How do I take this part off and what does it do? Whatever it is, its clearly the only thing preventing my trunk from closing all the way..

I have a 92 rs with t tops.

 

That is the latch, Looks pretty bent up. Should be replaced and then your hatch should close fine.

 

The latch itself is fine. I tested it with a screwdriver. It even works with the hood it just doesn't close all the way. That silverish metal part with the hole and a spring is what's broken, the one above the latch. I would like to take it off so I can close the hood. It seems to be attached with a rivet that's closed off on both ends. Are you saying it's part of the latch and it's not supposed to be separated? I could see that because most other pieces seen to be removable.

I don't see this piece on any other third gens at the junkyard.
was looking at parts and it seems that the 92 has a different trunk latch than most years? I wanna get one at the junkyard but i haven't found one that looks the same yet.

 

My Donor 92Z28 had that piece too, not really sure what the purpose of it is.

When the hatch is up, it moves back and forth. But when the pull down is all the way down, its locked and you can't move it.

I have no idea what it actually does though.

 

I just got one from a used parts yard.. The whole assembly.. It came with the electrical connector but I just used my old one since my old motor would spin, it just wouldn't stop spinning. Well first of all the motor doesnt work.. Could using my old connector be the problem? I doubt it because like I said my old motor would spin..

The biggest problem is that the trunk still won't close! It won't even latch now! I tried moving the assembly up and down but it doesnt work in any position. The latch looks bad. The shop is fairly reputable, was recommended by the chevy dealership, and the dude assured me it was tested, the motor too. Seems to me they sold me a ****ed up part though...

Please take a look, see if this latch looks ****ed up. The connector im talking about is in the bottom right, the one with 5 wires


Update:

Nevermind, went back to the store, pulled another one from their yard, and it works like a dream! I shoulda asked for a discount but **** it.

 

That part in question is the frame that contains the coil spring that pops the hatch hook free of the latch once the latch has been rotated by the lever on the backside of the latch. Unlike the 1986-91 pull-down units, the latch doesn't release the hatch hook until near the top of the up cycle. There is a plastic lever on the back side of the latch that contacts a ramp that is screwed to the back side of the frame. As the lever contacts that ramp it is rotated as the latch assy is going up. Once that plastic lever has been rotated 90 degrees it causes the latch to release the hatch hook. Once the hatch hook is free of the latch that coil spring pops the hook free of the latch.

If your latch is not releasing when the hatch pull-down unit rises it is most likely that the plastic lever has broken off of the back side of the latch. A second but less common reason is that that ramp is missing from the housing.

I should add that I sell the latch assy you need for the 91.5-92 pull-down unit and the latch release ramp. Both are listed on my web site under hatch pull-down items. You may also have a broken gear nut if the motor is running and not pulling down.


You'll see the cage for the coil spring on the far left in the picture attached. The plastic lever that rotates to release the latch is shown in the center of the picture.

Here is a link to the latch assy on my web site: http://www.top-downsolutions.com/hat...latch-assembly

Lon Salgren