E36 BMW M3 and 3-Series Baby Seat Tether Retrofit

[LuxoM3]

Hey Guys just got done with this project. For those of you wanting a baby seat in your E36 car...here's a list of parts you'll need and some pics of what to expect.

Plan about $12 in parts (from the DEALER! no joke!) and 30 min. to install. Yeah, it's that cheap and easy! It's the same parts the current 3 series uses.

PARTS

Cap - 72 11 8 187 598
Bolt - 72 11 8 255 332
Washer - 07 11 9 900 052
Hook - 72 11 8 187 599
Spacer - 72 11 8 187 601

In short, all E36 cars from 1992 have a prethreaded anchor under the back window shelf. If you look in the trunk you'll notice 3 of them under the parcel shelf...that's where the bolt threads into to anchor the baby seat tether.

However, the top parcel shelf has no holes to thread things through.

Thus said, you'll need to do a couple of things...

1. use a small drill bit and drill up (from the trunk) through the parcel shelf, this will acts as your pilot hole.

2. use a xacto knife and enlarge the hole in the parcel shelf. I choose to cut in "X" patterns from the pilot hole, gently enlarging the hole enough to fit the bolt and spacer into place. You'll most likely have to Xacto up the parcel shelf stuffing to get to the metal of the shelf and to clear up stuff so the spacer sits flush with the parcel shelf under metal. I used needle nose pliers to pull the stuffing out.

3. Drop in the spacer, hook, washer, then bolt.

4. Tighten to X-lbs of torque. I didn't have a torque wrench handy so I tightened until I heard the metal creak once.

Here's some pics of the final install. (I did 2, one for my kid and one more for the kid we're planning to accidentally have.)


Driver side with Recaro tether hooked on.


What it looks like with nothing hooked on. Pretty stock huh?


Car seat in place. That's the Recaro one...1st gen version. About $300. There's a newer version, different style, thicker neoprene. Good for kids from 3 years/30 pounds to 7 years/70 pounds.

[ASCH MAN]

Very nice, is there a prethreaded hole if you keep the seat in the middle of the rear? As an additional bonus, I heard that this "mod" also helps the vibrations in the rear deck if you have a subwoofer.

I will probably have to do this as I have been using the seat without it and would feel a bit safer. Thanks for the writeup!!

[ASCH MAN]

Oh, I also assume you needed two of each parts above?

[///MLust]

Great timing! I am picking up my first M3 tomorrow and this was going to be my first mod. Baby is due August 7th.

Thanks for the info.

[LuxoM3]

I bought two of all the parts above yes to make room for potentially 2 seats back there. And yes, there is also a prethreaded hole for a set in the middle...although you'd only use that one for true BABY seat as you can't use a lap belt for Booster (3 year/30lbs+) seats.

Hope that was helpful!

-Percy

[M3 Pete]

I've been meaning to get around to doing this since my first son was born. He'll be two years old on Sunday, and his brother is now 2 months old. Actually though, I've had him in my car only about five times, we always take the SUV when we go anywhere with the kids, for obvious reasons. But as he gets older, I'm sure I'm going to have to take him more places, so it's about time I did this.

Here's a post from the wayback machine on this topic, which I saved from when I first vowed to do this. It's more involved than your writeup, but I have no idea if its any better:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...ead.php?t=1194

BMW E36 (late model 3 Series) Child Safety Seat Tether Anchor Installation Instructions

Applications: Most E36 2 and 4 door, also works on 95 E34 5 series.* Other applications possible, but not guaranteed.

Parts Needed:

1 each blind plug***** 51 71 1 852 586******* $0.36 retail
1 each cover*********** 72 11 8 187 598******* $0.87 retail
1each bolt*************** 72 11 1 922 499******* $0.68 retail
1 each hex bolt******** 72 11 8 191 870******* $0.36 retail
1 each washer********* 07 11 9 900 052******* $0.15 retail
1 each support******** 72 11 8 187 599******* $4.35 retail
1 each bushing********* 72 11 8 187 601****** $0.57 retail

Tools Needed:

Hand drill (power drill if you're good with one) 13mm Socket and Rachet Exacto Knife 22" 2x2 wood stud or 22" lug wrench Towel

First, be forewarned that you are going to have to make a small hole in the rear shelf. If you don't feel comfortable with this, take the parts to a trim shop and let them do the work for you.

