Installation Instructions for TC Kline Racing E36 Roll Bar
Tools and parts you will need:
| 16 mm socket 14 mm socket 14 mm combination wrench 8 mm allen wrench T-40 Torx bit 3/8" drill 3/16" pilot drill Dremel drill with cut-off wheel Tin snips Carpet knife Silicone Seal Pry Bar Duct Tape Black spray primer |
Instructions:
1. Flip the front seats forward. Remove the 16mm bolts from the left and right front seats. The front nuts are covered with a plastic cap, which can be pried off with a small slotted screwdriver. Disconnect the wires under the seats, and remove both front seats from the vehicle.
2. Remove the rear seat by pulling the seat cushion up at the front corner. Put something soft over the airbag sensor and other hard points on the rear seat bed, to prevent damage to the fold down seats.
3. Flip the rear seats forward and remove the rear side bolsters by pulling the top edge sharply forward. Rotate the top in, pull up and the bolster will come off.
4. Remove the rear floor mats.
5. Remove the left and right rear shoulder harness covers and nuts. See picture #3.
6. Remove the plastic trim over the shoulder harness slide. Do this by first pulling off the slide handle and then pry the top of the cover away from the B-pillar. Then lift the cover upwards and it will come off.
7. Remove the upper shoulder harness bracket. Remove the Torx T-40 bolts at the top and bottom of the bracket, then push the bracket down to free the top of the bracket. Slide the top towards the front of the car and pull the bracket out. See picture #4.
8. Carpet. The carpet can be cut to make room for the bar or left uncut. Make the cut in the carpet after test fitting the bar. Pull the edge of the carpet out from under the plastic edge of the door sill cover. The carpet covering the vertical wall under the rear seat also pulls away cleanly. When the bar is installed, the carpet is displaced very slightly, and the entire installation can be removed without any visible traces (once the bolt holes are sealed) if need be. See picture #5
9. Unbolt the now exposed plastic wire covers on both the left and right sides of the car. Pull up on this, and using tin snips, cut away the cover (as shown in picture #6). Move the wires out of this section. On the passenger side it helps to undo the black plastic clip holding the battery cable down and reverse it. This helps to keep the cable out of the way.
10. Use a Dremel drill with a cut off wheel, or other tool, to cut off the threaded bolt protruding from the floor on the driver and passenger side. See picture #7.
11. Now that you have prepped the car, you can install the roll bar. You may first want to put a layer of tape over the base plates on the bar to protect your upholstery
NOTE: If you are installing the bar in a SEDAN, install the bar through the passenger side REAR door.
12. Install the bar from the passenger side of the vehicle. Orient the bar in a horizontal position with the feet facing the front of the vehicle. Insert the bar into the vehicle, guiding the foot (driver's side of the bar) clear of the gearshift and steering wheel. The person installing the bar from the passenger side should pay special attention that the foot (passenger side of the bar) clears the windshield, A-pillar and passenger door. When the bar is 3/4 into the vehicle, rotate the bar towards the vertical, and completely insert the bar into the car. See picture sequence #819.
13. Move the bar forward towards the rear seat mounts, and slip on the rear struts. These are designed to be a snug fit, you may need to rotate the bar slightly, and use the additional space in the rear arm rests to fit the struts. Once the struts are fitted, slide the bar back into its final position. The main vertical pillars are up against the rear seat, and the rear struts are contacting the rear wheel wells. If needed, place a piece of 1/4" thick piece of plywood or other spacer between the vertical pedestals and the rear seat base, to prevent the bar from going all the way back against the seat cushion. This will allow you more easily install the rear seat cushion once the bar is bolted into position. You may need to use a ratchet strap to hold the main legs of the roll bar in position while you move the bar into the vertical position. See picture #20. You may also need to use a ratchet strap to hold the rear struts in position while you get the roll bar situated.
14. Put a seat bolt in the rear outboard front seat attachment hole. Wedge a 12-1/4 " long block of wood between this bolt and the lower pedestal of the roll bar (put tape on the roll bar to protect its finish) and push down on this to help pry the bar rearward into position. See picture #21-23.
15. Mark and drill the holes to secure the rear struts, and bolt together. See picture #24.
16. Drill 3/8" holes through the pedestal feet and the floor (cover roll bar with duct tape to prevent scratches while drilling) and squirt a generous amount of silicone seal around each hole (see picture #25). Install the bolts (head inside the car), backing plate and nuts. Don't tighten the nuts yet.
17. It is important that the bar allow full clearance for the shoulder harness belts so they will freely retract. To ensure this is the case, place a pry bar (covered in duct tape to prevent scratches) between the B-pillar just behind the shoulder harness slide and the roll bar, and pry the bar rearward as far as possible. Use a small dead blow hammer and coax the rear struts upward and rearward on the wheels wells, so they go as far back as possible.
18. Jack up the car on each side, and remove the rear wheels. This will give you access to the inside of the rear wheel wells.
19. While holding the bar in the rearmost position, drill mounting holes in the wheel well. (Cover roll bar with duct tape to prevent scratches while drilling.) The upright portion of the rear strut makes it difficult to drill the outermost hole from inside the car. Drill the two innermost holes from inside the car, then bolt the backing plate on temporarily, and drill the third hole from the wheel well side.
20. Paint the backing plates if desired. Squirt a generous amount of silicone sealant around each hole then install the bolts, backing plate and nuts. You have two options, you can install the bolts with the head outside the car, and the nuts inside, OR you can install the bolts with the head inside the car, and later trim the excess thread length from the bolt. The bolts should be covered with Teflon thread sealer to ensure a good seal. Tighten the nuts. Depending on how straight you were able to drill the holes for the rear strut mounts you may, or may not, be able to get the holes in the backing plate to line up with the bolts (or holes in the wheel well). It may be necessary to enlarge the backing plate holes to get the bolts to fit. Torque the nuts. You can now trim the excess length off the end of the bolt.
21. Tighten the bolts on the main hoop plates
22. If the bar being installed has a bolt-in center section, you should install that at this time. You should leave all the mounting bolts finger tight until you have installed the center section.
23. Vacuum the inside of the car.
24. Replace the carpet. You have two options, you can cut the carpet to fit around the bar and base plates, OR you can fit the carpet around the bar without cutting it. The second option will leave the carpet a little bunched around the base plate, but allows for roll bar removal later without having to repair the carpet.
Photos:
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