Has anyone made them solid so they work like the ones in the 4th gen camaros? can i just unbolt it and bolt in a 4th gen catch? i really dont like the auto pull down and would rather have just a simple close one, anyone donw this?

 

I believe earlier third gens had a normal latch. You could use one of those. I'm not sure which years though, I assume 82-84.

 

you cant just just un bolt it and bolt other one they are weld on parts

 

The latches bolt to the body.There might be a slight difference in the bolt pattern, but i believe its 4 bolts per.The striker on the deck lid also is a bolt on piece.Although i believe both are identical.

Ive removed both types at the JY.Never saw any welded on parts.Even converted my 84 to later style for a short time, but eventually switched back.

 

82-85 was the years of the non pull down latch. The older style will not just bolt into a car that came with the automatic style. I am working on a bracket to convert my 86' IROC back to the old style, but it's getting really cold here and my garage isn't heated.

Once I have something workable I will post some plans and pics.

 

I'd like to see what exactly this "non" pull down hatch is.

Unfortunately, I've just spent $40 on Ebay for a used but working pull down assembly.

 

In haste, I've made a pull down model stationary (hey, I was young and broke). Its perminent, so kinda no going back. Get yourself a couple of decent size bolts and a drill. With someone holding the decklid in place, drill through where I put the red dots (borrowed photo from TDS):


if you make the holes slightly larger than the bolts, you can make a little adjustments if the hatch is not completely flush.

please dont hack up any pull downs if they're in good shape! the previous owner left me with a mess of jumbled parts and a couple of bungie cords. After having the hatch pop open on me while driving, i had to make things work while I looked around for something in better shape

 

1ADan can you still use the release button on the console when you do this?

Also here is what a non pull down latch looks like. This was on 82-85 camaros and firebirds.

 

i've never had a car equipped with the remote pop, so not entirely sure, but i dont see why not. the bolts are only going through the slider section of the bracket, it shouldn't have any affect on the latching/unlatching aspect of the assembly.

 

How do u begin trouble shooting the pull down motor? Last night I pulled the IROC out for the New Years and the damn rear hatch pull down stopped working. The release switch on the console ativates but I cannot get the deck lid to lock back in place. Acts like the motor is not doing anything. Where do I begin to troubleshoot this problem? Thanks Tony

 

Go to Top Down Solutions and check it out. Lon has some great information, repair kits and outright units. I converted mine to a slamdown a couple of years ago, or 3(!), but I think I will swap it back. The pulldown motor unit seems to keep tension on the hatch- the slamdown leaves a little play in it out of necessity and the damn hatch squeezes and flexes...

 

One of the Best things I ever did was Chuck the Power Pull Down, and Replace it with a Factory Manual Assembly off of an 84.

Yes it involved drilling out PPD Bracket and Welding in the Manual Bracket, But looks and works Like Factory. And really only took a 1/2 hour or so.

 

I lucked out. when I bought my car the hatch motor was a busted up mess, and on my first junkyard run I found a 90 IROC CFC car that somebody had converted the hatch to a manual hatch. I love it, especially since my first third gen was a 85 sport coupe, so I got used to slamming the hatch

 

I have done this as well in the past. If you are careful with the holes, drill them nice and clean the edges with sandpaper, later in life you should be able to go back and remove the bolts and go back to a power hatch again as you are just drilling holes through the brackets and it should not affect the operation after the bolts are removed.

BUT - a word of caution ... make sure you get the 2 halves of the latch lined up really well on a total close (yuou have to climb in the back and mark the brackets while the hatch is shut all the way). I did a good job on mine, but afterwards the hatch still squeeked on road bumps from it not being tightly closed enough - I adjusted stops and adjusted the hatch assembly in `100 different ways and could never get rid of that annoying squeek.

Best option is to get the right parts and fix hatch motor or another whole assembly that works and retain the power hatch. Once it's working well, a few things I do: 1) NEVER use the key in the back, I always use the release button or the button on my aftermarket remote to open it. 2) NEVER close hard at all - I treat mine like I'm laying a baby down to rest - I pull the hatch down until it just touches the latch, and I very gently push just enough to get it to activate. 3) I NEVER let anyone else (not even my wife) open or close my hatch.

 

or you could do like me... enjoy my welded Hatch tracks and slam the crap out of it every chance I get... preferably near other other 3rd gen owners to watch their cringes, then shock when they see the smile on my face.

 

or like me and shove popsicle stickes in it to stop it from moving lol, was on a road trip and couldn't take it no more, so stopped at a gas station bought 10 popsicles. a brainfreeze and red teeth later my hatch stopped makeing noise

 

Happened to me a few weeks ago.
The exact same thing. The lock works (via key, button and remote) but the motor does nothing.
I tried everything. Anyway, after more than 3 hours of searching (without any success) I accidentally hit the motor with my screwdriver. It started moving immediately just like it should when in the down position with the hatch open.

So what was going on was this: Inside the motor assembly (the part where the wires plug in) there's a relay you can't really get to. That relay got stuck, so the motor was off and thus didn't move.

Give it a try.

 

When I bought my '89 I literally watched the PO slam the hatch several times while showing me the car and proceed to tell me that there was something wrong with the pull-down. You think?? When I got the car home out of his incapable hands, I found the motor housing and guides in 100s of pieces. The bolts were all loose too with the whole latch assembly sitting sideways and flopping around. The whole thing was just a mess along with frayed wiring. The motor worked perfectly though when tested. After a few replacement parts and a little time, it closes perfectly. I can literally set it down gently and with ONE finger press it closed and watch it suck it down like brand new. Fixed the auto cargo light while I was in there too.

It might look like a pain to fix, but once you dive into it, it's nothing really.

 

About to give up on mine completely. Spent a couple days now (and $50) cleaning, lubing, sanding and fitting new slides on the mech. Took apart the reversing switch and cleaned/lubed it. Worked great for a month or so, then it went down and no "click." That reversing switch is a real cheap piece of black plastic crap and once it wears, it's over. No replacement anywhere. But when I motor the latch in the down position and secure it the hatch won't lock. Has to be about half way up before it will latch. I'm about to the point of putting a manual reversing switch under the license plate, but I'd sure like to do away with the whole bunch of garbage. No wonder GM went bankrupt - with designs like this. So ... is there a trick to getting the hatch to trip the latch and lock down with the mechanism in the down position?