Lift the trunk lid and look up into the rear shelf. You will see three equally spaced metal protrusions in the metal portion about 1cm long pointing straight down. They will be threaded inside. You do not want the holes used for the Euro headrests. They are the ones with the big washers around them. Decide which one you want to use based upon the preferred location of your child safety seat (left, right, or center).

Using a hand drill with a small bit, get in the trunk and use the protrusions as a template to drill a small hole up through the rear shelf material. I suggest using a very small bit and a hand drill so as to avoid damaging the threads inside the protrusions. Using a larger drill bit (still small enough to slip easily though the protrusion) enlarge the hole. Now get in the back seat and use the Exacto knife to clean up the hole and make it large enough to fit the bolt in your parts package. Make it just large enough so you can thread the bolt though the fabric-like material. (Note: the parts fiche called for two bolts, I used the longer of the two, the shorter one may be for the center mount installation). Place the washer and the support bracket on the bolt and thread the bolt into the fabric material just a few turns to that you will be able to feel it from the underside.

Now take your 22" 2x2 out. Go into the trunk and locate the opening in the metal portion the shelf nearest to the protrusion. Place a towel on trunk floor and then use the 2x2 to wedge in between the trunk floor and the molded fabric material. This will lift the fabric portion of the shelf enough so that you can get your fingers in to place the spacer (bushing) in. I used a 4 way lug wrench as it was the handiest thing and it worked just fine. Slip the spacer over the bolt and hand turn the bolt down until the spacer is secure. Be very careful with this step. Be sure and thread the bolt down enough so that you can just wedge the spacer in between the bolt and the metal shelf protrusion. If you don't, you'll lose the spacer in the bowels behind the seat like I did the first try and spend 30 minutes and suffer scraped fingers getting it out.

Make sure the bolt is lined up with the threaded protrusion and then take the 2x2 out. Go into the back seat and use a 13mm socket and rachet to tighten down the bolt until the support is snug. Then take the plastic cover out of your parts bag and snap it down over the bolt. Voila, looks good and snaps in just fine with the top tether of the Fisher-Price line of safety seats (top tether models).

Keep the plastic plug from your parts bag in case you want to remove the anchor point, the plug will hide the hole. You will also have a bolt left over.

Thanks to Ron Stygar for the part numbers and Keith Wollenberg for pages from the German accessories manual that helped me figure this out.

Craig Eller
BMW CCA Everglades Chapter

[LuxoM3]

with the parts in had, it's a super straightforward thing. Craig wrote a mondo HUGE write-up. So between my quickie notes and his write-up ANYONE can do this project in about 30 min.

-Percy

[M3 Pete]

I finally did this over the weekend, and have some modifications to Craig Eller's writeup that I posted. Essentially, LuxoM3 had it all correct, but I'll elaborate a little.

I have a 4 door with fold down seats, but I assume all fold down seats are the same.

Fold down the seats and you will see a plastic trim piece where the parcel shelf meets the opening. There are four plastic plugs holding it down, gently pry them up with a screwdriver, then get a pair of needlenose under both sides of the head and lever them out. The "threads" get a bit chewed up on the way out, but it should not affect their function much.

To get the trim out, you may have to remove the rear seat side bolsters. Grab them at the top, and pull towards you horizontally. Once the top is free, rotate the cushion towards the center of the car to free it from the two bottom connections, lifting slightly.

Removing the trim, you will see three layers: (1) sheet metal, (2) sound insulation, and (3) the parcel shelf. Look or feel into the trunk and locate the three bolt thread "thingies" where the bolts go. Stick a small phillips head or similar tool in one of the bolt thingies, and stick your other hand between the parcel shelf and the sound insulation. When you push up on the tool, your hand will feel a pre-cut circle in the sound insulation, about the size of a nickel. Pull that out with your hand.

Then take the largest drill you can comfortably fit in the bolt thingy without touching the threads, and carefully drill up through the parcel shelf from the trunk, keeping the drill bit off the threads.

THIS IS WHERE I DISAGREE WITH THE CRAIG ELLER'S WRITEUP. Once you have the pre-cut piece of sound insulation out, it becomes apparent that the only way to properly mount the tether is to have the aluminum bushing mounted solidly against the sheet metal, not against the soft package shelf, which will bend when you tighten the bolts and not be as secure in a crash. In additino, the parcel shelf will deform slightly if you don't do this. I'm too anal for that, and if you do it my way, there will be no deformation at all, it will look totally factory.

