My pull down motor seems to be draining the battery for some reason, and I don't see the point of it anyway to be honest, so I'd like to disconnect it and just use the hatch release. Before I start any surgery, I there any reason this won't work?

Cheers Tom

 

Put another way, I want to disconnect the pull down motor but still have the power hatch release. if this possible?

 

It will work. But it won't work well just by disconnecting the motor. My motor is currently disconnected because the gear housing is broken yet again. The release still works. The extra bit you need to do is secured the latch to the body panel somehow (and at the right height). I've just rigged it with some wire to prevent the latch from moving down and breaking the gear housing even more when I'm closing the trunk.

I've noticed that it's hard to get the hatch closed tight enough for it to stop rattling. Although, I have my hatch seal reinforced with surgical tubing, so it doesn't have as much give.