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Guide - Fitting The Small Under Bench Drawer

S

Stu

Guest User
There is an additional small drawer that can be fitted alongside the much larger one under the bench seat to increase useable storage space.

You will need the following parts -

1 x Drawer - 7E7 068 041 30T £108
2 x Drawer Runners - 7H7 067 470 £48 each (See note below)
8 x Screw - N907 750 01 £0.30 each
2 x Screw - N905 624 01 £0.85 each

You can purchase the drawer runners commercially at a lower price than VW sell them for. I found a place located in Poole, Dorset (SCF Hardware) who keep them in stock. You will need to buy 2 pairs of Hettich Quadro V6 450 Soft Close, Part Number 0 072 175 priced at £18.28/pair. You will only need the 2 left drawer runners out of the 2 pairs but sadly they are not available individually.

and the following tools -

T20 Torx Screw Driver
Small Phillips Screw Driver
17mm Open End Spanner
Electric Drill
2.5/3.0mm Drill Bit
Small Ruler
Marking Pen
Small Hammer
Centre Punch


If like me you buy the drawer runners from an alternative supplier they will come with some extra parts fitted which will need to be removed -

Runners.jpg


Parts removed -

RunnersPartsRemoved.jpg


The drawer runners will require a small (2.5/3.0mm) locating hole drilled to hold it in place when fitting the drawer.

To do this you will need your ruler and marker pen. Position the drawer runner in the correct place on the lower part of the drawer. You will see it locates at the rear on a 'tang' which sits in a rubber grommet fitted to the drawer -

MeasuringUp.jpg


If you look inside the drawer you'll see there are two small holes which will house the two small locating screws for the drawer runners (Look inside your existing drawer for hints)

Use your ruler to ensure that the drawer runner is fitted squarely onto the drawer, I measured 15mm from the edge of the drawer to the outer edge of the drawer runner as shown below -

MeasuringUp2.jpg


With the runner carefully located and positioned, mark the drilling point using the hole inside as your marker point. Once you've marked the first runner swap it for the second runner before aligning it and marking it as for the first one. I suggest to mark both using the lower fitment as it is more stable and will use the natural weight of the drawer to hold it in place while you mark it.

The two small dots indicate where to drill. Use a small hammer and centre punch to centrally mark the position of the holes ready for drilling.

MeasuringUp3.jpg


Drill the holes using a suitable sized drill to match the screws you use.

Drilled.jpg


Run the screws down the holes to prepare them and make the future fitting easier -

DrilledWithScrew.jpg


Remove the rear mattress and support frame. Move the bench seat to its rear most position and if fitted remove the tyre inflation kit.

Remove the plastic blank cover from the bench seat base by gently lifting it off of its locating pegs.

Looking into the smaller opening under the seat you will see the pre-drilled holes that we are going to use to fit the drawer runners. I chose to run the screws down each of the holes to make it easier when fitting the drawer runner.

You will see I used a Bosch Exo Electric Screwdriver which is both small and right-angled making the task of doing the screws up much easier

FixingTheRunners.jpg


FixingTheRunners1.jpg


The screws -

Screws.jpg


Note your screws might be slightly different as I used some I already had in my toolbox.

Inside your drawer you should have found a small plastic bag which contains the drawer locking spigot. If you have a Facelift California the hole you need for the draw locking spigot is already there. If the California is not Facelift it becomes a little more complicated and you will most likely have to remove the bench for some measuring up and drilling of the bench seat base to fit the spiggot.

LockBolt.jpg


You will need to remove the uppermost locating spigot already in the bench seat base before you can fit the new part for the drawer adjacent to it. This is where you'll need your 17mm open end spanner -

Removing17mmLockScrew.jpg


Now screw in the drawer locking spigot. (Notice in the picture I still have the uppermost locating spigot in place, I later removed it) -

FixingTheLockBolt.jpg


Once you have all the drawer runner screws in place (4 in each), position the drawer on to the drawer runners and fit the two small locating screws on the inside of the draw -

DrawerFitted1.jpg


Close the drawer and admire your excellent handy work -

DrawerFitted.jpg


The reason for pushing the seat bench to it's rear most position is tow fold. Firstly it makes access to the rear of the bench seat easier but also once you've fitted the new drawer you should move the seat bench fully forward and hoover the seat rails to remove any arisings and swarf from the area to prevent long term damage.

