Rebuilding the rear cargo cover spring mechanism.
 

I did a quick search and didn't find anything on the subject.

I have a rear hatch cargo cover (the retractable one attached to the back of the rear seat. It pulls out but only retracts about half way without some help on my part. Even then, I can't get it completely rolled up.

Has anyone rebuilt the retraction mechanism to get proper spring tension? Is this project a disaster waiting to happen or is it pretty straight forward?

I'm in the process right now. The plastic caps cracked and allowed spring to unwind. I've ordered the new caps from the dealer and they just came in today. Since it was broken anyway I hade nothing to loose. From playing with the spring it appears that it has to have some tension wound into the spring before the caps go on.

If anyone does have any pointers I would appreciate it. I'll post pictures when I do it, but I probably won't find the time until next week.
-Mark

The cover is very similar to a window shade. Removal and reassembly is pretty straight forward as long as nothing is broken internally. I unscrewed the shade/cover assembly from the seat back and drilled out the rivets holding the end caps on. The screws are easier to see and unscrew with the cover fully extended. I ended up replacing both end caps because they had cracked from old age. They were pretty brittle. I think that I ordered replacements from Performace Products/Tweeks, can't remember 100%. I used 1/8" pop rivets from Home Depot to reinstall the end caps. The downside was that the only 1/8" rivets that I could find were white in color. So, I painted them black before installation.

I can't remember if the spring needed to be pretensioned or not. It might have been possible that simply pulling the shade out was enough tension on the spring to allow full retraction. If not, you should be able
to use a pair of pliers or the end cap itself to give the spring some pretension. I played around with it both ways by installing/riveting the end cap on the spring side first, then simply sliding the other end cap in place, allowing me to check the tension.

I've "rebuilt" two cargo covers, and the spring needs to be pretensioned before the end cap goes on.

The roller has a round pin on one end and a flat pin on the other. The round pin is a fixed pivot point and the flat pin connects to the internal retract spring.

I start by making sure the retract mechanism rotates freely. Next, install the cover into the housing and install the end cap for the pivot pin. To pretension the retract spring I use a curved hemostat (aka "Roach Clip"). Just wind a few turns and the use the hemostat to hold the flat pin while you install the end cap. Finding the correct pretension is pretty much trial and error, so be prepared to do this several times.

To keep the end caps on (the original are pop riveted) I use short 3mm hex head cap screws and nylock (aircraft style) nuts. You can get these screws and nuts at your local R/C hobby shop.

This may help a bit


https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...9&page=1&pp=15

I've tried the hemostat method, and while it does work I found it much easier if you remove both end caps. Remove the shade from the metal tube. Then simply place the new end cap on the end of the shade with the spring, wind it up with the cap, then carefully slide the metal tube back in place. If you have an assistant, you can easily check the tension to see if it is correct before you rivet everything back in place.

Keith

Thanks guys!

What if the mechanism doesn't turn freely?

free tip for junkyard hunters...

1990s Subaru wagons came with a retractable cargo cover that is almost the perfect width for the 944 hatch area, appears to just need some bits ground off the very ends and affixed to the 944 seat back.

What model and year?

The failure is typically in the joints of the plastic end caps, which crack from stress. I rebuilt mine by carefully collecting as many bits as were still laying under the broken end caps, then using CA glue (Krazy glue) to glue them back together, then built up the plastic joints using the old Krazy Glue/baking soda trick (see YouTube on fixing guitar bridges, f'rex.), then glued on some fiberglass mat over the failure points for extra strength. Sprayed with black satin paint, used short machine screws to attach end caps to the roller housing after pre-tensioning the roller return spring by 8 turns. Works. Cost me about 10 cents of CA glue, available in 4 packs at Walmart for 97 cents. If I were to do it over, would pop rivet the end caps rather than using machine screws, for better clamping force and probably a more durable fix.

If you had good, unbroken originals, making duplicates would be easy: See YouTube for DIY molds using silicone caulk and cornflower. Use Bondo angel hair (fiberglass reinforced body putty by 3M from Walmart) to cast the parts, make about 300 with one quart can for ~$8. This is a trick which may come in handy making duplicates of old car parts long out of production, and a fiberglass-reinforced part made of Bondo will almost surely be much stronger than the plastic original...

Understand, was hoping to find out what model Subaru the poster was referring to

Or, if your caps are too broken to repair/reuse, you can buy METAL caps that will last.

NOTE: There are two types, look at the pictures to find your type.

Aluminum Cargo Cover End Cap Set Type 1

https://944online.com/index.php/aluminum-cargo-cover-end-cap-1.html

Aluminum Cargo Cover End Cap Set Type 2

https://944online.com/index.php/aluminum-cargo-cover-end-cap-set-type-2.html

1996-1999 legacy/outback for sure since that's what i have.

i imagine the forester/impreza ones are close enough too.