My convertible trunk handle had the same issue of all others: the 4 holes that hold it are plastic, and with time they become brittle and fragile.
My handle was already sticked in place, but I could feel it was becoming slightly loose over time. The sedan/touring handle is easy to find OE and aftermarket. The convertible one is OE only and is very expensive, being a "one-piece" and BMW doesn't sell separate parts. A new one with the top blank ready to paint is over 140€. I needed to change the BMW emblem on it, so I decided to remove it and have a look.
After I removed the 5 bolts on it (4 on the bottom, one behind the emblem) it still seemed intact, but as soon as I started trying to take apart the sponge gasket sticked on the bottom, it broke into 5 pieces. The whole piece was held from only that adhesive sponge.
I carefully removed the painted part held by clips (fragile and half rotten already) and started to recompose the underside.
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A plastic solderer was my best friend on that first step. I joined all the broken bits as best as I could. Hopefully there were only minor plastic parts missing/unusable.
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As I said before, the main problem is the holes where you fit the screws that hold the handle to the lid. I reinforced both the ones that were already broken and had cracks and the ones that seemed to be in good condition. I wrapped the 4 sides around the holes with metal clips, soldered in the plastic, making it almost invisible from the outside.
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The next step was to wrap all the inside over the holes and around the cracked/fragile parts with epoxy. After less than 3 hours, the plastic parts were solid as a rock. I treated all the moving parts where lamps or components are to be fitted with epoxy with a lower concentration of hardener, so as to leave them slightly soft.
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I recreated the missing parts on the outside with plastic soldier and a spare piece of plastic (dents, cracks, little parts lost on dismantling) and painted it opaque black.
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The upper painted part was completely sound except for the tabs that were broken or about to break. Plastic solder was again very helpful, because I modeled the metal welding clips with the shape of the old tabs.
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I reassembled everything, put some other soldering clips on the underside of the top rear, and put the handle electrical connectors in place. The handle is ready for other 20 years.
The total expense was less than 10€ for epoxy. If you don't have a plastic solderer, 30€ for a cheap one with all bits needed for years and various usage.
My handle was already sticked in place, but I could feel it was becoming slightly loose over time. The sedan/touring handle is easy to find OE and aftermarket. The convertible one is OE only and is very expensive, being a "one-piece" and BMW doesn't sell separate parts. A new one with the top blank ready to paint is over 140€. I needed to change the BMW emblem on it, so I decided to remove it and have a look.
After I removed the 5 bolts on it (4 on the bottom, one behind the emblem) it still seemed intact, but as soon as I started trying to take apart the sponge gasket sticked on the bottom, it broke into 5 pieces. The whole piece was held from only that adhesive sponge.
I carefully removed the painted part held by clips (fragile and half rotten already) and started to recompose the underside.
A plastic solderer was my best friend on that first step. I joined all the broken bits as best as I could. Hopefully there were only minor plastic parts missing/unusable.
As I said before, the main problem is the holes where you fit the screws that hold the handle to the lid. I reinforced both the ones that were already broken and had cracks and the ones that seemed to be in good condition. I wrapped the 4 sides around the holes with metal clips, soldered in the plastic, making it almost invisible from the outside.
The next step was to wrap all the inside over the holes and around the cracked/fragile parts with epoxy. After less than 3 hours, the plastic parts were solid as a rock. I treated all the moving parts where lamps or components are to be fitted with epoxy with a lower concentration of hardener, so as to leave them slightly soft.
I recreated the missing parts on the outside with plastic soldier and a spare piece of plastic (dents, cracks, little parts lost on dismantling) and painted it opaque black.
The upper painted part was completely sound except for the tabs that were broken or about to break. Plastic solder was again very helpful, because I modeled the metal welding clips with the shape of the old tabs.
I reassembled everything, put some other soldering clips on the underside of the top rear, and put the handle electrical connectors in place. The handle is ready for other 20 years.
The total expense was less than 10€ for epoxy. If you don't have a plastic solderer, 30€ for a cheap one with all bits needed for years and various usage.
