Hey guys,

I just got myself a 1985 Trans Am. It was originally a 305 automatic car, but now it's got a 350 with a 5-speed manual. I'm sure that I'm going to find plenty of electrical gremlins.

Well I was trying to open the hatch to clean out a bunch of crap the previous owner left in there and I think maybe the motor is burnt out? If I push the button, all I hear is a click and no motor noise at all.

None of the keys I was given seem to work either. I can get them pretty far in, but they won't turn at all.

How to I get this hatch open without breaking that much stuff? I'm just about ready to drill the lock out. The rear hatch panel is in place so I've got no access to the motor.

Thanks in advance!

 

There was no hatch pull-down motor for 1982 through 85. 1986 was the first year for it. If you are hearing the hatch release solenoid CLICK, great! Maybe you can get it open by having someone grab hold of it and shake and pound on the hatch while you press the switch. If not you'll need to cut a window in the plastic rear hatch surround trim panel to unbolt the solenoid and manually release the hatch. This would mean replacing that trim panel which is getting more difficult with fewer 82-85 F-bodies in the PAP yards. You could also try using a sawzall and a long metal cutting blade to cut off the hatch hook. You may damage the hatch seal, but again it is not that hard to replace the seal with either a new one or another used one while you are getting that replacement hatch hook.

At the PAP yards I pop them open easily by drilling around the lock and using a chisel to enlarge the hole, then pull out the lock and pull the release cable. But this is a lot more damage that you'd need to repair after the task of popping the hood is done. Sometimes I'll crawl in the hatch area and cut the window as I've described earlier.

You didn't mention it, but I'm guessing your hatch is sticking out too far to the rear of the car which is caused by the strong pneumatic struts pressing on the hatch and moving the metal portion that attaches to the hatch glass to the rear. This will cause the hatch hook to be too far to the rear and the latch is grabbing on the bend of the hatch hook instead of the flat horizontal portion of the hook.

Lon

 

Insightful. When he does finaly get into the trunk, what is the fix for moving the hatch back up into its correct position? Ive noticed that most (including mine) have this problem where the hatch sits too far back on the car. Is it just a matter of loosening the hinge bolts at the glass and sliding the hatch back up?

 

Mine is the same way and I've been wondering how to fix it

 

There was a Tech Article on fixing a mis-aligned hatch on the Tech Articles section here on Thirdgen.org.

Lon Salgren

 

There's usually not enough 'slack' in the body mounting holes to move it back far enough,.... & I don't advise 'slotting' the body holes or making them bigger !!

New seals help a little so if a new seal is needed - change it before adjusting the hatch. Shims under the roof/hatch hinges are usually the best way. Seems like I always found a different combination of shims under each hatch hinge I've taken off.

 

P.S turd_gen; If your lucky your rear hatch panel will have a optional hatch area light. In the past I've been able to remove this light and it's switch and (barely) access the 10mm bolt that holds the power solenoid to the hatch lock. If you can remove the 10 mm bolt - you should be able to move the solenoid out of the way - gaining access to the 'pin' inside the latch that locks it. Use a long screwdriver to move that 'pin' inside the latch and the hatch lock will release.

Here's what the set-up looks like behind the rear hatch panel:



This little operation is a MAJOR PITA, but it has allowed me to open the hatch without a key and no power before -----> WITHOUT destroying ( or even harming ) the rear hatch panel.

Good Luck !

 

I finally had some warmer weather this past weekend so I got around to fixing this.

This whole process would have been a lot easier if I had know at the time how easy it is to remove the trunk cover bar. In case anyone is as daft as I am, the bar is spring loaded and all you have to do is tug hard on it and it will pop right out of it's socket.

Anyway, I crawled into my back seat and used a pry bar to lift the corners of the plastic rear hatch panel. My car doesn't have the rear hatch light, so I either had to drill holes in the panel or rip it out. I chose the latter.

Once I ripped my panel out (which caused surprisingly minimal damage) I had full access to the lock mechanism and solenoid. Lonsal was correct, my car does not have the motorized latch.

I tried prying the lock open with a number of tools, but it was jammed up pretty good. Then I realized there are just three screws holding the lock mechanism in place and one screw holding the solenoid. So I used a 10mm socket with a few extensions and just removed those from the body, then the hatch opened right up.

I didn't have time to test if my solenoid is working or not, but I was able to determine that the lock cylinder is frigged and I'll have to replace it. I may remove the solenoid altogether and just use the hatch manually, but we'll see.

Once you have the hatch open, it's easy to release the latch, then you can grease it up and put it back assuming all your stuff is working properly.

Thanks everyone for the help!

 

Good to hear that you got it open with minimal damage to the panels !