I'm planning to remove my hatch next week so I can remove some tint, but I would like to fix the alignment problem too. The right side is too far back around 3/4", the left side is only about 1/4" too far. The top looks fairly even, although I may be able to adjust it slightly. Does the bottom of the hatch adjust any, or just the top? See pics below....

Left side - http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...GTA/lhatch.jpg

Right side _ http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...GTA/rhatch.jpg

Top_ http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...uy/GTA/top.jpg

 

I think I found the page with the info I need. https://www.thirdgen.org/hatchalign

If I'm wrong, please someone let me know. LOL

 

i was going to suggest that you look for that guide. i'd say you are on the right track. good luck and let me know how it works out.. i need to do that to mine.

 

Okay, I took my hatch off today and removed my tint, glass is now flawless . I have all of bolts undone and the spoiler is now off too. My problem now is the bottom part doesn't seem to want to come apart from the glass. I removed the phillips head screws from the side trim too. Is there glue under there or something . I thought it was just a piece of rubber weatherstrip. Also, I plan on going back with a fiberglass OER spoiler. Will I need to keep the little brackets along the edge of the hatch trim that held the rubber one on?

 

Anyone?

 

I wanted to post a pic of what the hatch looks like without the metal plate (in case anybody wants to know). It was a job removing that metal, and it takes patience. The weatherstrip is basically like thick roofing tar. I had to use a very thin piece of metal ("watch your step" sign) to wedge back and forth between the glass and metal to break loose the tar. My trim around the glass was a little rusty so I cleaned it with my dremel and put a few coats of Rust-Oleum satin black on it. My hinge bolts were also rusty so I cleaned and painted them too. The rubber washers were completely gone so I bought new ones, that's probably some of that grinding noise I have been hearing coming from the hatch.

 

I did exactly what you are doing now, except my hatch is still about 1/8th of an inch out from the body, looks a lot better than the 1/2" it was, but can't get it to go further. Any suggestions anyone?

 

My hatch is all done, but it also still sticks out further than it should. Both sides now are about 1/4" too far back, but that's still better than the 3/4" gap that was on the right side. I don't understand how they get like this, everything that could possibly be moved forward has been moved forward.

 

there are 2 adj on the hatrch glass. one is where it bolts to the body and the other is where the glass bolts to the hinges. try the body first and then do the glass to hinge adj.
a lil tip i found, skip the tech article i the tech section. it tells you to lidt the glass and all that. i just un hooked my hatch struts from the hatch first then the body (you can strip the holes from the pressure). shut the hatch and it will easily scoot to where you need it to. mine lined up pretty good this way. as for the lower panel, i believe there is some adj in this area but havent dove that dep into the glass/panel area.

 

I did adjust the hinges as far as they would go to. I removed them completely because I repainted them and put new rubber washers under the bolt heads. Removing the bottom panel from the glass is a B*TCH ! It takes an hour just to scrape that black gunk off. If you ever do it don't expect to get it done in a day, 2-3 days is more like it. I still need to test mine to see if it's watertight. I used black silicone based adhesive caulk that I bought from Lowes.