm hearing, perhaps one or both of you have the same. hope it helps.