Civic Aerodeck MB9 Cargo cover not working and can't disassemble it

[RuifcNunes]

Hi, I have bought an civic mb9 a few weeks ago, and the cargo cover is damaged. Bothe sides are supposed to have a pring mechanism in order to remove the cover from the car, but one side just moves freely without any tension. You can clearly hear that there is something broken in there, and the shaft isn't fixed on the side that has no tension, so it moves when you pull the "curtain". I'm trying to figure out how can I disassemble it on order to try and repair thebroken interior parts with my 3d printer, however, I can't figure how you can remove the plastic ends, there are no screws, no latches, nothing. It's a bit frustrating, I hope any of you can give me some info on how to do it or if it is even possible...

 

Thanks in advance,
Rui 

[dr_broon]

Hi Rui, welcome to the site. 

 

I'm not sure I remember anyone ever taking one apart to be honest. I wouldn't be surprised if the plastic end caps snap on when it's assembled in the factory. 

 

 

[RuifcNunes]

Unfortunately you are probably right.. Thanks for the input!

[RuifcNunes]

On 10/1/2022 at 10:20 PM, dr_broon said:

Hi Rui, welcome to the site. 

 

I'm not sure I remember anyone ever taking one apart to be honest. I wouldn't be surprised if the plastic end caps snap on when it's assembled in the factory. 

 

 

Hi, just wanted to let you know that it is actually possible to open them up and repair them. I've managed to do it after a lot of try and error.

[dr_broon]

1 hour ago, RuifcNunes said:

Hi, just wanted to let you know that it is actually possible to open them up and repair them. I've managed to do it after a lot of try and error.

That's good to hear - how did you open it in the end? 

[RuifcNunes]

I forgot to take pictures so the explanation might be a bit vague, but i'll try my best to make it clear.

On the cargo cover ends there is a hole where between two ribs that mount on the car. If you take a peek in the hole you will see a hollow round tube that has small pin  going through it. That pin is what keeps everything closed, so you need to remove it.

In order to do it I banged on it on the other side so that the tube became exposed on the end I wanted to remove, and then with a hammer and a small bit removed the pin. 
You might need help from another person to compress the end or the tube may not become exposed.

I'm thinking disassemble it again in order to do a tutorial video and develop a rebuild kit with my 3d printer, do you think it's worth it? Don't know if many people experience problems with their cover..

[dr_broon]

I'm not sure if anyone has had the issue before, but if you do take it apart again I'm sure that photos/video will help someone as if it's happened to you it'll no doubt happen to someone else. 

So what was the problem in the end? And did you have to print a new part? 

[RuifcNunes]

There was a plastic piece in there that acted as a bumpstop for the spring and it was broken. I 3d printed a replacement part for that. 
Also I had one of the small palstic pieces that hold the cover open broken, and also printed a replacement for that. Everything is working fine. 
For now I won't be doing anything more to it, i'll use my time to sort other things out, but if anyone ends up running into any problems with the cover I'm happy to help.

Here is a photo of one of the replacement pieces I've printed, the other I didn't take a photo and now it's in there ahah...
  

[dr_broon]

Nice one - must be handy to be able to print new parts... Good work and glad you sorted it.