Hey guys -

I have a 99 SE with the factory spoiler, and today when I closed the trunk, the main braces that connect the spoiler with the lid got disconnected (the far outside two). I believe that is has to do with the extreme cold we have been having here in the midwest - and the brittleness of plastic in said cold.

So now I can't drive my car because the only thing holding the spoiler on is the main inside brace which houses the brake light wiring. I tried to manually snap it back on - but it appears hopeless. Nothing seems to be broken/cracked - but the spoiler is extremely loose as you could imagine. I'd rather not take it to a body shop, but do I really have a choice? If needed and if it can help - I can take some pics but I'm sure most of you know exactly what the problem is!

Thanks!

 

I searched Pinnacle Nissan Parts. I found the clips and tape for your spoiler. Here is a link to the site. Best of Luck.
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...=3&catalogid=2

 

I have the same problem, still unfixed. I'm positive the plastic snap-in pieces broke. However, I did buy all new parts for connecting the outer part of the spoiler. I think they added up to about $20 or so.

If your dealer or shop can't find the part numbers, PM me and I'll provide them.

Dave

 

I've been riding with only the inside braces since I bought my Max. I've been planning on fixing it but not in the cold. I was just going to glue them down but nice to know that there are part numbers for the stuff I need.

 

Thanks for the link and offer of assistance!

per the link - since there is no picture of the part - what exactly is it? Is it for the 2 outside braces or the middle ones? Are they easy to install myself?

Seeing that you guys have been through this - how hard is it to fix myself? If I could avoid the body shop - that'd be great! I looked at it again this morning - and looking from the back:

light bar
¯ ‡ ¯ ¯ ¯ ‡ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ‡¯ ¯ ¯ ‡ ¯
1 2 3 4


Brace 1 is completly loose and disconnected, # 2 still is solid, #2 is completly loose (possibly broken plastic within, #4 is completly loose.

on brace #1 and 4, there appears 2 little yellowish clips with small nubs that are attached to the trunk itself ***the characters are being shifted so they aren't showing up correctly***:

__ø_ _ø__

Looking inside the brace, I can see this:
___ ___
==___ ___==

Sorry for the crude diagram - but basically (as you know?) the nubs on the trunk plastic pieces are supposed to push up into the wide areas in the center and slide (lock) into the small areas on the outside. The problem I have is that you can only do one of the clips or the other due to the configuration. Therefore - I'm thinking that maybe the clips are supposed to be attached inside the brace first instead of being connected to the trunk. Does that make sense?

 

pshh you can drive it. i drove mine last winter when a russian guy snapped it right off. onlything connecting the wing to the car was the wire for the 3rd brake light. (of course by now i took it off and plugged the holes).

ps-did you try tightening the bolts from inside the trunklid?

edit:

its easy. you should never ever ever pay anyone to do it for you.

 

lol technically yes I can drive it...but I don't want to scratch up the paint or risk it snapping off (oh and I think I'd rather deal with a Russian rather than Jack Frost!)

I can't tighten any bolts - the spoiler is physically detached at 3 out of the 4 braces - nothing to tighten

As long as I can get the right parts and make sure that I'm explaining the extent of the problem correctly, I'll tackle this myself (with this forums help of course!)

 

honestly, the only thing that should be holding you back from doing this yourself would be if you were unable to find the parts.

did your spoiler literally snap off or did the pieces that hold it down just break? because the two inside parts should have screws that go down through the trunk that you should beable to tighten the bolts on...unless the bolts somehow fell off?

pictures would always be good

 

I'm going to take pics later today and post them here.

The spoiler itself has not snapped - the only thing that might have snapped is some of plastic connectors within the braces of the spoiler. If I could, I'd just take off the spoiler until the weather is above 0° F and I have the parts. However, the 2nd brace from the left (with the wiring?) is still solid, and I don't want to crack anything. Is there an easy way to take that one off so I can at least drive the car until I have the parts?

 

yea, pop the trunk and take that carpet shield thingy off the inside of the trunklid. undo the nuts and unclip the 3rd brake light wire. and spoiler should come off if all the clips are broken like u said. as long as youre not trying to pass inspection with the spoiler off, you should be fine. (i failed because apparently you HAVE to have a 3rd brake light if your cars 95 or newer). i drove without a spoiler for over a year and never got a ticket, so unless cops are rediculous in chicago you shouldnt have a problem.

 

the INSIDE 2 mount points should be bolts. the OUTSIDE 2 mount points are clips: male and female. One goes on lid and the other on the spoiler, they clip together and hold that way. even if you are removing the spoiler carefully yourself, the outside 2 clips usually break. order the clips from nissan, very inexpensive. you'll need 2 male and 2 female, total is 4 pieces. unbolt the center 2 points, remove old and install new clips. bolt center mounts back up. click the outside 2 mounts together. all done. been there done that. I've done a full 99 body conversion, when I bought my lid, the outside 2 mounts were broken so I had to fix them prior to install. have fun!
DJ

 

Thanks guys - I'll post some pictures when I get home tonite - I want to make sure I get the right clips. Does anyone here have a parts manual that they can reference for me? (I don't trust the Nissan reps at my local dealer)

 

The inner mounts are a studs that thread thru the lid and into a pair of nuts. These studs are part of the spoiler. The outer mounts are pop-clips with tape and a gasket.
Inner nut (4) 08911-1062G
Inner gasket, left hand (1) 96053-31U00
Inner gasket, right hand (1) 96052-31U00

Outer tape (2) 96054-31U00
Outer gasket, LH (1) 96051-31U60
Outer gasket, RH (1) 96050-31U60
Outer grommet (female) (4) 01553-09621
Outer clip (male) (4) 01553-04631

 

ok here are some shots I took today - sorry for the quality and orientation!

