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View Full Version : Dog ears - Simple repair thoughts needed



JZeke00
05-06-2013, 05:23 PM
I've done the research on all the different dog ear fixes, and I was wondering if anyone had any simple fixes I haven't found.

Has anyone fixed these retaining rings on the plastic dog ear before without replacing the whole piece? I saw the miller video DIY where he glues paper clips in place, but that doesn't seem durable enough. Any thoughts on how to do that part of the repair in a super-durable way? Maybe advice on adhesives/epoxies that would do the job? I'd rather not replace the whole dog ear yet until it actually cracks or pulls away from the headliner cloth. Right now it still is holding on well and the plastic isn't cracked. I did see one writeup where a guy riveted a piece of aluminum - maybe there's a way to glue a metal piece on the back side to do the job?

Any ideas for this sort of fix would be welcome, I'd like to try a simple solution before I start yanking things apart.

- - - Updated - - -

I just realized this is my first post here...

Just bought a 1998 328iC, Hellrot over Sand. You guys won't believe the mileage... Still under 10k! Picked her up with 8712 now I'm at 9100 or thereabouts. Great car so far!

flyfishvt
05-06-2013, 05:55 PM
I tried the paper clip fix and mine must have been too damaged. It didn't hold. Dogs ears aren't expensive. Get new ones. I'm very glad I did.

echo46
05-07-2013, 09:09 AM
I just purchased the c-pillar repair kit to fix my damaged dog ears. Would broken dog ears cause the fully auto top on a 99 M3 to malfunction? I recently bought this beautiful vert with a hard top. Sunday I finally got around to pulling the hardtop off and inspecting the soft top. Obviously when I purchased her the soft top functioned. When I went to activate the top I got absolutely nothing. I pulled the red flag, reengaged the motors and tried to resynch, nothing. I then replaced the # 7 fuse and it worked. However, it did struggle at the end to latch to the wind shield. Tried it again and nothing. Replaced the 7 fuse again and it worked. So, do you experts think it is because the dog ears are destroyed or is there something else?

RNeil
05-07-2013, 05:04 PM
I do not think the dog ears causes the fuse to blow. You have excessive current consumption because something is binding or a motor is burned out. BTW, my top slows down before it latches with the windshield, but I think it is normal.

echo46
05-07-2013, 06:05 PM
Thanks.

JZeke00
05-09-2013, 08:33 AM
I tried the paper clip fix and mine must have been too damaged. It didn't hold. Dogs ears aren't expensive. Get new ones. I'm very glad I did.

What sort of glue did you use to adhere the headliner to the dog ears? Miller used superglue, but that can't be a long-term good solution. Epoxies would be too gloopy... Gorilla Glue? Or is there a high-strength glue intended for cloth applications out there?

StickSeven
05-09-2013, 11:30 AM
http://www.ellsworth.com/3m-scotch-grip-1357-neoprene-contact-adhesive-gray-1-pt/?gclid=CKGxydWribcCFQpN4Aodq2MAzA

flyfishvt
05-09-2013, 07:33 PM
What sort of glue did you use to adhere the headliner to the dog ears? Miller used superglue, but that can't be a long-term good solution. Epoxies would be too gloopy... Gorilla Glue? Or is there a high-strength glue intended for cloth applications out there?

I used super glue. The gel kind works best. Its been a year and its holding just fine. That's after sitting through winter temps as low as -25F and summer temps in the 90's.