Carpet replacement?

[E36Phoenix]

For anyone who has done a carpet replacement, how long would you say it takes and is there a DIY lurking on this forum somewhere?

[spyderg0d]

Will be doing tm. Will make diy for you.

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It pretty much involves removing seats, the center console, dash.

[Klavz]

You can avoid removing dash, if you make small cuts on the carpet, but if you want to remove it as the book says and keep carpet perfect then yes you need to remove the dash.

[E36Phoenix]

Will be doing tm. Will make diy for you. - - - Updated - - - It pretty much involves removing seats, the center console, dash.

Awesome! Thanks a lot! My carpet is completely screwed. Someone glued a piece of rubber to the side running up towards the dash. Super eye soar. I'll be looking for your DIY. Please let me know when it's up, I really appreciate it:

[spyderg0d]

Actually. I wont be.. I just realised a coupe carpet wont fit in my vert. However. I will be modifying it to fit. So. Kind of might work.

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So... I wont be replaceing carpet. But. I will be painting my carpet. Unfortunatly carpets are sub model specific as verts are different than coupes and are different than sedan. .. And a vert carpet is around $250.. And i havent seen another e36 vert here in central ny ever...

[hakhawk]

Actually. I wont be.. I just realised a coupe carpet wont fit in my vert. However. I will be modifying it to fit. So. Kind of might work.

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So... I wont be replaceing carpet. But. I will be painting my carpet. Unfortunatly carpets are sub model specific as verts are different than coupes and are different than sedan. .. And a vert carpet is around $250.. And i havent seen another e36 vert here in central ny ever...

sedan, touring and coupe all use the same base carpet, sans a few hole differences for seatbelts and such. the "rear" piece just below the seats is specific going by part numbers. vert is listed as a different number.

i installed a sedan carpet into my coupe, trimmed the rear section to fit, put some holes in for the seatbelts, job done.

i had it done in less than a day, including giving the seats a clean.

i cut the carpet around the center console, but removed the section around the handbrake

the hardest thing you'll probably do in the whole deal is pulling the accelerator pedal off without breaking it.

[flyfishvt]

Verts definitely use a very specific carpet. Here is my favorite DIY on removing the center console.....http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...onsole-removal.

I've removed lots of e36 carpet. Remove the seats, seat belts, center console, lower dash/shifter surround, plastic trim piece that runs the length of the door sills and covers the edge of the carpet, gas pedal, lower kick panels. The only thing left now is getting the carpet from under the heater core. CAREFULLY make a few cuts right along the side of the heater core. There are wires under there. Lift the carpet up and don't push the knife in too far. If you cut in the correct places you will leave a square patch under the heater core and the lower dash trim will hide the cuts when you reinstall. Make sure to make the same cuts on the replacement carpet. You'll probably have to make a cut at the hand brake lever too. Once again the trim will hide it.

Removal....get a helper. Pull the carpet backwards about 6-12 inches till it's free from the center console brake lever etc then pull it out. If you are replacing the carpet just cut it into pieces while its in the car. Be careful.....there are lots of wires running under the carpet. Leave that square patch under the heater core for sound insulation.

Install...get a helper. Set the carpet in place and slide it forward. Much easier if you both slide it at the same time. The carpet will probably get hung up on the plastic heater vents for the rear passengers. Adjust the carpet so the end of those vents pokes out and slide it forward a little more. Get the hole for the gas pedal lined up,as close as you can. At this point you're done. Don't worry if it doesn't seem to fit like a glove up around the front foot wells. It will settle into place after a couple weeks.

Now put it back together.

[spyderg0d]

So the vert carpet is different..

[flyfishvt]

So the vert carpet is different..

Yes. The vert transmission tunnel is different than a coupe or sedan. Specifically the part of the tunnel just behind the arm rest.

[flyfishvt]

Actually. I wont be.. I just realised a coupe carpet wont fit in my vert. However. I will be modifying it to fit. So. Kind of might work. - - - Updated - - - So... I wont be replaceing carpet. But. I will be painting my carpet. Unfortunatly carpets are sub model specific as verts are different than coupes and are different than sedan. .. And a vert carpet is around $250.. And i havent seen another e36 vert here in central ny ever...

I'm not a fan of carpet paint. The products I've used either rub off constantly or they make the carpet stiff as a board. I bought a set of quality floor mats that cover up 90% of the visible carpet.

[spyderg0d]

See. I dyed my carpet around august. It looked great. I used cheap little shirt dye. It was fine until about a month ago. Now it runs out with every drop of whatever wet happens. So. Its either proffesional dye with proper chemicals for $200 (carpet is ripped behind the center console) or paint it. ( around $50 i guestimate a white or tan to black)

[flyfishvt]

See. I dyed my carpet around august. It looked great. I used cheap little shirt dye. It was fine until about a month ago. Now it runs out with every drop of whatever wet happens. So. Its either proffesional dye with proper chemicals for $200 (carpet is ripped behind the center console) or paint it. ( around $50 i guestimate a white or tan to black)

Shirt dye is designed for natural fibers like cotton that can absorb the dye like a sponge. Carpet fibers are threads of nylon (plastic) and the individual colors are added when it is still in its liquid state. Artificial fibers can't absorb anything. Artificial fibers like micro fiber don't truly absorb. They use a principal called wicking. They hold the liquid suspended between the fibers. The fibers don't really absorb.

