Rewind cargo cover

Has anyone ever tried to repair a cargo cover that won't rewind? I thought I had found a thread a while back about it but I searched here and on the "other" forum but can't find anything.

My cover is in really good shape but it won't retract on it's own. I'm assuming something is broken inside but I don't want to do more damage trying to get it apart if it can in fact be fixed. I had asked Tim about a Ruby Red cover in the parts he got from Fred and will scrape up the money to buy one if I have to but I would like to try to fix this one. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks

Jon

I'm looking for this info as well. Maybe we should check with a place that sells window covering. The mechanism has to be the same as roller shades...

Jason.

There is a technique I have used to rewind them. They have a roll pin through the tube shaft to key into the plastic ends. I stand the cover on end, and push the plastic cover down, the rod with the roll pin can be coaxed to protrude from the end. I have used a needle nose pliers to grab the end of the metal tube and pull it so that the roll pin protrudes above the plastic end cover. You can then wind the end to "retract" the cover. I do about 2 turns on one end and alternate between ends until it is fully wound up again. If this is not clear please let me know, and I will try to explain further.

94X2 wrote:

will scrape up the money to buy one if I have to but I would like to try to fix this one.

Things sound tough, Jason; either gas, food or a cargo cover. Actually you have 2 to fix.

Tom

Thanks Fred! I will take pics and post a how to, once I pick my cover up from Tom...

Tom, if you figure out how to fix it before I get there, feel free!

Jason.

Thanks from me too! I'll try it.

Thank you Fred!! I have successfully rewound my cover. One of the roll pins was missing but a piece of coat hanger worked just fine . Took a few tries to make sure I was winding the right direction but works great now.

Jon

Jon, if you get to it before July (that's when I pick up my cover from Tom), please post a how-to.

Jason.



lol, that was fast, Jon! I take it Fred's info is sufficient

I sure will. If I had a camera today I would have got a couple pics but Fred's info is very clear once you look at the end of the cover. I'll try and get some pics though and post them.

Jon

never understand these cargo covers,. i just roll mine up tight,. shove it in its slots,. then unwind it and it puts tension on the spring,.i have a few of them,. and they're all like this,.
what makes the roll pins come out?? the kids letting 'em fly??

Nick

phantom 309 wrote:

never understand these cargo covers,. i just roll mine up tight,. shove it in its slots,. then unwind it and it puts tension on the spring,.i have a few of them,. and they're all like this,.
what makes the roll pins come out?? the kids letting 'em fly??

Nick

The roll pins do not come out. There is a gremlin who turns them in the plastic end covers at night when we are not looking. The same gremlin does many other things in these cars, like wetting the floors and filling the trays under the cargo bay grab handles with water (what you think is water anyway), and all the other interesting oddities we find on these cars. Sometimes they are good to us too, like when we take our rear seat out and find a bunch of coins that they left there. Usually it is the former type of stuff, so don't get your hopes up that something good will happen.

Interesting theory. I would imagine that these same gremlins gather up all the trash they can find and leave it in my wifes wagon at night. They're probably also responsible for curb rash on the pass side tires!

Or when we are working on them, they steal those two or three little special trim screws, that are no longer available, and hide them under the battery box, under the rear seat, in the back of the glove box or under the carpet to be found two years later, long after you have thrown the trim piece away.

Bill

Fred Kiehl wrote:

The same gremlin does many other things in these cars, like wetting the floors ...

Damn...now I know who is wetting the rear floorpan. Time for the next setp. Glad the covers can be serviced though. We need a tech article!!

Wish I had a cargo cover *sniff*

The pins tend to fall out when you remove the cargo cover. I have to when I use it for work and have lost count of the times I have rewound it (Fred style)

I even put the ends on backwards sometimes like above.

My cargo cover won't retract. Is this fix performed with the cover rolled up or extended? I was able to get one side of the rod with pin in it exposed but not the other side. Any trick to getting the rod with the pin exposed. My needle nose cannot get in to grip it to pull it out.

There is no trick, but you could hook a wire under the center of the pin and pull on it. That may facilitate extending it.

If the rollpin falls out, get a new rollpin that is tight in the hole.

Cadet57 wrote:

Wish I had a cargo cover *sniff*

Yeah me too . A nice dark sapphire blue one driver quality would be so cool  .

Gerome wrote:

Cadet57 wrote:

Wish I had a cargo cover *sniff*

Yeah me too . A nice dark sapphire blue one driver quality would be so cool  .

Add me to that list. I'd take an Adriatic Blue one, even if it's broken.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

There is a technique I have used to rewind them. They have a roll pin through the tube shaft to key into the plastic ends. I stand the cover on end, and push the plastic cover down, the rod with the roll pin can be coaxed to protrude from the end. I have used a needle nose pliers to grab the end of the metal tube and pull it so that the roll pin protrudes above the plastic end cover. You can then wind the end to "retract" the cover. I do about 2 turns on one end and alternate between ends until it is fully wound up again. If this is not clear please let me know, and I will try to explain further.

I tried to follow these directions to rewind my cargo cover but it's hopeless. I need help. I'm able to get the metal tube with the roll pins to come out on each end by pulling on the nylon twine I fed through the roll pins. But what specific piece on the end do you wind (the metal rod? the plastic outer housing? And in which direction? Is the cargo cover rolled up or unfurled? Thanks for any clarification.

Start with the cover unfurled. You must turn the plastic outer housing ends. Turn them in the direction that puts the "top" on the outside. The cover may distort as you go from side to side, so just straighten it, and keep going.