Im thinking of tryin to align the hatch this weekend, not the deck lid. Im sure its the hatch becuz there is a larger gap on the left side then the right side becuz the right side has been rubbing for years and well its down to bare metal and has surface rust on it.

ive serched and all i can find is about the deck lid and not the hatch itself. If i unbolt those 4 bolts holding the hatch on is there enuff play there to move it around enuff to get things right?

if you guys can let me know before this weekend it would be great, i really want to put my 5in spoiler on soon before winter really hits hard.

 

Yeah there is play, may be a bit hard to just "move" around tho. I wouldn't call our hatches light. Another thing I needed new gas shocks after my spoiler (92 RS) Cause the added weight made the shocks almost useless... another thing to keep in mind

 

well im goin to have my brother help me so it should be that hard, and my hatch struts arent that good but i think ill pick up a set at work (gotta love the 20% discount )

 

Let us know how it goes. Take it easy on the hatch glass. It is really heavy.......................and OLD.


I have the same problem on my IROC and have not found anything about fixing it.

 

Before you loosen the bolts, use some touch up paint across the nut and onto the glass. This way you'll know how far to go when you tighten the nuts back on. If you over tighten them, the window will shatter.

I'd recommend loosening the inner 2 nuts, then loosen just one outside nut enough to twist the hatch. Carefully tighten the one outside nut enough so that you can close the hatch to check alignment. There are infinite combinations to move the hatch, so you might be there awhile!

 

The paint marks are a good idea,....... I use markers but on some colors/matierials the marker dosn't show up !!


Take the 2 hatch shocks off at the hatch
Remove the headliner trim
loosen or remove all the hatch hinge bolts
Close the hatch

Get in the car & from the rear seat - lift the hatch up a little and set it back down slowly. Watch the hinge bolts to see how they float in the holes to be sure they are OK.

Have your brother push on the hatch till it looks good to him from the outside. He should only need to use a little pressure to push the hatch "up" the car & into place.

Bring the 2 center-most bolts in place and tighten them down evenly. Install the outer-most bolts "Snug". Get out and check the adjustment. Re-ajust with more pressure to the hatch; or, Apply sealant and tighen the last 2 bolts - then loosen the center bolts and apply sealant and re-tourqe.

Don't try to test open/close the hatch till all 4 bolts are secured.


Sometimes the hard sealing compond that was originally used on the hinges takes a "square" shape and can cause a problem when trying to adjust the hatch glass. You will see what I mean when you make the adjustments !! If that's the case then just cut the old sealant away first,........................... more work - but a better adjustment !

 

those last 2 post are very very helpfull, thanx guys. now u mentioned the bolt being to tight and might break the glass ill be alot more carefull tighting them then any other bolts i tighten

 

No Sweat --------->

If you adjust the hatch by the top hinges than you don't need to worry about the glass breaking. It will be a Hinge-to-body connection so torque then down good and tight !!

I blew out a hatch one time while installing a replacement deck lid........ over torque'd the bolts running thru the glass I guess !!! It was also freezing cold that day and I'm sure that played a part in the glass breaking !

 

yeah im goin to unbolt the bolts on the hinge like where the bolts come threw the body and attach to the hinge for the hatch, so i dont think ill be messin with the glass much.

what should i use as a sealant after i take off the clear stuff i guess the factory put on there? im thinkin just some regular clear silcone.

 

Use anything that will make a tight seal !!!!

 

okay sounds good

 

Be careful when retightening the bolts. When I was retightening one that goes from the hinge to the body, it had a little airpocket in it and snapped pretty easily. Now it squeeks and drives me nuts