[Bluejeans]

hi there, i'm looking at buying an f34 gt that took a hit to the rear. the tailgate and rear bumpers will need to be replaced. It is not an m-sport.

I see tailgates and bumpers are available in the common color, alpine-white. how difficult is it to replace the tailgate on these cars? i know i will need at least one extra person to help hold, maybe two to hold and one to remove the bolts.

also i see on some removed tailgates that the breakers just cut the wiring harness that passes through the elephant trunk. where are these connectors within the car so that cutting and splicing won't be necessary? if anyone has done this before, i would much appreciate a walkthrough. too bad there are no videos on bmw hatchback removals although i did find one on youtube which showed an e46 wagon getting the tailgate replaced. they did it by keeping the glass lid up and just swapping the metal portion.

[Oksamit78]

Originally Posted by Bluejeans

hi there, i'm looking at buying an f34 gt that took a hit to the rear. the tailgate and rear bumpers will need to be replaced. It is not an m-sport.

I see tailgates and bumpers are available in the common color, alpine-white. how difficult is it to replace the tailgate on these cars? i know i will need at least one extra person to help hold, maybe two to hold and one to remove the bolts.

also i see on some removed tailgates that the breakers just cut the wiring harness that passes through the elephant trunk. where are these connectors within the car so that cutting and splicing won't be necessary? if anyone has done this before, i would much appreciate a walkthrough. too bad there are no videos on bmw hatchback removals although i did find one on youtube which showed an e46 wagon getting the tailgate replaced. they did it by keeping the glass lid up and just swapping the metal portion.

Word of caution:
Make sure that you inspect not just the tail gate, but also the picture frame (around the perimeter of the hatch opening itself) the tail gate seals against and the hinges in the roof... If there are distortions to either of those, you will have hard time with the replacement tailgate sealing. This feature is the weakest point in all hatchbacks. Also, the hatch lifting is motorized, you'd need to inspect for damages where the push/pull drive is installed. The other spot - the lock and latch. The distortions to those will need correction if found.

Disregard per Billfitz: There are no plugs hidden to disconnect the wirings afaik. You would need access to the wiring in order to splice into it.

Roof panel and other trims will need to come out.

It is a two+1 person job due to the size and weight of the tailgate alone. Try to find a matching color used tailgate - will be easier for the body shop to match/blend into the car color, also - all the internals will match the car color.

Good luck.

[Billfitz]

There are connectors for the wiring, hidden under the trim panels. Removing them is the first step.

[Bluejeans]

i have only seen a couple of photos so far and the damage to the tailgate isn't bad but yes I will want to inspect in person to check out the frame. good call on that.

so the roof panel absolutely has to come down to get to the long wiring harness plugs that pass through the so called elephant trunk boot? i was hoping they would all be snaked into the side panels within the cargo area. i do not want to splice or solder any connections. also since the f34 is alpine white, i have found a few different parts breakers that have alpine white f34 hatches. one of them is supposedly in pristine condition and requires no painting so that's the best case scenario as i wouldn't need to take the car to the bodyshop. just need to find an m sport or regular aw bumper too eventually.

i was wondering if a ceiling hoist lift for car roofs or ski boxes would work better than having two people as helpers. thank you two for the information and encouragement so far.