Howdy,
Good threads and info on trouble shooting and repairing hatch problems, but I could not find the answer this exact question: How do you get the hatch to latch (close completely) without the motor?

Have not owned my 87 very long, and I have only closed the hatch twice, and the motor worked. Tonight when I lowered it down... nothing, no motor. So my hatch is not latched.

 

 

Make sure it's all the way up when you're trying to latch it. Press the switch with your fingertip or pokey tool. When you hold it down the motor should pull all way down until it trips the reversing switch.. You'll hear a loud click when the reversing switch is flipped, and the motor will stop. Release the switch at that point and the motor should come all the way back up.

What can happen is if the hatch isn't opened immediately, the striker can sit on the switch and start pulling the motor back down. When that happens, it'll sometimes stop pulling down when the striker lets off the switch, which coincidentally is just far enough down the hatch usually won't latch.

 

When you say "switch" you are referring to the piece the arrow is pointing at?

 

Replace fuchsia arrow with your finger.

 

WELL THIS IS BIZARRE... I went out on my lunch break to try this... and the hatch was completely latched. What in the world?? As if the motor suddenly came alive at some point and pulled it down....

 

Sounds like you may have a little too much grease and dirt on it. The switch could be malfunctioning as well. I would remove the rear plastic panel, and clean it up. These things can be aggravating as hell, when they give you trouble. I would clean it up as best as I can with a chip brush (paintbrush with short bristles) and then hit it with lithium grease or graphite. It's good to keep these things clean and we'll well lubed.
DR.K.

 

Might be time to replace the hatch struts if they've gone soft. The pulldowns work best with good struts. When the struts lose their charge, you get issues like you're having. Run the pulldown up and down with your finger to see if the motor and switches are working. If the housing is cracked you'll probably notice it wobbles around a bit. If the guides are kaput the entire latch will usually flop around. If everything is solid and it doesnt make funny noises and runs smooth, it's probably OK. What usually kills them is people slamming the hatch closed. Normally all it takes is lowering the hatch and pushing down until the latch clicks closed, the pulldown should do the rest.