I had always wanted to do the center armrest rework so it tilted up and had the storage tray underneath, but I really like the narrow storage tray on top of the armrest. I looked at:
E39 Euro Tilting Armrest
But if I was to order the parts for this, I'd lose the small tray on top where I normally put my mobile phone.
I decided to take a chance and order just the sliding/tilting mechanism (P/N 51 16 8 196 965) and the Tray (P/N 51 16 8 196 967) and see if I could make it work.
First, I removed the armrest and sliding mechanism from my car, leaving the center console looking like a bear got in my car and there was a PB&J sandwich in the center console:
Next, I placed it on the bench, and removed the four screws that hold the armrest to the slider. To get to the four TORX head screws, flip the armrest over and slide the mechanism all the way back to expose the heads of the screws through the lower sliding plate (you should be able to see the screw heads in the pictures):
This is the sliding/tilting mechanism:
Next, I removed the phone tray and pull handle from the center armrest, leaving a hole in the middle and mounted it to the sliding/tilting mechanism shown above. To get the "rear" screws in, you'll need to push against the spring mechanism that holds the tilting top open.
I then placed the storage tray (big one) in the center console after pushing the phone harness through the hole on the bottom.
Here's where things got difficult...
I put the pull handle back onto the armrest at the front, and then put the phone tray back in. BUT, the phone tray wouldn't fit hmmm
As it turns out, the tilting/sliding mechanism is much taller on the topside than the sliding mechanism, and caused a big interference with the phone tray.
I thought for a while hmmm (well, O.K., I had a martini...hey, you knew it was coming)
I disassembled the armrest from the tilter/slider, put the pull handle and phone tray into the armrest, and THEN tried to assemble it, but the mechanism was holding the armrest off by too much, and the screws weren't long enough, and the alignment pins weren't reaching, and, and and...
O.K. Big breath...time to bring out the power tools.
I put the phone tray on my vertical mill, and removed as much material as I could without breaking through the bottom of the tray. This was pretty difficult, as the part is really flexible and hard to hold.
Then, I put the sliding/tilting mechanism on the mill and removed material from the topside of that part. The material I removed were the raised "ribs" on the part. You can see them in this picture. I don't have a post picture, but if you want one, I can get it.
I assembled the pull handle and phone tray to the armrest, and then set it on the mechanism. The alignment pins were now long enough, and the screws were as well. I tightened them up, and it's back in the car:
In the rearward position:
in the forward position:
Rearward position from the front seat:
Forward position from the front seat:
Open position:
The gap between the armrest and the center console is a bit larger than I would like, and if I get some free time, I may see if I can machine down more of the slider to make it lower.
This is not a project for the faint of heart. I was just really darned determined to keep my phone tray AND get the storage tray underneath as well.
:cheers:
E39 Euro Tilting Armrest
But if I was to order the parts for this, I'd lose the small tray on top where I normally put my mobile phone.
I decided to take a chance and order just the sliding/tilting mechanism (P/N 51 16 8 196 965) and the Tray (P/N 51 16 8 196 967) and see if I could make it work.
First, I removed the armrest and sliding mechanism from my car, leaving the center console looking like a bear got in my car and there was a PB&J sandwich in the center console:

Next, I placed it on the bench, and removed the four screws that hold the armrest to the slider. To get to the four TORX head screws, flip the armrest over and slide the mechanism all the way back to expose the heads of the screws through the lower sliding plate (you should be able to see the screw heads in the pictures):


This is the sliding/tilting mechanism:

Next, I removed the phone tray and pull handle from the center armrest, leaving a hole in the middle and mounted it to the sliding/tilting mechanism shown above. To get the "rear" screws in, you'll need to push against the spring mechanism that holds the tilting top open.
I then placed the storage tray (big one) in the center console after pushing the phone harness through the hole on the bottom.
Here's where things got difficult...
I put the pull handle back onto the armrest at the front, and then put the phone tray back in. BUT, the phone tray wouldn't fit hmmm
As it turns out, the tilting/sliding mechanism is much taller on the topside than the sliding mechanism, and caused a big interference with the phone tray.
I thought for a while hmmm (well, O.K., I had a martini...hey, you knew it was coming)
I disassembled the armrest from the tilter/slider, put the pull handle and phone tray into the armrest, and THEN tried to assemble it, but the mechanism was holding the armrest off by too much, and the screws weren't long enough, and the alignment pins weren't reaching, and, and and...
O.K. Big breath...time to bring out the power tools.
I put the phone tray on my vertical mill, and removed as much material as I could without breaking through the bottom of the tray. This was pretty difficult, as the part is really flexible and hard to hold.
Then, I put the sliding/tilting mechanism on the mill and removed material from the topside of that part. The material I removed were the raised "ribs" on the part. You can see them in this picture. I don't have a post picture, but if you want one, I can get it.

I assembled the pull handle and phone tray to the armrest, and then set it on the mechanism. The alignment pins were now long enough, and the screws were as well. I tightened them up, and it's back in the car:
In the rearward position:

in the forward position:

Rearward position from the front seat:

Forward position from the front seat:

Open position:

The gap between the armrest and the center console is a bit larger than I would like, and if I get some free time, I may see if I can machine down more of the slider to make it lower.
This is not a project for the faint of heart. I was just really darned determined to keep my phone tray AND get the storage tray underneath as well.
:cheers: