Estate Car - Tailgate trim and HL Brake Light removal

[Andy Pursey]

Can anyone offer any tips on how to remove the high level/ 3rd brake light and the big trim panel on the inside of the tailgate. There is washer fluid coming out from behind the trim and the washer jet has stopped working so I think the water pipe has become disconnected behind the jet.

BTW - This is a FL Mk2 car.

Edited 7 December, 2010 by Andy Pursey

[redlemon]

Can anyone offer any tips on how to remove the high level/ 3rd brake light and the big trim panel on the inside of the tailgate. There is washer fluid coming out from behind the trim and the washer jet has stopped working so I think the water pipe has become disconnected behind the jet.

BTW - This is a FL Mk2 car.

just done this job this morning on my pre FL, but imagine it is largely the same as yours. bit of a pig, but i was helped out by a guy on another thread

basically. you just pull at the lower edge of the lower trim panel until the first few clips come undone. then work around until they are all out. i found a smallish prybar sprung the clips out quite easily, but there's no access for using one on the first few clips.

undo two screws that are now accessible, and unclip the upper trim piece. the light/washer unit comes out after undoing three plastic nuts.

hang on a minute and i'll post a couple of pics. much easier if you can see how it works.

[redlemon]

must apologise for the woeful quality of the pics. i was in a rush and they looked much sharper on the camera

trim is held on by little plastic clips which sit on plastic pillars attached to the trim.

careful when pulling them out as they can also unclip from the pillars. no harm done, just don't lose one.

when i could get at them, i used the black pry bar to easily free the clips. if you just pull the trim, it takes a lot of effort. the other tool is a trim tool i used to pull back the lower edge of the trim far enough to get my fingers behind it to get a good grip.

undo the three 17mm(?) nuts on the lamp unit and it pops out. push the white plastic water pipe back on and reverse the process. slightly fiddly getting the top of the lower trim panel engaged with the top, but no biggie.

couple of tips:

i stood on a couple of milk crates. made the job much easier.

when nearly all the clips are undone, don't let the panel flop down or the still attached pillars can get damaged . DAMHIK :'( (fortunately invisible when trim refitted)

Edited 13 December, 2010 by redlemon

[Andy Pursey]

Many Thanks - I'll have a go at that later.