So all that ^^^^ means that RIT date will not work on your carpet. A tiny amount of it may stain the fibers but not enough to create the effect of true color change

[spyderg0d]

Ya. It said it would work on poly so i assumed it would. I tried a bit and it stayed for a week, lasted through a wet test. It literally held up until it got cold. Now its turned back into a powder you can see dust out of the carpet. But i imagine stuck cleaning it extensively, then painting it. I looked everywhere today, walmart, lowes, fabric shops, carpet shops, no one knew anything about carpet dye. Pisses me off. Has no one ever stained a carpet in this area code? Wtf?

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I may just buy a length of actual black carpet and just lay it iny car. Cut out the holes and such. .. I bet theres a way to shape the carpet at home. Hmmm. Seems like i have alot of research to do today.

[flyfishvt]

Have you ever had the carpet out of these cars? Some sections have 8" of foam fused to the backside. There are some companies that sell carpet dye. It's actually more of a paint. Search online. I never ordered any because I couldn't get a guaranteed color match

[spyderg0d]

Ya.. I pulled mine out before. And i pulled out a coupes carpet the other day.. I noticedbthe coupe had extensively morr

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More padding. Where is my vert carpet must have been eroded severely or not of had such exstensive padding. Id does fit very well in the car.. Im debating

[E36Phoenix]

Verts definitely use a very specific carpet. Here is my favorite DIY on removing the center console.....http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...onsole-removal. I've removed lots of e36 carpet. Remove the seats, seat belts, center console, lower dash/shifter surround, plastic trim piece that runs the length of the door sills and covers the edge of the carpet, gas pedal, lower kick panels. The only thing left now is getting the carpet from under the heater core. CAREFULLY make a few cuts right along the side of the heater core. There are wires under there. Lift the carpet up and don't push the knife in too far. If you cut in the correct places you will leave a square patch under the heater core and the lower dash trim will hide the cuts when you reinstall. Make sure to make the same cuts on the replacement carpet. You'll probably have to make a cut at the hand brake lever too. Once again the trim will hide it. Removal....get a helper. Pull the carpet backwards about 6-12 inches till it's free from the center console brake lever etc then pull it out. If you are replacing the carpet just cut it into pieces while its in the car. Be careful.....there are lots of wires running under the carpet. Leave that square patch under the heater core for sound insulation. Install...get a helper. Set the carpet in place and slide it forward. Much easier if you both slide it at the same time. The carpet will probably get hung up on the plastic heater vents for the rear passengers. Adjust the carpet so the end of those vents pokes out and slide it forward a little more. Get the hole for the gas pedal lined up,as close as you can. At this point you're done. Don't worry if it doesn't seem to fit like a glove up around the front foot wells. It will settle into place after a couple weeks. Now put it back together.

Thanks a bunch! You really know these cars inside and out. Not sure where you live but if you're ever in WA I owe you a few beers.

[TipsyMcStagger]

Bump

I've got an E36 engine-swap project I've been slowly working on. The seats and rear interior panels are not installed at the moment. I just lined the underside of the trans tunnel with DEI heatshield but I think I'd like to put some additional heat protection in the cabin under the carpet.

I've already swapped the tan dash for a black dash and I don't have much interest in removing the dash again to facilitate removing the carpet. Nor am I too excited about cutting the carpet to remove it with the dash in place.

For those who have removed the carpet(s) in the past; is it likely I'd be able to lift the carpet enough, without fully removing it, to apply some adhesive sound deadening/heat barrier to areas in the foot wells and the transmission tunnel?

Tipsy

[flyfishvt]

Like I told you when you pm'd me this same question....no.
To access anything close to the center of the car the carpet has to come out. It's not that difficult. Removing the dash is not necessary. You make a cut on both sides of the heater box and the carpet comes out in one piece. A small piece will remain under the heater box. When you replace the carpet the center console/lower dash will hide the cuts.

I used a lanolium knife to make those 2 cuts. Be careful on the driver's side of the heater box. There might be speaker wires running under the carpet.

[TipsyMcStagger]

Like I told you when you pm'd me this same question....no.
To access anything close to the center of the car the carpet has to come out. It's not that difficult. Removing the dash is not necessary. You make a cut on both sides of the heater box and the carpet comes out in one piece. A small piece will remain under the heater box. When you replace the carpet the center console/lower dash will hide the cuts.

I used a lanolium knife to make those 2 cuts. Be careful on the driver's side of the heater box. There might be speaker wires running under the carpet.

Thanks for the feedback.

Tipsy