Recaro CHild seat - (E36) tether install?

[LuxoM3]

Just got this seat for my little girl...anyof your guys install the tether into you E36 M3? Coupe?

I think I can drill through the rear sheld of my M3 to get the bolt going...

Here's the seat I got...it's pretty badass...

[Stylin]

that seat is so coool! very cute. Anyway.. what bolt do u need to connect? you can add a belt to the existing seat belt bolt on the bottom of the rear seats. The rear panel in my 4 door non folding seats is a pretty thin metal where i would not want to secure a seat belt to.

[fast4d]

That's a cool seat. But I think my daughter is too young (8 months). I see one of those in her future!

[Stylin]

BTW i know a member Doc from DTM who has installed one of those in his M3 coupe. You can try to email him to find out.

[LuxoM3]

Looks like our E36 cars HAVE the locations and THREADED bolt holes. Thanks to the Canadians for making it law way back when.

The Recaro seat scored highest of all the child seats in comfort, safety and build quality. YOu guys needs to check one of these out....it's but like a tank and like one of those Herman Miller Aleron (?) chairs.



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BMW E36 (93-98 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
1 each 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 loose the spacer in the bowels behind the seat like I did the fist 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.

If you live in the Palm Beach area, I'll be happy to help you with this as I have the procedure down now. If you get into trouble, e-mail me at "craig@bmwccaeverglades.com".

Craig Eller
BMW CCA Everglades Chapter

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[umnitza]

Hey, you can come by my house and look at my install if you like

I did it with a $2 part from BMW and a $.60c bolt from Home Depot.

It's easy Plus, we can meet

[M3 Pete]

I finally did this over the weekend, and have some modifications to Craig Eller's writeup.

I have a E36 4 door with fold down seats, but I assume all E36's with fold down seats are the same.

Fold down the seats and inside the car 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 in a different thread. I saw an E46 with a camera mounted that way, but I'm not sure it will work in the E36. I'll check again and let you know.

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