My rear hatch motor/pulldown is now broke. I am dumb, let me tell you why. First of all I was putting my subs in my trunk, I came up with a good way of doing this, I open the hatch slide the subs right next to the backseat, I move the back seat up by unlatching the two latches and then pull the box back a little. Well the hatch decided it was time to close with my subs under the window, well let's just say the sub box won. All the little screws stripped out and now my motor seems to not want to work. The motor works but it will not move, I'm guessing the worm gear is stripped out now but I dont know what to do any more. Any know of any rebuild kits and casing for these things or does any one have one they want to get rid of. It is from a 91 Firebird.
Thanks Alot Guys

 

Remove the hatch surround trim to investigate what is wrong with your hatch pull-down unit. There were two types of hatch pull-down units used in 91. If yours has the metal frame, then you can purchase repair parts from my web site. I reinforce the clear plastic motor housings where they attach with 3 screws to the frame. If yours has a tan plastic frame then e-mail me. I have some used units in stock.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

 

Hey thats not dumb... WHat i did was dumb. When i first bought the car along time ago , I didnt know it had electric pulldown hatch...So I'm back there slamming the crap out of it down hard...BAM>>BAM BAM....why wont this thing close ? Broke it on day one.

Then i managed to repair it so atleast it will latch and unlatch...I used a C-clamp to hold the mechanism still...lol....been on there 5 years...talk about ghetto.

 

Got 2 huge zip ties holding mine up

 

I'm trying to help my son fix his hatch problem (90 RS)....he doesn't have a ton of money to spend and the car's just a daily driver, what is involved in just getting RID of this silly arrangement? I have a 4th gen that doesn't use this system, can't something be put in place of the motor assembly like a simple striker plate from different model/year to just make it a regular trunk latch?

 

I just put in a manual unit out a 82-85 car. I had to drill out the bracket, and spot weld in the one for the manual latch, but was fairly easy and only took about 1/2 hour.

 

to ghetto fab a "slammer" non PPD hatch assembly from a broken PPD:

remove the motor assembly from the Power Pull Down (ppd) so you have just the sliding latch (the part noramlly moved by the motor, with the latch on it) and the track. get in hatch well, have friend (with the keys in his hand) shut you int othe well, latching the deck closed. clamp it in place in the closed position. open hatch with key making sure not to move mechanism. drill hiles through guide rails. put bolt through holes, tighten with nut and lock washer. now you have ghetto fabbed a "slammer" style.

now you may be saying "i love this! i am never switching back" thats great, but there is a reason that GM switched to the PPD in the first place. people were breaking there hatch glass. don't let this happen to you... get a new/refurbished PPD from lon. look at the parts he usues... it will never break again

i have ordered a couple things from TDS. (never a PPD) and been verry happy with his products.. money well spent. in fact, after christmas i am gonna hafta throw some more money his way..

 

When mine broke I went to the junkyard, found some hatch motors and stripped them for parts. Works like a charm now.

And after it broke, I just unplugged the motor and opened and closed the hatch like a regular trunk without a problem, for quite some time.

 

I was trying to get to your web site to look at rebuild parts for my pull down for my 91 formula. It is the metal one and all works but I think the gears are stripped as it does not pull down. It tries if I help it along but it does not latch. When I click on the link I am forced to a survey that I am not interested in filling out. Please advise. Also a question, I have the unit completely loose except for the cable to the key lock. It appears that the white plastic housing just pushed on and latches, but I can not find a release to let me remove it. I do not want to force it for fear of breaking something. Can you advise? Thank you Erv in Phoenix area.

 

I'm curious what link you are following. There are no surveys on my web site that I am aware of.

Take a look at the Tech article I wrote that is posted on TGO under the General Repair category. Here is a link to it:https://www.thirdgen.org/tech/hatchpulldown.pdf

Lon Salgren

 

Instructions for repairing 91-92 like this?

is there a way to also add the popper solenoid to it?

 

I have not written instructions to repair the 91.5-92 style.

No, there is no way to add a solenoid release as there was on the earlier style. There is also no need. Push the button or turn the key and the unit powers up, then releases the latch and the hatch hook is thrown free of the latch by the spring.

I can and do repair these. There are a few tricky things to repairing them that revolve around the latch release block that is attached to the back side ov the frame or the plastic lever on the back side of the latch. If either of these are missing or broken the pull-down unit will not release when it reaches the top of the "up" cycle. If that is what you are experiencing then you have a starting point to look at. Sorry, it is too complicated to explain by writing.

If the lever is missing (common failure), then order a used latch assy for the 91.5-92 pull-down unit from my site. The latch release block is also available on my site.

Lon Salgren