This is the end one on passenger side - you can see the 2 plastic nubs still on the trunk lid.



This is the 3rd brace from the left - there are two 'humps on the lid:



So looking back at the parts list - is there anything additional that I'll need - and is this still easy to fix?!

Thanks!

 

wow thanks for the detail info - looking at my pics above - anything else I'll need /don't need?

 

from what i can tell from those pics, it looks like the spoiler actually broke like mine did. in that case youde need to get a new spoiler.

 

the spoiler is not broken - the clips are that actually attach the spoiler to the car from what it looks like.

 

in the 2nd pic...can you put your fingers in the bottem of spoiler right there?

EDIT: nevermind i just looked again and turned my laptop sideways, im 95% sure its broken man. in the 2nd pic thats not a clip attached to the car. thats the bottem of the spoiler. those were the bolts i was talking about tightening from inside the trunk.

 

I'll try and get better pictures tonite - and orient them the correct way. If the case is where there the bolt section is broken off as you say - then is there a way to repair that instead of speding hundreds for buying a new spoiler/painting it/installing?

Oh - in case you didn't notice - you can click on the picture for a larger view.

 

yea i did click it for a larger view. i tryed figuring out a way to fix it (cause thats how mine broke too) and i had no luck. if you were good with fiberglass then you could probably somehow fix it if theres a way to 'weld' fiberglass? i dont really know. i ended up taking it off and plugging the holes. then i had to put a 3rd brake light in the back window to pass inspection.

 

I'm hoping that someone here like yourself had the same problem and was successful at putting it back on. I know that there is a plastic weld I could use - but would I need additional parts besides those listed a few posts above?

 

I had the same problem on my 99. The outside clips are cheap, and easy to install. My problem was with the inner bolts..rusted, and one of them broke from the spoiler, so that I'd a new spoiler to fully attach the inner bolts to the trunk lid. Had to dremel them out. I just have the outside plastic holders keeping it on. It's very tight, but I'm gentle when opening and closing my trunk, and never let anyone touch it but me.

 

i had the same problem on my 99 max se-L i took the wing off the car and found the outer clips still on the car i removed them and push them back in the wing has come out yet

 

I had a similar problem with the spoiler on my '97 SE when I bought it...

Didn't notice at first but the bolts on either side of the brake light wiring were the only things keeping the wing on the car! Took the wing off and the bolts on the other side had been ripped out... which, was a bit of a pisser!

Thought about it for a bit and headed down to home depot. Fortunately there was still enough fiberglass to be able to slide a couple of clips where the bolts used to be, a couple of rubber and steel washers and 2 6mm bolts and I was done. Took about 5 minutes and less than $5!

 

those 2 bolts shouldnt beable to be seen. they are supposed to be inside your spoiler. that is why i think its broken. that chunk of fiberglass under them is the bottem of the spoiler, which just like it did on mine, appears to have snapped off. onlyway you may beable to fix it is a fiberglass 'weld' type of thing like i already mentioned. or maybe superglue if you want to trust it. i had no idea how to do that, so i just took it off and plugged the holes, i think it looks better without it anyway.

 

You guys were right (of course )

The spoiler broke off - I took it off completley for now & taped up the holes. I think it might be cheaper for me just to get the holes filled at a body shop and respray the trunk...agreed?

Also - anyone know if I can buy the third break light that comes on a standard Maxima since the spoiler doesn't exsist anymore?

Thanks!

 

How did you get the spoiler attached back to the plastic holders? It appears to me that they have to come off the trunk first, then snap them onto the spoiler and finally back on the truck w/spoiler attached. Is there an easier way? (I can't see how they come out since you can't pop them from underneath)

 

first, if youre talking about the big white bolts they unscrew from inside the trunklid.

second, a new spoiler is about $120 plus paint so probably around $250-300 maybe (im guesstimating)? so if the bodyshop fills the holes and resprays the car for less than that, go for it. i just attempted filling the holes and respraying mine over the weekend. everything went awesome until i tryed to spray the clear coat down. then there was tons of orange peel. total it took me about 5-6 hours to prep and paint it (but i have the pearl white tricoat) so i assume a good shop could do it in maybe 3-4 hours. so be prepared for the labor costs too.

EDIT: oh yea, and it took the clear 2 hours to dry.

 

I've decided to order new parts for my spoiler, outer passenger side is loose. Has anyone bought parts recently?? As per dgeesaman's parts list I can't find them for much less than $100!! i used nissan parts direct, courtesy, etc. How did the price jump so much in only a year? Or were all of you reusing the gaskets? They're about $15 each. I want to fix my spoiler, but I'm def not paying 100 to replace all the mounting hardware

suggestions?