Remove C pillar trim panels

[TB2]

Yeah

How do I get them off? I need to clean the clogged drains from the sunroof and for that I follow a guide at the BX DIY page (Water from the sunroof). I need to remove all the covers and panels to remove the roof, but I can't remove the C pillar trim panels. They are held in place by those annoying plastic "nails". I can make them loose, but the last part won't come off. I tried using force but I don't want to break it in the end. It seems like its possible to slide the whole panel forward because the hooks on the panel are open on the rear side but I can't get it off. Has anyone removed these things before?

Picture

Thanks

[DavidRutherford]

You don't need to dismantle the interior to clear the sunroof drain tubes.

If you remove the rear light clusters and fiddle about through one of the holes in the bodywork behind them, you will find the ends of the drain tubes. There are then many different ways of clearing them. Curtain wire works well, as does applying a vacuum cleaner to the end of it.

To check it's clear, you should be able to easily blow down the tube, and you may be able to hear the air escaping through the sunroof.

Don't apply compressed air to the hoses though, as there's a risk you may blow them off the sunroof, and then have to remove the headlining to get them back on.

[TB2]

Well, on one side of the sunroof the guiding is broken (the preivous owner apparently broke it, and then found water in the footwell so he sealed the roof off with silicone I even found the plastic piece up there after figuring out what he actually broke. I'll need to fix that. Getting the mechanism off the roof would simplify that, too.

But good to know that there are other ways to clear the drain tubes, I'll do as you suggested then. Much simpler...

Thanks!

[DLM]

If you do need to remove the inner plastic on the C-pillars use a trim tool (Laser do a good and reasonably-priced one AFAIR) or use something like long-bladed walpaper scissors VERY carefully. The panels were designed to slide in/out one direction only.

[TB2]

Mh, I just used more force now and I got them out thogether with the white bolts. I think it will be no problem to attach it with the same bolts afterwards when I'm finished on the roof. It was impossible for me to slide the panels forward anyway because the seatbelt compartment was blocking that direction...

Now I have another problem. I removed all the panels and also the control unit on the roof toghether with the sun roof motor. So now the roof panel is not covered by any other parts. But there still are two metall trims at the back and the front which I can't remove. I actually bent one edge a little so I stopped. It got too cold outside anyway... I'll have another look at it tomorrow. Does someone know how to remove the roof panel? The DIY guide tells me to "gently lever out the roof panel from the metal trim at the back and let it drop" but the metal trim at the front prevents me from doing that. After all, the roof panel is ridgid. Or should I just pull on it in the middle so that it bends a little...

[JohnHA]

The best way is to beg ,borrow,or steal a small air compressor and as already said remove the rear light clusters, find the drain tubes behind them and if pliable gently tease them out thro one of the bodywork slots. Then, carefully blow up the tube until clear. Check by pouring water along the channels from inside the car, keep blowing and pouring until a good flow is achieved.
To clear the front near side drain, remove the Glove Box and carefully move aside all the wiring found behind. You should then be able to see the plastic drain tube tube wich runs down the winscreen channel (behind the trim you were asking about) and continues down inside the " A Frame" (?) behind the front wheel. Carefully tease tube out and blow and flush as before.
I have not yet had to do the front offside drains on my GTI but i guess a trim panel could be removed like the Glove Box.
Hope this helps.
Happy New Year to all.

[DavidRutherford]

The best way is to beg ,borrow,or steal a small air compressor and carefully blow up the tube until clear.

Don't apply compressed air to the hoses though, as there's a risk you may blow them off the sunroof, and then have to remove the headlining to get them back on.

Not only that, but you blow the dirt that was blocking the tube back up into the sunroof.

Clear them by rodding and vacuuming. Using compressed air is asking for trouble.

[JohnHA]

Take your point David but must disagree, blowing from the bottom up is unlikely to dislodge the tubes, and with the sunroof open any dirt blown up into the sunroof can be easily vacuumed out. In any event, are the tubes not fitted over the roof drain outlets?

Rodding could cause problems by making a hole in the plastic tube and that really would be trouble!

Regards.

