Help with changing out rear spoiler to painted unit
 

So,

I had some paintwork done and the shop also painted an extra spoiler to color match. I went to trade it out today and ran into some trouble. Does anyone know of a DIY link for this?

If not, here are some questions for those who have "been there, done that".

1. What is the easiest way to remove the compression clips on the plastic strut arms? Do you just cut them off and replace with new? If so, where can one pick these up?
2. Did you remove the entire spoiler assembly from the rear engine cover or did you work with it in place?
3. Is there a "glue" compound used for this? If so, what is the purpose: adhesion, vibration absoprtion? Any sources for the glue?

Thanks, Brian

Other's can chime in here because I've never done it personally, just had a shop do it for me and they said it's put in with double sided tape at the factory .. albiet .. really GOOD double sided tape .. ;-)

It is really hard to get the grille insert out without damaging it so plan for it to be cracked during removal. The plastic outside is very flexible so it should be OK during removal. Answers based on my on attempts.

Erik,

Thanks!!

Will post pics as the progress resumes.

I read that some have luck separating the grill from the spoiler by using dental tape carefully "sawing" through the adhesive.

This thread may help ...

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...er-needed.html

exactly
mono-filament fishing line works well.

1) They'll spin off with a needle nose pliers. Replace with new.

2) In place. You have a new painted grill, so put some blankets and towels down and use a good tin snips and cut the old grill into sections and pull away from the adhesive section by section. Easiest way to do it.

3) There is a double sided tape that you can leave in place. Clean it up and it acts as a 'bed' for the new grill. Put a bead of GE silicone adhesive on the tape and press the grill in to place. Weight it down overnight to secure.

Hm .. so the bodyshop guy's weren't crazy .. there is factory tape in this glue sandwich then. :confused:

JPP,

I may be wrong about that - I think it is actually an adhesive that acted as a bed and kind of formed to the grille when it was put in place. But it's easiest to leave the 'bed' in place because it puts the grille at the right spacing. Clean with solvent and put a thin bead of GE silicone adhesive down.

Is there anyway to manually raise the rear spoiler? I just bought a rear deck lid and need to remove the spoiler to get it painted. I tried will very little force to lift the spoiler but it didn't budge, Didn't want to break anything, do I need to apply a little more effort or do I need to disconnect a cable? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

button on center console. Turn key to on and push up on spoiler button until it rises all the way up and stops.

did the rear deck lid come complete with the motor wiring harness, and all? If so, plug the new wing into your old wing's harness and push the button in the car. If not, unbolt the motor and push from underneath. Depending on how long the wing in the decklid was non operational, it could be frozen. Remember, the wing goes up and back in an arc motion. Without the motor bolted in, it sholud move easily.

Cool, thanks for the input!

ahhh, I might have mis-read. If you need to raise/lower the spoiler that is NOT installed in the car, either do what Magdaddy suggested OR use a reversible drill to drive the cable drive shaft to the gearbox. Gentle or by hand/wrench at first to avoid driving it too far the wrong way. You might have to remove the cable drive from the electric motor if its all still installed. This is the first step here:
http://www.pcarworkshop.com/index.ph...poiler_Gearbox