Cowl cover rivets

[mrgraybeard]

​I had to do some minor service on my car's wiper arm linkage today, and it reminded me what a POS part the E34's cowl cover rivets are. Today I got lucky and broke only one of them while trying to pry them loose.

I've replaced a number of them (one more today) with a Mercedes Benz plastic rivet used on the W123 chassis. They fit the E34 cowl cover perfectly and are much easier to remove -- just drive out the plastic pin that sits flush in the rivet.

I've attached a photo of MB Part No. 123-990-04-92. They sell for less than $1 apiece.

[moroza]

Thanks! I've used a smörgåsbord of random hardware with varying success. Does that center pin protrude when installed?

[mrgraybeard]

No, you drive it in flush to hold the rivet in place. When you need to remove the rivet you can punch the pin out.

[locknload]

Genuine BMW part for about the same price: Ebay

282604706599

[eddycooper]

This Mercedes substitute is a great find - thanks for sharing. Out of everything on my E34, these little clips may be the most annoying pieces of plastic. How did they design them so hard to remove?!