v70 cargo cover/tonneau cover

tessiev70 · Post by **tessiev70** » 05 Sep 2009, 13:37

hi, i recently purchased a 2000 v70 GLT and everything about the car is perfect with the exception that the cargo cover in the trunk area is overextended and will not retract.

it was sold like this, so i called a mechanic who told me they can slide to one side and be taken out.

i just want to take it out so that maybe I could fix it myself, but i cannot seem to get it out of the brackets. I am afraid of breaking something.

any ideas?

Post by **Volvo_240_Atari_2600** » 06 Sep 2009, 09:10

Hi,

I know about being afraid to remove something and breaking it in the process.

My wife's v70 does not have one but my 240 does...
On the 240 and some other wagons and suv's that I have seen, the cover (from left to right) will fit snuggly into the inner shell of the rear compartment.

What the mechanic told you sounds right.

Mine for example has a spring mechanism that if you tak the far right (pass) side and push it in a (left) direction, you are compressing it enough to pop it out. May be vise versa on your wagon... Mine (the 240) it compresses from one side but I can achieve that by doing that as I mentioned above by pressing on either side.

Play with it carefully and see if it gives.

That is all I can think of.
Good luck

Post by **JRL** » 06 Sep 2009, 17:34

Grab both ends and push toward the center of the car.
(and remove)
It is spring loaded

tessiev70 · Post by **tessiev70** » 06 Sep 2009, 19:15

hmm...i'm not too sure which two ends to grab and push towards the center.

the ends are in two plastic brackets. and it doesn't seem like moving each side left or right gives it enough clearance to remove from those brackets.

i don't know why this is so difficult for me!

Post by **Volvo_240_Atari_2600** » 07 Sep 2009, 09:58

As JRL said, press both end caps inward...
Since they are spring loaded, chances are you think it may break but in reality that tension you are feeling is normal.

For example... The one on my 240 has a small square male end on each end of the end caps. Again it is spring loaded. The hardware on my two walls have small female openings where one locks into the other as they are spring loaded.

I doubt highly that yours is frozen, it just may be so tight that you worry something may break in applying pressure. I am certain that comming out it may still be a tight slide but that is what you are facing.

nightc1 · Post by **nightc1** » 07 Sep 2009, 10:07

To get at it from a different angle, lay both passenger seats down. There you'll be able to fully see how it is held in. It is spring loaded as many have said. The one I bought for my 99 V70 now has the same issue as yours... it no longer retracts. Sadly after taking mine out I realized that the spring loaded part snapped on the ends of the unit and when removed from the car the end caps just fall off

Keep in mind the big tube like part is the cargo cover... since it's fairly well rounded off there are only two ends (near each side window). Grab each end and push them together. Make sure first that the cover is disconnected from the back end of the car. I personally just grab the whole unit and push it towards one side (window). This tends to give it enough clearance to lift up and then twist to remove.

I was able to roll it back in enough to then make it a tighter fit... but overall I don't think there is a fix for this since mine is snapped on the very ends.

tessiev70 · Post by **tessiev70** » 11 Sep 2009, 20:14

i went to the dealer and they showed me how.

i felt dumb afterwards. i wasn't pushing the brackets inward to get the cover to come out!

thanks everyone!

nightc1 · Post by **nightc1** » 12 Sep 2009, 11:21

Were you able to get it to retract some after it was out? Or are you just planning on leaving it out?

At some point I'm going to disassemble the whole thing and see about fixing mine. I need the added security of cargo privacy from time to time.

tessiev70 · Post by **tessiev70** » 12 Sep 2009, 14:51

I took it out, took it all apart. the ends of the roller was all broken apart. It can be fixed with gorilla glue or something like that.

but the spring loaded dowel is pretty much done. I tried to reset the springs by rewinding up the dowel, but it looks like it's done.

Volvo had these as sort of a ritzy option before 2001, so anyone before 2001 is pretty rare and not the best design, hence the frayed roller and ends.

I think I will just go to a home depot or something like that and get a new spring loaded dowel and permanently attach the leather cover to it with staples or glue or something. But it's one of those easy yet nagging fixes.

