The complete automotive resource for buyers, sellers, and owners like you.
Car, Truck and SUV Forums at Roadfly
+ Bentley Forums
+ BMW Forums
+ Cadillac Forums
+ Chevrolet Forums
+ Ferrari Forums
+ Jaguar Forums
+ Lamborghini Forums
+ Lotus Forums
+ Mercedes-Benz Forums
+ Maserati Forums
+ MINI Forums
+ Porsche Forums
+ General Discussion
+ Marketplace Forums
COME ON YOU GUYS...I've posted on this a lot+ (archive)

[ Follow Ups ] [ 3-series (E36) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Posted by RonJeremy on January 01, 2001 at 04:54:04:

In Reply to: Hey Seedster, check out my trunk!! posted by psk145 on December 31, 2000 at 19:32:41:

This is what I did to my car and it is truly rattle-free. Not even just a little rattle. I wrote this from memory, so use a little common sense.


Trunk sound deadening and porting instructions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ 3-series (E36) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(archive link: http://forums.roadfly.com/e36/messages/archive/msgsy2000w49/16372.html)
Posted by RonJeremy on December 09, 2000 at 01:21:04:


(posted from: evrtwa1-ar3-236-100.dsl.gtei.net (4.3.236.100))
Okay it is 9:00 on Friday night. I told a lot of people I would do this, so here goes. A girl I know just got back in town from ASU, so as soon as she's done unpacking and junk, I'm audi.

I have tried a lot of different kinds of Dyanamat, Super, Premium, Original, etc...They all suck. I now use something called "Phat Mat." It is the best material I have ever used. It is a product used for naval sound deadening and works very well. If you would like more info on how to get some, let me know. If you are going to do all this work, you may as well do it right the first time. It is also a lot cheaper that the pricy Dynamat. I am not affiliated with this stuff at all, just trying to help.
Using sound deadening materials in your trunk serves two purposes: First, it stops rattles. It does a damn good job of that. Once you do this, you will hate to be in cars that rattle because you know how much better yours is. Second, It will actually make your bass LOUDER. If you apply it on your trunk lid properly, it will stop reflect the waves back into your car. You actually hear very little bass standing behind my car, but standing in front, you are overwhelmed. Open the trunk and this all changes. If you have subs in your car, you have got to do this. Hope this helps, guys:


REMOVING THE REAR DECK:

I have a four door with the folding rear seatbacks and no center armrest. If yours are different I hope this helps, otherwise; Raw Deals.
First, remove the bottom seat cushion. Do I really need to explain this? Just yank it...no tricks.
Next, fold down the seats. In the middle on the bottom, there is a plastic cover, covering the clips for the seats. Use a flat-head screwdriver to remove this cover. Push the clip back untill the seat pops out.
Then remove the sides of the seat back by pulling the top part towards the fron of the car until it pops out. Now pull it up. You might have to yank it with all your weight, but it won't break.
Okay, that does it for the seats.
Next, remove the pillars that run from the rear deck to the roof, along side the rear window. Start by prying out the dome lights and disconnecting them. Now, just pry the pillars out and pull. Got it? In the passenger side, you will see an electrical doodad behind where the pillar was. This is for your antenna. Make sure it is connected if you use the radio.
Now for removing the rear deck. Along the top of the area where the rear seatbacks go, there are a few little plastic grommets (or doohickeys or whatever you want to call them). Pry those up (I used a tool made for this, but a screwdriver and some pliers will work also). Now, lift off the rear deck cover. Just pull it up and out. Below that there is this weird yellow stuff that looks like BMW got cheap and used recycled fabric or something. There is a bolt that holds on the 3rd brake light. Undo this bolt and romove the brake light assembly. Undo as much wiring as you can unclip and get it out of the way. Now lift off the wierd yellow foamy stuff. Good Job...That is all you need to remove for this part.

