Has anyone removed the interior b-pillar trim?

[ESS]

I'm thinking about going rattle hunting. I have an annoying rattle on the b-pillar by the seat belt. I know there is a TSB out there, but my car falls outside of the manufacture date so I don't think this is the issue. Plus, if it is easy to remove the b-pillar cover I would like to take a look myself. Has anyone done this? I have the Bentley manual, but have not looked it up yet.

[epc]

http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/e46/forum.php?postid=308556&page=1

Remove the B pillar cover and stick seld adhesive felt on everything. The most important area is to put it on the metal "track"-- a lot of the noise comes from the plastic seatbelt carrier banging against this metal--putting felt in between helps cure much of the noise. Adding felt to anything else that looks like it could rattle cures the rest.

To remove the B pillar trim:
-Move the drivers seat all the way up and all the way forward
-pull up on and remove the plastic door sill trim (the plastic that covers the lower part of the inner driver's door frame (and connects w/ the lower B pillar trim). This is hard to do-- its really in there tight-- you'll probably break 1 or 2 of the plastic pins that hold it in there. Don't worry- these are .30 parts and can easily be replaced.
Before you do this, you have to disconnect it from the front black plastic trim (the part that also contains the hood release). To do this, you kind of push down and pull up on the inner edge. Basically, the piece you're removing has a lip that is underneath the other trim- you're trying to disconnect this lip slightly before you try and pull the trim up.
-grab the bottom edge of the lower b pillar (the part near the floor),and pull out towards the seat. You'll hear some pops as you release the pins holding this piece in.
-Remove this piece and move it out of the way.
-Remove the 2 black plastic pins that hold in the uppper b pillar (the white part that contains the seat height adjuster). These pins are made up of 2 parts-- there's a plug w/ a pin inserted into the middle of it. YOu have to pry out the pin first before you can pry out the plug. THese pins are surprisingly sturdy- you won't break them.
-Slide the upper B pillar down (so that it clears 2 tabs at the top) and then pull out at the bottom and slide out the trim. it will remain hooked on the seatbelt but you can slide it down out of the way.
-Now you'll be able to see the inner-workings of the rattle-factory that is the seatbelt height adjuster. Go to work w/ the felt- be generous.
-I also lined some of the adjustment pieces on the inner part of the upper B pillar trim (the piece that is hanging on the seatbelt now).
-You might try going for a ride over a bumpy road everything disassembled to see if the rattles still occur.
-Re-installation is the reverse of disassmbly. You should also pull out the door seals from around the B pillar before you try and re-install- this will make your life much easier. The seals are just held on by pressure- and you can pull them out w/ your hands- you won't destroy anything by doing this. When you've put the B pillar back together, you can re-insert the seals by pressing firmly.
-You're done. I did this and have no more rattles from this area. My next sound is something coming from the rear seats- but I don't think its the fold-down seats-- very intermittent and hard to find.

[ESS]

Thanks for all of the info. I hope it isn't as difficult as it sounds. How long did it take you to complete the process?

[epc]

I didn't do it myself. I stuffed a piece of felt into the space around the opening where the seat belt came out of the b-pillar. I stuffed it too far in and I think it fell into the b-pillar. Luckily, the noise wen away with it. YMMV. Good luck.

[bmw325]

I know it sounds complicated. It actually only takes about 10 minutes. the key concepts are:
remove plastic door sill cover
remove lower b pillar trim
remove upper b pillar trim

If you have any problems, feel free to email me or post here. Good luck. Its worth it to put some self-adhesive felt in there when you've got it opened up.

The Bentley does have a brief description on how to do it-- i think its in the seatbelts section. My car also fell outside the dates for the TSB-- so I had to fix it myself. God knows why the dealer couldn't figure this out.