Okay so it's been broken since I have owned the car. And even with my trunk lid down it still looks popped and now that it's warm, well, I'm annoyed and willing to work on it. <--- longest run on sentence ever.
Is there any way to find out if my motor is good or if it's a wiring problem, and if so what then. Also if the motor is shot, is there a trunk lid latch thats not mechanical that will just close and hold it all the way down? I don't EVER use the button on the inside, mainly because it never worked to begin with. I also searched but I came up with nothing except where I can buy the housing and gear nut. Thanks for your help guys.

 

It is a job that takes the right parts and couple of hours.
First downlaod the hatch instructions from Top down solution to get started. (note: it is a big help) Take the rear cover off and check what broken.
Normal items that will need replaced:
1) motor & housing
2) Gear nut (100% failure rate)
3) nylon guides for the slidles (another part with high failure rate.
These are the most common parts. Wiring problems the least unless someone already diconnected the motor.
Been there and done it. Parts should be around $100.
Good luck

 

Thanks man. Soon as I get out of work I'm on it.

 

mine was busted on my old trans am when i bought the car..i junk yarded another one and it went i finally got a non electrical one from a dif year and had it welded on

 

The half a-- morron fix.

 

Maybe so, but his works and mine sucks lol. On another note, I would love to know why GM decided to make a gear out of plastic, it is definitely my bane and it has completely deteriorated.

 

if a guy had the resources, could he recreate one of those gears and make it out of metal, or is that a bad idea? im just thinking, my dad is a machinest and i know my way around the shop.

 

Spend the $10 and buy a replacement gear, it is not worth effort.

 

if the hatch mechanism isn't broken, and will hold the hatch where it is, and there is something wrong electrically, you can spin the motor down to a point where the hatch will close, and be closed fully. This will give you a working hatch until you can fix it, or just let it work like a regular mechanical hatch, if you prefer.

on the 92, pull out the rear panel, with the big plastic screws and unplug the small hatch light. Look on the drivers side of the electric motor (metal) can, and you will be able to see the two metal contacts that go to the brushes. This is kinda tough to see, but they are there, two parallel metal spots below the motor can, in the plastic, in a narrow slit. If you take a battery,( I have one of those 'jumper' packs) and run wires from that to those contacts, this will make the motor spin. I usually use test leads, so they have a nice solid point, and just touch them to the leads. When you do that, the motor will spin. You have to figure out which way will raise and lower the mechanism, and then it's trial and error until the hatch is high enough that it catches, yet low enough that it seals properly. If the motor doesn't spin, it's bad. Make sure to unplug the relay that is sitting there, so that the motor won't spin after you make the adjustment. If the switch or relay are intermittent, they might actually work after you've moved the motor, and will undo what you have just done.

 

This what I did and worked out great- elongate the mounting holes so the motor can be lowered and then I just need to close the hatch will a little force and lays flat and never had a problem so far 5 years later.

 

I couldn't get it going on my last Firebird, so I just drilled into the moving metal part and the rails and bolted everything together. Manual trunk latch, just like every other car.

 

I did a search but I can't seem to find any information on an after market dealer for a trunk pull down assembly for my 87 IROCZ.........can anybody help?

thank you

 

Try this one on ebay.. Item number: 360037464521 Hatch Pull down repair kit.. has the slides and gear and instructions etc.
Hope that helps.

 

I bought a whole unit for $20 at the JY but haven't put it in yet, but when mine broke I took out the motor and cranked down the latch by spinning the shaft, then you just slam it shut like any other car.

 

Credit to Top Down Solutions. I bought one of their replacement kits and my 14 year old son (pretty handy with tools) installed it for me. The only problem we had with their kit was; we had to tweak the replacement guides with a dremel tool. Great instructions and quality replacement parts.

 

they even have the whole assy. , they have all parts needed . anyone with a little mech. talent should be able to fix one . tip on removal , drill a small alignment hole through bracket and mounting point before removal . after repair , perfect re-alignment . good luck .