TO PORT YOUR REAR DECK:

There are already some little holes in the metal, but you need to make them bigger. Right on the angled part, beside the speakers. Use metal cutters (they look like heavy duty scissors...a few dollars at a hardware store) to cut the piece of metal between the two holes. You will also want to cut the yellow wierd stuff in the corresponding location. For the rear deck cover, you may cut it into any shape you like, but keep in mind that you will have gaping holes if you do it so that you can't cover it. There are lots of ways to cover the holes. You can buy a set of speaker grills (factory or others) to cover the holes, with the right size of holes, you can order 4 of those 3rd brake light covers and use two on each side, or do it my way. I used "Breathable" fabric to recover my rear deck. It looks even better than stock. Figure out how you will cover the holes BEFORE you cut them. Otherwise you are a moron and don't ask me for help because I told you so. If you are going to re-cover it with fabric, I would suggest taking it to a fabric store or maybe an arts and crap store. Let a girl do it. Guys are bad with fabric. It is a fact. They will look at you funny, but at least your rear deck won't look like it was put together by a team of monkeys. You should be able to figure any other plans out from this basic outline.

SOUND DEADENING YOUR REAR DECK:

Why would you port something and then use sound deadening materials on it? Because RonJeremy says so. There are a lot of rattles (at least on my car) that come from the rear deck. The bass is actually tighter in my opinion, since I have done this and is every bit as loud and clean. Use the material on at least 65% percent of the metal surfaces on the rear deck. Also use it all over the bottom of the rear deck cover. Remember those plastic grommets you had to remove to take off the rear deck? Put a long strip of material along there. Make sure it is not too wide, or it will stick out and you will look like an idiot, driving a ghetto POS. Now put it back together. Make sure you get all the wires back where they belong (or close to it) and clipped back into their connections. Everything is pretty simple until you come to the pillars. I had no problems with mine, but people say they are a bitch. Here's what I do. Put them into the general position, but don't clip it. Look though the rear window at how the clips go back in. Start at the bottom and work your way up. You may need a short flat-head screwdriver to pry them sometimes. Make sure you put the lights back in and connect them. For everything else, installation is the reverse of removal. Just have a dislexic person read the instructions out loud.
Good Luck

SOUND DEADENIG THE TRUNK LID:

This is extremely important. It won't stop all of the rattling from happening, but it blocks the sound so it sounds as though there are no rattles. My car was a rattle-trap when I first put subs in it. There are now NONE. I wish you could hear it and see what I mean. I HATE rattles. First, remove the BMW toolkit from the rear deck. There are two screws under plastic covers (philips head) and remove the supporting piece by twisting it sideways. Now remove the plastic grommets (little holder things) that surround the carpet on the trunk lid and hold it in place. There is a tool for this, or you can use a screwdriver and pliers. Your call. Now you have exposed your trunk lid. Place the sound deadening strips very generously all over your trunk lid. Put a couple of layers of it. On the holes over the trunk latck mechanism and such, cut large squares (rectangles, too) and cover the holes. The trunk lock is a major source of rattles. On the upper trunk lik, there are these oval shaped, welded panels. Over time, these welds become weak, causing rattles. Start with a rectangle just large enough to cover the inner panels and cut off the excess with a razor blade. Now place large, even square or rectangular pieces of material and cover the entire trunk lid. Installation is the reverse of removal. If you covered a hole with material, just poke through it with a screwdriver and go from there.

BRAKE LIGHT HOUSINGS:

Place dynamat around the outer edge of the housing (not the cover) with the cover removed. Use a hair dryer or a heat gun to get it hot before you apply it. Place it so that when you put the cover on, it presses the dynamat against it and forms it. Remove the cover again and press it firmly to get out all of the wrinkles. Remember to keep it hot while you are working with it. you can also do little squares inside the cover if you like, but it is not needed.

You may still have rattles around your car, but this is the majority of them. Just use a layer of material where ever you find a rattle (doors, etc...). Hope this helps.

j
95 325i
Its almost 10:30 now...you guys owe me for this one.



Looks almost like yours eh? BUT, I got one more than you!! Nah Nah :P.

Do you have problems with the rear deck rattling? I do, so I always gotta turn the sub level down from time to time. I tried shoving a t-shirt into the area to dampen the vibration, but it only helps so much. I guess I should check to see if its even fastened tightly.





Follow Ups:



[ Follow Ups ] [ 3-series (E36) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.
Roadfly.com Logo © 1997 - 2009 Jump Internet Inc. All rights reserved.