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- 2003 Subaru WRX Wagon, 2000 Miata
HOW-TO: Stop the P5 spoiler from rattling!
Materials needed:
Flat head screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
Deep socket (size 10 metric) and ratchet
Sharp Exacto Knife
Masking tape
3/16" thick weatherstripping
2 beers
1. Open hatch and locate the 4 plastic covers on the underside of the hatch
2. Wrap up your flat head screwdrive with masking tape and pop out the plastic covers. if it's cold, the plastic may crack or deform a little. but careful not to scratch up your paint (hence, using masking tape). Repeat for all 4 covers.
3. Use your phillips screwdriver to take out one screw. you should only need to take out one screw and leave the other screw in b/c it will swivel.
4. To detach the parking brake wire, pull out the wire and detach the little white clip.
5. Take your deep socket metric 10 size and ratchet to loosen and remove the bolts that attach the spoiler to the hatch. becareful not to drop them inside the hatch or else you'll have a b!tch of a time taking them out. if you do drop it, use a magnetic picker upper or a piece of wire with some tape attached to it. repeat for all 4 bolts.
6. There are 2 clips that attach the spoiler to the hatch. Remove the spoiler by pulling spoiler upward, away from the hatch. Also, there is a rubber grommet that prevents water from entering the hatch, wiggle it and pop that out too.
7. This is the part that rattles. The black plastic surrounding the brake light is the piece vibrating against the spoiler. Remove the 7 screws that hold this black plastic to the underside of the spoiler. There are actually more holes than screws (7 screws and 9 holes), so remember where the screws came from.
8. The weatherstripping that i used was 3/16" thickness. you could use a thinner one, but i wanted to be sure there would be enough dampening.
9. Cut the appropriate lengths of weatherstripping on each side of the brake light. tape them securely, making sure that the tape is evenly spaced and not sticking out anywhere.
10. You may find that when test fitting the black plastic and spoiler, the weatherstripping foam maybe a little thick. Begin to insert the screws and you will see that the weatherstripping will compress nicely between the black plastic and spoiler. do some test fitting so that the weather stripping fits correctly. make sure you tighten the screws on the brake light as well.
11. At this point, i used a sharp exacto knife and trimmed the weather stripping. it cuts very easily and i wanted a cleaner look.
Johnny5 being very helpful with the project and playing Vice City....
12. Before installing the spoiler back, make sure to clean the spoiler and hatch areas. Now install in the reverse order of removal.
13. Done! Now open your beers and blast some tunes and enjoy some of the bass instead of the damn spoiler rattle! I had NO spoiler rattle whatsoever .... but did hear some rattle in the bumper ... :crazy: ... but that's another How-To.
Johnny5 gives his seal of approval!
Materials needed:
Flat head screwdriver
Phillips screwdriver
Deep socket (size 10 metric) and ratchet
Sharp Exacto Knife
Masking tape
3/16" thick weatherstripping
2 beers
1. Open hatch and locate the 4 plastic covers on the underside of the hatch
2. Wrap up your flat head screwdrive with masking tape and pop out the plastic covers. if it's cold, the plastic may crack or deform a little. but careful not to scratch up your paint (hence, using masking tape). Repeat for all 4 covers.
3. Use your phillips screwdriver to take out one screw. you should only need to take out one screw and leave the other screw in b/c it will swivel.
4. To detach the parking brake wire, pull out the wire and detach the little white clip.
5. Take your deep socket metric 10 size and ratchet to loosen and remove the bolts that attach the spoiler to the hatch. becareful not to drop them inside the hatch or else you'll have a b!tch of a time taking them out. if you do drop it, use a magnetic picker upper or a piece of wire with some tape attached to it. repeat for all 4 bolts.
6. There are 2 clips that attach the spoiler to the hatch. Remove the spoiler by pulling spoiler upward, away from the hatch. Also, there is a rubber grommet that prevents water from entering the hatch, wiggle it and pop that out too.
7. This is the part that rattles. The black plastic surrounding the brake light is the piece vibrating against the spoiler. Remove the 7 screws that hold this black plastic to the underside of the spoiler. There are actually more holes than screws (7 screws and 9 holes), so remember where the screws came from.
8. The weatherstripping that i used was 3/16" thickness. you could use a thinner one, but i wanted to be sure there would be enough dampening.
9. Cut the appropriate lengths of weatherstripping on each side of the brake light. tape them securely, making sure that the tape is evenly spaced and not sticking out anywhere.
10. You may find that when test fitting the black plastic and spoiler, the weatherstripping foam maybe a little thick. Begin to insert the screws and you will see that the weatherstripping will compress nicely between the black plastic and spoiler. do some test fitting so that the weather stripping fits correctly. make sure you tighten the screws on the brake light as well.
11. At this point, i used a sharp exacto knife and trimmed the weather stripping. it cuts very easily and i wanted a cleaner look.
Johnny5 being very helpful with the project and playing Vice City....
12. Before installing the spoiler back, make sure to clean the spoiler and hatch areas. Now install in the reverse order of removal.
13. Done! Now open your beers and blast some tunes and enjoy some of the bass instead of the damn spoiler rattle! I had NO spoiler rattle whatsoever .... but did hear some rattle in the bumper ... :crazy: ... but that's another How-To.
Johnny5 gives his seal of approval!
but the beers were flowing just after noon ... (drinks)
