Can some body explain howthe rear hatch door is suppose to close on a 1988 trans am i take it there is a motor behind the plastic piece where the latch is . What does this motor do pull the hatch down tight cause when i shut the hatch its still sticking up a little and the worst part last week we got 6 inches of rain there was 2 inches of water standing in side the car down inside the hole in the back of the car.. I know the hatch door needs to be centered up a little.the button works on the dash to pop the hatch open just need to get it fixxed before it rains again..thanks

 

yes thats exactly what the motor does, it pulls the hatch down that extra half inch or so and it sits nice and tight..remove the panel and take the motor assembly out and check it out to see whats wrong with it. most likely the clear plastic housing on the bottom of the motor is cracked and will need to be replaced.. check out top down soultions (site sponsor on the right) they have everything u need to fix it

 

Seems like the hatch pulldown motor is bad or unplugged. Your right, it is behind the plastic cover.

The hatch release is seperate from the motor (per say, they are attached but if one doesn't work, it wont mean the other wont)

Make sure everything is plugged in first, all your ground screws are making good contact. I don't know what circuit that its on, but it could be a blown fuse. Just throwing ideas out.

When you shut the hatch, and the motor is in working order, it will automatically pulldown when the latch catches. No need to slam it or nothing either....

 

Well i took the motor off whats the white plastic pieces inside the track where the latch unit is there broke into many pieces and they fell out couldnt get them back in checked voltage at motor had 12 volts put every thing back together so i could shut the hatch with those plastic pieces missing the hatch wont shut.are those replacement motors any good do they bolt right up are they the ones you have to modif to put it back together.thanks