Unfortunately, this means you have to cut a hole large enough to drop the bushing completely through the parcel shelf. Don't worry, the tether is larger than the bushing, so unless you go nutz with the cutting, the tether will cover it all up. Just don't drink too much beer before you start cutting, and be patient.

The other problem I had is that the bolts I got from the dealer would have been too short if I had not cut completely through the parcel shelf. When I was finished, the bolts just barely filled the bolt thingies, so any more layers (like the parcel shelf) would have meant the bolts would have been short.

The easiest way to cut such a large hole for the bushing would be to use a drill bit the size of the bushing, and a right angle adapter for the drill, because the back window is too close to allow you to drill straight down. I didn't have either, so this is what I did. I took the largest drill bit I had, and literally used it by hand to drill through the shelf from the top. Tedious, it took about five minutes, the parcel shelf is pretty tough. Then I used the bushing to see how much more I needed to cut, and used a razor knife to enlarge the hole. Once you get the bushing in the hole, look up through the trunk to see if the bushing is centered in the hole of the bolt thingy.

Then you put the tether on the bushing, a washer on the tether, and put the bolt through both. Tighten the bolt, and snap the plastic cover on. Vacuum up all the cuttings and admire your work.

Put the plastic trim piece back on with the four plugs, and replace the bolsters if you removed them. To put the bolsters back in, find the hole on the inboard side of the cushion at the bottom. You need to put that into a protrusion that extends from the seat hinge, and then rotate the cushion towards the side of the car so the bottom clip engages. Then shove the top part back on to the big clip.

Oh, and one other important thing. The center bolt thingy on my car was covered by some sheet metal in the trunk. There was only about an inch clearance between the bottom of the bolt thingy and this piece of sheet metal. I was installing booster seats that require a shoulder belt, so I didn't need the center tether, and I did not install one. I'm guessing the only way to get through the parcel shelf in the right spot is to use a stubby phillips screwdriver like a drill. I don't think there is room even for a drill bit. I suppose you could drill a big hole through that sheet metal to access the bottom of the bolt thingy, I'm glad I didn't have to try.

I think the center bolt thingy is further back than the side bolt thingies, pretty close to the brake light, which may interfere with using it as a camcorder mount as somebody suggested. I saw an E46 with a camera mounted that way, but I'm not sure it will work in our cars. I'll check again and let you know.

FYI - here is a diagram from realoem.com, the parts needed are 17 through 21.

[M3 Pete]

Here is a little trick to get your kid seat installed correctly, with or without the top tether.

If you have a top tether, take it off. If you can move your seat, you need to readjust the seat install. First, I'd put something under the kid seat to protect your leather, I like the "Super Mat" they sell at Right Start.

If you are using the center rear belt, it has no retracting mechanism, so just thread it through the kid seat, put all your body weight on the kid seat, and pull the belt as tight as you can. Get off the seat and tug on it, it should be solid.

Now if you are using either of the side shoulder belts, they have a retracting mechanism that requires a different method. With the kid seat in position, you need to pull the seat belt out ALL THE WAY, I mean ALL THE WAY. As it retracts, you will hear a clicking or ratcheting sound. That means the seat belt will "lock" in position, it will not pull out until you let it retract all the way in. This is a critical step, without it, the belt will be loose and the seat will flop around. If you don't hear the clicking as it retracts, you didn't pull it out enough. Let it retract all the way and try again.

Once you get the belt to the point where it clicks upon retraction, thread it through the seat and insert the end into the buckle. Let the belt retract, and it should be making the clicking sound, if not, try again. Once you get the belt threaded though everything, and it's in the buckle, put your knee or whatever body part you can get into the seat, and put all your weight on it. Then pull the belt some more and let any slack retract into the mechanism.

Now get off the seat and pull on it. It should be rock solid. If it is, connect the top tether. If it's not, you did something wrong. Try again.

[LockDots]

Hey guys, I know this is an old thready and a long shot, but does anyone have an extra bracket (pn: 72118187599) they'd like to sell me? I'd like to install a child seat in my car so I don't have to drive my daily around all the time. Thanks in advance!