[squidlyboy]

Ok. I'm officially the world's biggest idiot. I'm getting ready to install some audio components in the trunk and I can't figure out how to remove the trunk liner pieces. I searched up and down the forums and couldn't find a DIY anywhere so i figured it MUST be intuitively obvious

Well, after breaking a connector, i figure i would just swallow my pride, cry uncle, and ask the obvious: What is the proper way to remove all the trunk lining pieces in an F30 so that i can get at the OEM amp without trashing my trunk to do a stealth install?

Here's what i've done so far and the issues i'm having.

1) The hard plastic trim piece closest to you when you first open the trunk is easily removed by popping off the push-pin anchors in the first 2 pics. A decent trim removal tool pops off the top pin so that the anchor freely comes out. So far so good.

2) The next middle liner piece that contains the two empty cubby holes has one fastener that is the spawn of satan. its in the rear right corner of that piece (circled in yellow in the 3rd pic). I thought it was like the other push pin anchors so i tried to pull up the top pin with the trim tool, but it broke the top part (MY FIRST BROKEN PART ON MY NEW F30 ugh...). I'm tempted to just rip it up with brute force but i don't wanna rip/tear the liner piece. Is that what's needed or is there a better way?

3) Beyond that, the side liner pieces that hide the OEM amp and the battery are not as intuitive. But its the last two pieces i need to get out. In the last pic, you see some sort of ring fastener, but no idea what it is and why its there or how to remove it. Whats the best way to remove this piece without destroying it or the liner?

4) In the same side liner, there's another fastener/connector at the top, and it appears its the same push pin anchor as the first trim piece. I assume thats removed the same way.

5) Any other challenges to getting that side liner off? There seems to be other connectors anchoring it to the side of the trunk, but they are not visible... and i'm a little leery of just using brute force to pull it off. Any other tips/hints there?

Thanks in advance! Its my first time doing this, and doing things the brute force way has in general not served me well in the past, so i wanna see if there's a better way first...

[squidlyboy]

This is more a PITA than i thought. There were a few more of the push pin anchors that had to be pulled (one has to be accessed from the back seat with the ski door down), and the little ring fastener had a top cap that had to popped off before using your largest Torx bit to remove the screw holding it down. Those were easy as today, i had more light to work with. Yesterday i was working in the dark.

But the hardest thing about removing the left liner piece that hides the OEM amp is 1) the liner piece wraps around the left trunk arm that attaches it to the car - it has to be carefully pulled/finessed out as to not damage the liner and 2) the spare 12v utility power plug (i still can't figure out how to pull that out without damaging the liner). Would appreciate any hints there.

UPDATE: don't bother trying to remove the 12v utility power plug plate before pulling the liner off. There is plenty of slack wire behind it where you can pull the liner off first, then remove the plug/connector from the back of it afterwards. The side liner is really tightly fit inside that left side, so you'll really have to slowly finagle it out back and forth before it finally comes free.

[tclardy]

So did you finally get everything removed? I am about to do mine, any words of wisdom?

[squidlyboy]

I removed what i minimally needed to get the work done. I have the left liner completely removed. i haven't removed the right side liner yet, because the battery already has a pretty accessible hole to reach in to connect cables. i may still remove it this weekend when i wire everything up, but so far, it doesn't appear necessary. but its going to the similar to the left side.

when i started, i got a little gung-ho and started ripping stuff out from that bottom center liner piece, which caused me to break one of the connectors (rear right). Turned out that middle piece doesn't really even need to come out (unless you are doing a sub install in those empty two spaces. The two side liner pieces are the main ones you need to take out to do your work (left side to access OEM amp and right side for battery).

My procedure (in order of removal):

1) Top Middle Liner - lift up/out top middle liner piece (piece w/ netting) that covers the two bottom cubby holes (nothing attaches it to trunk, so it just lifts easily out). This will reveal the front trim piece and 2 side pieces that will make it easier to remove those.

2) Rubber Trim - pull rubber trim off bottom edge of trunk door (need to use some muscle to start it, because its tight). Pull straight up. Start in middle where the latch is. This will make it easier to remove hard trim piece up front.

3) Front Hard Trim - remove the 4 expanding rivets (#1, #2, #3, #4 highlighted in yellow) from the hard plastic trim piece at entry of trunk (where latch is), then lift it out. You can use a screwdriver, but if you are like me and want to keep your equipment mint, use a non-abrasive trim removal tool. The blue Bavsound trim removal tool works great here. Or any plastic trim removal tools you have for that matter. Use it to pop the rivet out first, then the whole base can be lifted out easily with some needle-nose pliers.

4) Bottom Middle Liner - leave that bottom middle liner piece that contains the two cubby holes in place - it doesn't need to be removed - and it doesn't affect anything unless you are installing something in there. The rivet-looking connector in the rear right corner is NOT like the rest. I had a hell of a time trying to remove it and broke it in the process. Just leave it alone. It doesn't need to come out.

