for the past like 5 years my 87 t/a has had a problem of not wanting to close the rear hatch when it gets cold. finally i had enough when it hit May and still wouldnt close (was stuck for about 3-4 weeks) and i got my butt in gear and did some research. i pulled apart the motor like 5 times, but to no avail i didnt find a problem. finally i bought a part off of Top Down Solutions, i forget what it was but it was along the lines of a reversing switch. then PRESTO it went down. worked great all summer. but then, today, i opened it....and my heart sunk when it wouldnt close again. anyone have any suggestions? i think i may have stumped TDS lol

I've had to re-build many opf these things over the years for countless cars. There are many reasons they fail - some more common then others. Here's a top down list from my experience:

Stripped gear
Bad switch
Bad Guides
Burnt out motor
Bad relay

Sometimes you can look at them and tell what's wrong. Bad guides are pretty easy to spot and so is the stripped gear. Most testing can be done with the motor installed - but to do any real work on them it's better to remove it from the car. The first thing to check - obviously - is the fuse !

If the motor doesn't seem to work at all ( no electrical activity ) then it's most likely a fuse/relay/switch or motor problem. If the motor keep making sound and nothing is happening than the guides or the Gear is suspect.

ive torn this motor apart a couple times now. the gears are fine, the guides are fine, everything is good but it is something electrical. i replaced something last year but i cant remember what it was (something to do with the reversing switch, or the like tailgate sensing switch or something) and it worked like a charm. now it sucks again lol. i just want to get it closed for the winter, have any tips? lol im trying to get it closed for now then just work on it when i have money

By your description I am guessing that you opened the hatch - the hatch motor came "UP" and then would not go "down" once you closed the hatch ?? I am also assuming that it will latch correctly - but the hatch is riased up because the motor will not go down - Is that right ?

If you are familiar with the way it's built than you should be able to dis-assemble it and re-build it at it's lowest setting ( motor down ). At least that way it can be reinstalled and used as a "slam hatch" until a perminant fix can be made.

i am not quite that familiar with it to rebuild it. but ive taken parts off of it a few times. last night and this morning it was warm out (somethign to do witha hurricane coming through florida) and it was just warm enough for the back hatch to go down on its own....so i'm going to leave it that way for as long as possible i think lol. thank you for your help, now that its down, i may just unplug the hatch motor so that it stays down