As with many, I continued to deal with all the rattles associated with the rear speaker deck on my 08' CTS . I looked at many post here about the steps involved in removing the rear deck to get to the rattles, but none of them gave me enough detail.
I took on the task today and these are my findings...keeping in mind i know my way around a tool box.
1.) Pull up on the lower seat and it pops right out, easiest part of the job.
2.) Seat back...4 bolts just under the seat back and 4 more in the trunk. Don't worry about the 2 holding the trunk release. Once loose, just lay the top seat down face first down where the lower seat was...throw a couple of towels down first.
3.) Pop off the "airbag" logo from the side pillars, this gives access to a small screw underneath.
4.) Gently but with persuasion, remove the side pillar covers from each side. Keep in mind there is a black clip attached to a short cord that is attached to the metal inner panel...this clip is a pain in the back side to remove from the panel, but worked with it until it detached.
5.) Once you detach the clip, pull the two piece pillar panel away from the side panel and lay down on the seat. No need to detach the seat belt.
6.) Once you have the side panels out, you can work the rear deck out. Just flip it upside down so you don't have to detach the seatbelt.
7.) This is where you can see the major rattle trap that is hidden under the rear deck... people talk about stuffing weather strip back near the rear glass... but once you see what's under the rear deck, you will understand where your rattles are coming from.
8.) There are two smaller black plastic boxes that are somewhat clipped into place , but are not tightly secured, so they are the main rattle issues. Also tighten down the bolts that hold the plastic covers that hold the speakers and other components.
9.) Run a bead of silicon along the bottom rear edge of the shelf near the back glass, as well as each of the little ribs near the rear edge, along with a bead anywhere else you can reach to silicon parts together....you will see that the factory put a little black piece of felt on each of the ribs.
10.) after all of this, just re-install everything in reverse order, paying attention to the two side pillar covers as these are a bit of a pain to re-install.
From start to finish took about 3 hours, and on a scale of 1-10...i would say it was about a 7 or a 6 pack of beer depending on your speed .
Believe me, once you remove that rear deck and see that birds nest of a mess of plastic and components...you will clearly see why there are so many rattles back there.
Good luck and hope this helps you better understand the involvement in removing that rear deck and searching for the numerous rattles back there.
I took on the task today and these are my findings...keeping in mind i know my way around a tool box.
1.) Pull up on the lower seat and it pops right out, easiest part of the job.
2.) Seat back...4 bolts just under the seat back and 4 more in the trunk. Don't worry about the 2 holding the trunk release. Once loose, just lay the top seat down face first down where the lower seat was...throw a couple of towels down first.
3.) Pop off the "airbag" logo from the side pillars, this gives access to a small screw underneath.
4.) Gently but with persuasion, remove the side pillar covers from each side. Keep in mind there is a black clip attached to a short cord that is attached to the metal inner panel...this clip is a pain in the back side to remove from the panel, but worked with it until it detached.
5.) Once you detach the clip, pull the two piece pillar panel away from the side panel and lay down on the seat. No need to detach the seat belt.
6.) Once you have the side panels out, you can work the rear deck out. Just flip it upside down so you don't have to detach the seatbelt.
7.) This is where you can see the major rattle trap that is hidden under the rear deck... people talk about stuffing weather strip back near the rear glass... but once you see what's under the rear deck, you will understand where your rattles are coming from.
8.) There are two smaller black plastic boxes that are somewhat clipped into place , but are not tightly secured, so they are the main rattle issues. Also tighten down the bolts that hold the plastic covers that hold the speakers and other components.
9.) Run a bead of silicon along the bottom rear edge of the shelf near the back glass, as well as each of the little ribs near the rear edge, along with a bead anywhere else you can reach to silicon parts together....you will see that the factory put a little black piece of felt on each of the ribs.
10.) after all of this, just re-install everything in reverse order, paying attention to the two side pillar covers as these are a bit of a pain to re-install.
From start to finish took about 3 hours, and on a scale of 1-10...i would say it was about a 7 or a 6 pack of beer depending on your speed .
Believe me, once you remove that rear deck and see that birds nest of a mess of plastic and components...you will clearly see why there are so many rattles back there.
Good luck and hope this helps you better understand the involvement in removing that rear deck and searching for the numerous rattles back there.