[tim leech]

My 19GT has much the same problems, I cant get at the tubes as they are very thick and hard and wont come out of the aperture with the rear lamps removed. Can you get at the tubes with the sunroof panel removed, or is a case of headlining out.

[AndersDK]

Rodding is not to be taken literally by the word.

By using an electricians guide wire with the characteristic rounded off pulling eye one end, you are not riscing anything. This wire would be close to the drain tube inner dia, but small enough not getting stuck.
Probing from both ends of the tube will in most cases clean out the tube completely.

The trick is not to push the wire using violence, as this may dislodge the tube from the roof drain pipe studs.

[MULLEY]

Tim, i had the same problem on my Gti, the tube appeared to be quite hard, i used a bit of oil on the tube & against the aperture to help with sliding it. I then positioned a large screwdriver using the main shank (which is round & hopefully wont damage the tube), placed it behind & gradually with quite a bit of force managed to force the tube to bend & come out of the aperture.

Another tube appeared to be quite a bit longer than the other & water was building up where it was touching the bumper so a constant flow was being stopped, so i pulled the tube out (as per above technique) & cut it a bit shorter so that it wasnt touching the standing water. No problems since then thank god....

[DavidRutherford]

Take your point David but must disagree, blowing from the bottom up is unlikely to dislodge the tubes,

My experience says otherwise. The drain tubes are simply a push-fit onto the sunroof mechanism and if the blockage is the other side of the join (IE actually in the sunroof rather than in the drain tube) then no more than a couple of PSI will blow it off. I've learned this the hard way.

and with the sunroof open any dirt blown up into the sunroof can be easily vacuumed out.

From the front drains, yes. From the rears, no. The rear drain points are right at the very back of the mechanism, about above the heads of rear seat passengers. If you blow the blockage back into the sunroof, the chances are it will simply block up again.

I still say the safest way is to use a vacuum cleaner on the ends of the tubes. That not only guarantees that the tubes do not come off, but also that any dirt is removed from the car.

[JohnHA]

David,It looks as tho we must agree to differ. I found my way worked well & you found yours the same. I guess it's success that matters!

With reguard to the tube being stiff, how about finding the O.D. of it, buy a new piece with an I.D. to match, cut a couple of inches from the original, slide the new piece over it with the end trailing then prod or blow, (which ever turns you on) when clear, cut to the right length & poke back in place.

[Mike E (uk)]

The long term cure for this one ids the remove the entire headlining tray,
and clean the whole lot properly. Remove the glass panel 1st- the whole assembly is very heavy.

The A and C pillar trims will almost certainly get broken because the plastic has hardened over the years. Perhaps heating them with a hair dryer may help here.

The headlining is held up by the grab handle bolts, and some sticky black goo, which never hardens. IIRC is it only clipped in at the back, the front will fall down 1st, them move the tray forwards to release it from the lip at the back. It is not hard to remove. Get an adult helper coz it is heavy.

The drain pipes simply follow. Once it is out of the car, you can see why the drain holes get blocked so easily, they are quite narrow. One of my drains was blocked with the black goo- it must have been blocked when the car was made.

The front of the sunroof tray mounting had rusted badly had holes in it. Fixed this when the car was 9 years old, it is now nearly 16 and I have had no damp problems since.

hope this helps,

Mike

[TB2]

FYI:

I removed all the trim panels as described in my other thread about fixing the sunroof. The car is from 1989 and only one A-pillar trim broke in two, and that, because I should have been more careful with that, and also because someone had attached that trim with silicone which I wasn't expecting.

What I found to be much more distrubing is the rear metal retainer which runs along the rear edge of the roof panel. It cannot be removed without force and has to be bent so that the roof panel can be removed. Mike E said that the front can be removed first, but in my case that plastic lip at the front was glued to the roof, and even as I sled the roof panel back - out of the front retainer - a small piece of the plastic broke off. It can't be seen, but that front thingy isn't really stable.

It's a painful process as you might scratch the bodywork, brake trims apart, bend that metal trim or displace the rubber sealing. IMO, Removing the roof panel should be avoided at all costs. If you do, be very careful