Installing cargo net in my w124 300tdt......

[jbrianfoto]

I scored a complete cargo net from the salvage yard recently, made sure to grab all the bits (including the entire rear seat set). So this past weekend I started the instillation - here is my story;



Here is the the donor seat laying out next to the original seat. You can see the cargo net attached to a pair of tracks which are mounted in the back of the middle seats. As it turns out (a friend told me this) - my original seats already have the holes for these tracks, so I could have just pulled the tracks and left the seats in the salvage yard.



Here's a close up of one of the tracks.



With the track screws removed you see there are three holes in the back of the seat. It looks like a plastic-fiberglass composite. Two of the holes are threaded with a brass insert (which looks like they were pressed in and glued). Since this option was usually a dealership-installed kit, these threaded plugs had to have been pressed in from this side. The third hole is not tapped and serves no purpose that I can see.



Here is a closeup of the donor seat and its threaded insert.

Now my car never had the cargo net, so of course, it did not have the two tracks. If you look closely at the carpet on your middle row seats, you'll be able to see where the plugs are, or you can measure where the holes are on a donor seat. I laid my seats down and used a carpet knife to cut away the carpet. I made sure to cut the hole a little smaller than the lines in the carpet showed, that way the cover will hold the carpet in place (keeping it looking tidy). Once the carpet was cut, I used a screw driver to pry out the plug. It fought me and ended up cracking in the middle - there is a tennon that's pressed into the untapped middle hole which hold this in place.





Once open I found the three hols, but none of them were tapped.



Good news Honey! I need to but some new tools.....



I broke open my McMaster-Carr catalog and found stainless threaded inserts which would fit my track-cover screws (they happen to be stainless machine head M6 screws). I got part number 97120A230 (18-8 Stainless Steel Thread-Lcking Slotted Thick Wall Insert, M6-1.0 Interior Thread, M10-1.5 Exterior Thread, 10.5MM Length, Packs of 5) - these have thread-lock already applied. Since I didn't already own a metric M10 tap, I ordered that too - part number 2541A36 (Metric Thread-Forming Tap, Plug, M10 X 1.5MM, D10 Pitch Diameter, 2-15/16" L Overall) and a T-handel for it.



I was blessed - the threaded inserts came, along with the tap and handle. Turned out the non-threaded holes were already exactly the right size to accept a tap. I threaded all 4 holes in less than 10 minutes, screwed in the threaded inserts and had the tracks in place a few minutes later. Wait a minute - I'm actually fixing something in my car on the first attempt !



And then - I slid the cargo net into place.


I'll be installing the hatch clips and the overhead clips next - so stay tuned !

[MBeige]

Curious if there's any update to this? I'm going to attempt this install on my mother's 300TE. I have all mounting hardware and the cargo cover assembly itself. Thanks for documenting!

[pwogaman]

Great write up!

[jbrianfoto]

Originally Posted by MBeige

Curious if there's any update to this? I'm going to attempt this install on my mother's 300TE. I have all mounting hardware and the cargo cover assembly itself. Thanks for documenting!

Hey there - I never saw your question. Nope - the cargo net has been in use now for over a year. I actually have another 300TD now, and I'm just getting ready to install the same rig in it. I came back to this post to find the part number of the inserts.

A tip I learned from the first install, don't cut the fabric backing too large, make the hole about 1/4 inch too small on all sides, then the fabric will tuck under the locking brackets and look nice.

I also haven't yet installed the two clips on the hatch door - requires careful measurement or removal of the hatch door panel (and I've never been able to do that without damaging the panel).

Good luck !

[gatorblue92]

Nice work. The PO of my wagon did the same mod however he used the actual seat from a car with the cover.


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