5) Left Liner (mounting hardware) - (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5 highlighted in RED) Need to remove T40 Torx screw (holding ring/anchor in place) and 4 expanding rivets before you can remove the left liner. To remove the ring/anchor, you'll need to first pop the top plastic cap off using a screwdriver or trim tool, then use a T40 screwdriver to remove screw. Remove the expanding rivets the same way you removed them from the front trim piece. Removing expanding rivet #5 is most easily done by popping the left ski door, folding down the rear driver side seat, and accessing it from within the car.

6) 12v Aux Port (left cargo area) - don't worry about the 12v port (leave it in place). There will be plenty of slack in the wire behind it that when you pull out the left liner, you'll be able to reach behind and disconnect it easily.

7) Left Liner - remove the lid to the left liner cargo area before attempting to remove the liner itself. You are now ready to slowly pull out the liner. This is the hardest part to remove. My first thought was, "how the hell does this thing even come out?" but it will. I started from the bottom and lifted it up and out from under that middle liner piece that overlaps it. Then i pull the rear out. The hardest part will be that area that wraps around that metal arm that holds the trunk lid to the car (highlighted in yellow rectangle in last pic). You'll need to wedge that back and forth slowly until it comes out. At times it will seem like the pressure you are applying to bend it (to unwrap it from the metal arm) will break it, but take your time and keep finessing it back and forth slowly. Once you comes free, reach behind where the 12v port is, and disconnect the cable behind it. Thats the last thing holding it to the car. Take a shot of Tequila. The hardest part is done.

8) Right Liner - the right side liner should be similar to the left side, but i didn't need to take it out. There's plenty of space to work even with it in place. The cover for that recessed battery area can be popped out easily by turning the lock/dial at the top. Pull the top out, then pull the whole cover trim piece straight up. It will reveal the battery compartment area. You should be able to run wires directly underneath the liner while its in place.

Thats it!

[squidlyboy]

Just got around to buttoning up the trunk after doing my stereo amp/dsp upgrade from a few weeks ago. I took a few more pics and updated the removal procedure in case anyone needs the info for future reference.

note on putting rubber trim back in place: i found that as i was finishing up with it, there was too much slack from either side that collected right in the middle that left me with so much excess, that the last part couldn't go in easily. i had to start over and make sure i kept taking up slack so that the final part could go down easily with no slack. hope that makes sense...

[SoundtrackTJ]

Great post! Thanks much for this info as I prepare for my own install

[Fronzdan]

I missed this post...but would have just told you to pull every rivet you can find, out. It's a pain to pull it completely and even more fun getting it back in. And LOL, I had trouble with the same effing one you broke too. In fact, I got so pissed at it, I eventually cut it off. It would NOT come out. I tried buying a new one, but they weren't the right size. So that one sits empty to this day.

"The hardest part will be that area that wraps around that metal arm that holds the trunk to the car (highlighted in yellow rectangle). You'll need to wedge that back and forth slowly until it comes out. At times it will seem like the pressure you are applying to bend it (to unwrap it from the metal arm) will break it"

Haha...same experience here. That bitch was hard to get back on.

[squidlyboy]

I stumbled on your excellent thread about accessing amp in F30. Had I found it sooner, I wouldn't have broken the clip on that middle bottom piece with two cubbies.

I have a question about clips on the left side piece. There's a hook with 2 rivets - you mark them #2 and #3. I can't get #3 out. The pin comes out half way and then no further. Is it special in some what or same as all the other ones - pin into expanding rivet?

That rivet (#3) is slightly different than the others in that set in that it doesn't have a pin in the center of head that you pull out. However, it just pulls out like the rest. Here's a pic of it halfway out so you can see how it pulls out. You'll just need some pliers to grab a hold of the edges of it and pull it straight out.

[beanbaguk]

Does anyone have any idea where I can get a similar guide for the F31 (Wagon / Touring), trunk lining removal?

Everything I've found is based around the F30. I've done most of the lining removal myself however it would be great to get an existing guide to compare against.

[jmordoj]

Originally Posted by squidlyboy

7) Left Liner The hardest part will be that area that wraps around that metal arm that holds the trunk lid to the car (highlighted in yellow rectangle in last pic). You'll need to wedge that back and forth slowly until it comes out. At times it will seem like the pressure you are applying to bend it (to unwrap it from the metal arm) will break it, but take your time and keep finessing it back and forth slowly.

I have found that in my car that the "plastic clip" is not fastened, but I can' t put it together , could you explain how did you closed that plastic clip around the arm of the trunk?

[Oliver91]

I found that as i was finishing up with it, there was too much slack from either side that collected right in the middle that left me with so much excess

[fongph]

I have broken the right part of the locking clip within the yellow rectangular and I have a hard time finding the part number for it. Do you know if I have to replace the whole trunk liner trim or does anybody know the part number for it? Thanks