I'm talking about the plastic 'wing' pieces that are near-vertical at the back of the rear side windows and wrapping the sides of the hatch (they did away with them on the Loyale).... How the crap does one get them off without damaging the mounts??? The ones on the hatch you can access the bolts that are along one edge from inside the hatch, but that still leaves the plastic panel fasteners (and apparently a ton of adhesive) untouchable; I did test pulls on two of the GL's in the p'n'p this afternoon and being as careful as I could and using body trim removal tools still broke the fasteners off most of the time.

 

Here's a pic of the pieces I'm struggling to remove intact:

What, has no one successfully removed these un-damaged?!?

Why are you removing them? Looks?

I'm trying to replace them on mine. They're damaged a bit, the skinny piece is already snapped off on one side, and the previous owner did a pretty poor job of 'painting' them on my wagon. As well, I have to remove the remaining skinny piece on the other side in order replace the glass that the p.o. smashed; the only thing holding that glass together is the tint and stickers from locally brewed beer companies.

Edited August 21, 201213 yr by SmashedGlass

I think I would just grab a lift gate at the pull a part yard. Sounds like there might be hidden bolts but if you can't see what is holding it after breaking them? Not sure.

I think the biggest problem is the phenomenal amount of adhesive Subaru used around the fasteners when the were installed onto the wagons; I guess worst-case I could just do the same x10 with a jy trim sail that the fasteners break off of :|

I Removed them to paint my Wagons Yellow years ago...

 

I don't remember clearly right now but I kindly suggest you to remove 'em carefully, as far as I remember there were small fasteners and those are easy to break...

 

I broke one of those fasteners but JB weld fixed that up.

 

Kind regards.

Edited August 24, 201213 yr by Loyale 2.7 Turbo
Misspelled word, fixed.

it is by far much easier to replace the entire rear hatch than to try to remove those pieces intact - it just isnt going to happen.

 

four bolts, 2 lift supports, and some wires that come from inside, under the headliner. not a big deal. Entire rear hatch removed.

 

as you have already found, trying to remove the trim pieces without damaging them is almost impossible due to the amount of adhesive that was used in the manufacturing process.

entire hatch=$50+ at the pick'n'pull....

trim pieces=$2-$4ea at pick'n'pull.

 

And my hatch is in great shape (once I removed the PO's weird spray paint spots) so I can't justify replacing it whole on my budget.

The clips are gonna break.

 

Heck, most of the screws will break out the captive nuts set in the plastic.

 

just be careful, do the best you can.

 

If you can manage to get a few of the screws out nicely, you can reinstall with a fair amount of adhesive, and they will stay. I had to do it to mine.

 

You are gonna have to buy a roll of butyl tape anyhow. Use a pinch of that stuff at each of the clip holes, and at the bolts. That will seal the holes, and hold the trim down. "The Right Stuff" sealant also works well for a few extra beads of reinforcement.

 

I did mine this way last year, and they are still holding on fine. I drive 100mph regularly.

Thanks for the tip on the butyl, I was going to pick some up tomorrow morning anyhow for re-attaching my moisture barriers once the door speakers are done.

'tis true my friend. Very true. Though I must say, those beer stickers are mighty stout, much like our beer itself

 

edit: though, the previous poster appears suspiciously to be of the spambot variety.....