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      01-19-2018, 09:23 AM   #6
BEM-S4
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Drives: Dinan M235, Dinan Sport Wagon
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Philadelphia

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Not sure it merits an entire thread, but happy to start a new one if helpful so let me know. In essence install for coupe is remove belly pan, unclip IC, unbolt IC, drop out. Reverse with new one for install.

On a convertible, you can't get past remove belly pan without doing a lot more work. The car has a lot of extra cross bracing underneath, which runs the entire length of the car. This is to make up for losing the top and torsional rigidity.

Anyway once you remove belly pan you will notice that this massive brace is directly under the IC, where you need to drop it out. Again it runs side to side and front to back. So you need to remove all the cover plates on the bottom, then drop this bracing. Then once that is done in front of the IC there are more braces - like behind the kidney grilles but on the lower section. So muscling the new one into place is much more challenging as there isn't as much room to work.

To do at home you need to get the entire car up in the air not just the front end on ramps. Then if you are laying under the car you're basically unbolting this giant heavy bracing that's on top of you.

Non of this is impossible, it's just a lot more work than the coupe. And for something that involved I was more than happy to pay the dealer to do it.

Sorry I don't have any pics but my install went something like:
1. remove belly pan
2. yell fuck, throw my screwdriver, scare the dog
3. call Matt @ Thomson and tell him that once again he was right, I was wrong, and I couldn't do this myself
4. drop car off, hydroplane loaner X5, pick car up
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