timonator

iTrader: (4)

On my 91 Z the decklid sits about 3/4 of an inch behind the quarters. Is this normal? The back glass can't go forward any more. The only way to move the decklid forward any more would be to cut it off of the glass.

bsporty

They all do! Its because the glass needs room to tilt open and have clearance of the roof. :-)

timonator

iTrader: (4)

I hate body panels that dont fit right.

solaris_vii

iTrader: (3)

you can seperate the decklid from the glass and adjust it. its not so simple though because theres adhesive holding it on. do a search theres a couple threads on here on how to remove it and adjust it. but yes, pretty much everyone ive seen doesnt line up right.

trocustoms

iTrader: (1)

Do you mean the hatch is past the quarter above the tail lights? If so there are 2 ways to move it forward.

1st choice would be the hold down bolts which are under the trim panel over the back seat (headliner trim) Loosen up and move the whole hatch forward.

2nd choice is the 4 bolts that go through the glass at the top of the hatch. theres not much adjustment there but you can try.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

There's really only 1 choice.... The glass itself doesnt move over the years. Not much anyway. There's little adjustment there anyway. I highly suggest NOT trying to adjust the glass, unless its obviously out of wack.

You need to remove the decklid, clean up the glass, clean up the old sealant, and reinstall it after lining it up.

It is not difficult. It is time consuming.

You should also make sure you get proper sealant for putting the decklid back together. It sandwiches the glass, and if you dont seal it properly, it will leak and you'll have to start all over. The sealant can be found at some auto parts stores, but you'll probably have better luck with a body supply store. Its a urethane sealant...I wouldnt use tubes of silicone.

I did this a few years ago on my Trans AM...which was harder due to the wrap around spoiler. Without that, it would be a cake walk. There is a write up around here somewhere... it might even be in the tech write ups on the home page.

J.

Dante93GTZ

iTrader: (5)

Mine sits this way as well on my 91Z. Can't figure out how it got that way considering none of my other 3rdgens have done this.

trocustoms

iTrader: (1)

[quote=ghettocruiser;4658599]There's really only 1 choice.... The glass itself doesnt move over the years. Not much anyway. There's little adjustment there anyway. I highly suggest NOT trying to adjust the glass, unless its obviously out of wack.

(You need to remove the decklid, clean up the glass, clean up the old sealant, and reinstall it after lining it up.

You should also make sure you get proper sealant for putting the decklid back together. It sandwiches the glass, and if you dont seal it properly, it will leak and you'll have to start all over. The sealant can be found at some auto parts stores, but you'll probably have better luck with a body supply store. Its a urethane sealant...I wouldnt use tubes of silicone.

I did this a few years ago on my Trans AM...which was harder due to the wrap around spoiler. Without that, it would be a cake walk. There is a write up around here somewhere... it might even be in the tech write ups on the home page.

J.[/quot

So your saying the sealed, glued and bolted down decklid moved over time??? Again, remove headliner trim piece loosen 4 nuts and adjust. Obviously if someone has already removed the decklid and screwed up the install thats a differnt story. Easily diagnosed by looking at the gap between the roof and the glass

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

Wow for once I get to agree with everyone. I think trocustoms is right, it will be easy to diagnose by looking at the gap to the roof. But I think, like a lot of others, that it can only be the glass to deck joint and will need to be taken apart and redone. Ahhh darnnit... I can't agree with bsporty... although her signature line goes very well with her comment.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

YES... Thats EXACTLY what im saying

You need to make sure that the glass isnt out of wack...and if its not, which I doubt it is, you have to adjust the decklid. You dont need to mess with the glass unless its obviously shifted. Ive rarely come across a thirdgen with messed up hatch glass alignment...and its usually due to someone messing with the bolts and not getting it back into place correctly.

Did you guys look at this like I suggested?

https://www.thirdgen.org/hatchalign

What happens is...the urethane, not GLUE, gets hot sitting in the sun, and softens up. Then the hatch struts will, over time, start to push the deck lid backwards. Also if you do a lot of highway 65+mph driving that can help move it along also. Urethane sealant doesnt become solid. It remains soft. And you'll be surprised at how little they used at the factory. At least on my 87 there wasnt much. Just a squiggly line's worth. I was also getting a leak back there from this issue. The holes in the hatch glass are WAY bigger than the studs and bolts that go through them too. Obviously to account for differences in glass and body panel alignment. So there's plenty of wiggle room. In fact, there's enough room that you can actually move the decklid too far forward if you arent paying attention.

Im not saying that its def not the hatch glass... The entire thing can shift I guess. Just saying dont go messing with your hatch hinge bolts before you check really good. Dont expect that to be the only adjustment. Seach for "hatch alignment"...and you'll find plenty of threads discussing trying to adjust the hinges, as well as people who have adjusted it by the decklid write up.

Good luck!

J.

trocustoms

iTrader: (1)

Again not the 4 bolts through the glass, Rather the hold down bolts under the trim.I agree again about the hatch could be off. Ive had to take off several to replace through the years. although the ones i replaced were stuck down extremely well. Hope we are good now.

alek72us

i dont know about 82-90 camaros and firebirds, but i know on my 92 camaro there are no adjustment on the top of the glass or under the headliner. mine sits back this far and i have tried to adjust it. so im with ghettocruiser on this one. the size of the gap inbetween my window and the top of my car is the same size gap that is on my friends 86 camaro and his hatch sits flush so i know its not my window its my decklid.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (4)

No we're good. We were never not good haha. I just didnt want him unbolting his hatch glass if he didnt need to. Those things can be a bear to get right just due to their shear size and weight alone.

I actually tried to adjust the 4 mounting bolts (not the glass/hinge bolts, the hatch/body bolts) and I didnt get much movement out of them. What I suceeded in doing was causing myself another hour of fiddling around trying to get the hatch glass back where I wanted it. Then re-sealling the holes and all that jazz.

Just want to make sure everyone knows that there are more places to adjust the hatch

OP let us know how you make out if you decide to play with it!

J.

trocustoms

iTrader: (1)

Knowledge is king. I like the smiley face better than the guy scratching his head!!!!!! And yes that dam hatch is heavy and hard to move around.

timonator

iTrader: (4)

Ok, I did it thanks for all the replies. The problem I ran into though was that one of the decklid studs was all the way forward in one of the holes in the glass. I had to move the hinge on that side just a bit but it looks a hundred times better now.

DoWork2day

Great thread, I have the thing all disassembled in order to swap out the rear window. My only question is about the spoiler, it's a 91 Z28 spoiler (I think it looks like a factory made GM, not sure though). It don't matter if it's original, what I need is the gaskets between the spoiler/decklid. Does anyone use urethane instead of gaskets?

timonator

iTrader: (4)

I couldn't find the gaskets. I wound up making my own out of plastic from an old splash sheild.