Post by **Rob3** » 04 Oct 2009, 23:21

Well, I fixed mine. Warning! After this fix, it is very difficult (but not impossible) to remove from the car. It will cause the inside of the Cargo Cover Assembly to be 1/2" longer than it was originally.

I used 1/4", 3/8" & 5/8" Copper Tubing for the fix. I've attached some Pictures.

I first filed a Slot across the ends of two 3/8" x 6" pieces of Copper Tubing. (The extra length is to make them easy to handle.) The depth of the Slot is not critical. I made mine about 1". (See Coupler 1.)

Then I cut them 1/4" longer than the slot. (See Coupler 2.)

Next, I notched the opposite end at 90° to the Slots. I used a 5/16" Drill Bit Shank to help hold the slotted end while making the Notches. I made the Notches reach to the end of the Slots using a Rat Tail File. (See Notched 1 & 2.)

I laid a piece of 1/4" Copper Tubing into the Broken End Caps and marked the center of the Broken Portion with a Sharpie. (See EndCap and Notched 2.)

I used a File to make the Mark permanent, so that I could sand the Copper Tubing without losing the Mark. I sanded the Copper so that the Solder would "stick". I positioned the Mark over the center of the 3/8" Couplers and gently tapped them with a Hammer. I used pliers to slightly squeeze the coupler over the 1/4" Tubing. Then I soldered them together. (See Soldered.)

Next, I pulled out the Black Plastic Spacers. (See Spacer 1.)

I took 5/8" Copper Tubing and cut it to the same length as the Plastic Spacers. (See Spacer 2.)

I inserted the Copper Tubing into the Plastic Spacers. (See Spacer 3.)

Next, I inserted the New Spacers into the Cover until they touched the Spring Assembly. (If you press harder, the Spring Assembly will allow the New Spacer to go in farther. When you release pressure, it will push the New Spacer back out.) I cut the New Spacers so that 1/4" was sticking out of the Cover without any pressure being applied. (See Spacer 4. In this Picture you can see that the New Spacer is a different length than the Broken Piece which used to press against the Spring Assembly.)

Now you are ready to assemble the Cover.

The Spacers go in first.

Next, the Coupler Assemblies I made go over the ends of the Axel. (See Axel. I pulled the Axel out slightly for the Photo.) The Slots go over the ends of the Axel and the 1/4" Copper Tubing should have the Longer Ends pointing in the same Direction.

It gets dangerous from here, so be very careful. Read this over a few times until you have a good picture in your mind of what you'll be doing.
You need to wind up the Retraction Spring so that it will pull the Cover back in when you want to open it.

First, remove the Coupler Assemblies.

Next, pull the Cover out of the Cargo Cover Assembly until you reach it's end.

Reinstall the Coupler Assemblies, keeping both of the longer 1/4" Copper Tube Ends pointing in the same direction.

CAREFULLY turn one Coupler Assembly so that the Cover is pulled into the Cargo Cover Assembly with the Cover entering the Bottom of the Roll and rolling towards the Front of the car, then over the Top of the Roll as it moves. Make sure the Axel is fully inserted to the Bottom of the Slot. Be very careful not to release the Coupler Assembly as it will have Great Force and Flying Metal if released.

Once you have the Cover inside the Cargo Cover Assembly, wind 1 more turn and then position the Longer 1/4" Copper Tubing End towards the Front of the Car.

While holding this Coupler Assembly, place the End Cap over the Opposite End of the Cargo Cover Assembly. Place the other End Cap over the Remaining End of the Cargo Cover Assembly.

Make sure that the End Caps do not come off as you test the Cover to see that it pulls out and retracts properly. If necessary, remove one End Cap, hold the Coupler Assembly, remove the other End Cap and add another wind. Reinstall the End Caps as described above and retest.

Once you are satisfied that the Cargo Cover Assembly works properly, install it into the car. You will notice that it is a very tight fit. To remove mine, I have to lift the part towards the Front of the car first, while trying to compress the End Caps towards each other (as normal) and then work it out the rest of the way. It is very tight, but I can remove it.

Remember that this Assembly has been modified! When you remove it, place it in a safe place! If someone were to remove both End Caps, they might get hurt!! (Removing only 1 End Cap should be fairly safe.)

Good luck and be safe.