This might look a little complicated but I was pleasantly surprised at just how easy it was and it took around 45 minutes to do the whole job which I don't think is too bad.

Drawer Runner Details -

RailPartNumber.jpg
 
cheers for post stu and i'm sure that will deffo be a help when fitting that draw :thumb :thumb
 
Thanks guys.

If anyone needs any help with this I am more than happy to assist :thumb

I have also asked the drawer runner supplier if the runners are available without the soft close and if so does it make them cheaper. I'll report back when I have the answer.
 
An excellent post which will make the job far easier for me when I do it in a couple of months after our holiday - cheers Stu :thumb

I did try TPS for the parts but they would not supply them to me as i don't have an account :sad
 
In all honesty Mark the savings aren't that special. I suppose at best you'll cover the cost of the screws.

I think SMG would be able to come up with something equally as good if not better.
 
Stu

Whats the size of the drawer?

It would be expensive and slightly bonkers - wonder if could be fitted to the three seat bench where we have the plastic covers and storage tray.

Although it's very practical on the Beach as you can access the trays from the boot as well - which is a nice touch :)

Great post - is this part of some options package we don't get in the UK?

James
 
Can you email me a pic of the current setup of your bench seat.
 
I spoke with the Drawer Runner supplier yesterday and they said they are available without the soft close but due to bulk purchasing of the ones with soft close they are in fact cheaper :laugh2
 
Hi Stu

Great post. I assume that if you wanted to use the gap as the side of the bench seat for something long it would just be a matter of removing the screws in side the drawer and removing it?
 
Oh I also meant to ask. What have you planned to put in your new drawer. What do you think it would be useful for?
 
Michael,

Yes by removing the two small securing screws from inside the drawer you can quite simply lift the drawer off the runners.

As for putting whatever in it, no idea yet :laugh2

I had the emergency tyre inflation kit fitted which took up the space so that's gone (I have 3 years RAC cover so that's enough for now :rofl ) which means I've actually realised some space I didn't have before.

Interested to hear suggestions though.
 
Well we used the space for cider, wine and coke sotage on our recent trip to the Netherlands with me having to launch myself under the rear shelf to get to it. Being able to get to the space from the front makes it much more useful. I just wonder how much you lose because of the runners etc. Any chance you can measure the internal dimensions of the drawer?
 
Michael I didn't get a chance to measure up this weekend and I'll be away working for the first few days of next week but I'll try and remember later in the week.

As a rough guide it pretty much fills the entire space behind the blank on the front of the bench.
 
Michael,

The internal size is 150mm x 530mm however it does reduce to 120mm x 530mm in the area where the upper runner is located.
 
Stu,

Looks great! Guess I'll be ordering the parts tomorrow (minus runners) whilst picking up the battery cover parts that I ordered before our Le Mans Classic trip... This is getting expensive - lol - we didn't know we needed it until we saw your photos of it!!

Simon
 
:laugh2

But then you'll be wondering how you managed without it!!

When you order the screws use the second number. :thumb

When you order the runners have a chat with them, mention Stu and that it's for a California. They found it all quite interesting. :thumb
 
Drawer ordered but the part is superseded by 7E7 068 041A 30T according to my local dealer

Out of stock centrally so may be in for a wait....
 
My drawer is now waiting for me to collect it from the dealer. :)

However, waiting to see if I need to have my rear bench frame replaced before I fit it!
A circlip has broken on one of the four rollers the seat rolls on and my local dealer (Martins - a non Cali centre - whose service has been absolutely fantastic BTW) thinks VW may not allow them simply to replace the clip!

I did also notice that this additional drawer is actually shown in the California brochures! doh!

Off topic I also noticed that the 2013 Caravelle / Californias get a new shape rear bumper with different shape reflectors and tidier parking sensor integration... Martins had one (Caravelle) in their workshop
 
As of 15.10 today the small under bench drawer was compleated and is now opperational :barmy thanks for all the info Stu :thumb

Gary.
 
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