Decklid is hard to close

[garment]

Hi Pelicans:

The standard deck lid on my ‘83SC is getting hard to close. No issues in opening, the handle only requires a small tug and the decklid pops up nicely.

I’ve greased both parts of the latch, no detectable change.

What steps should I take to fix this problem?

Thanks, Pelicans!

[PeteKz]

Do you mean “hard to close,” or hard to latch? It’s usually the latter problem.

[pmax]

Are your bumper stops screwed in completely ?

[917_Langheck]

Originally Posted by pmax

Are your bumper stops screwed in completely ?

Was just going to suggest similar. Put in new bump stops but don't run them all the way down; they should provide just a little resistance which helps keep the latch bar tight in the receiver and, counterintuitively, makes closing the lid easier.

[garment]

I ran the bumpers in as much as they would go (meaning they had the lowest possible profile) and the decklid seems to latch a bit easier.

Is there anything I should be doing to make the latching even easier?

[proporsche]

let`s see your latch, how it is adjusted?

Ivan

[EC900]

One other thing about the lid bumpers is they allow for height adjustment so the lid matches height of the body quarters as well as cushioning for shutting.

So - if lid not staying shut….

I’d check that position of the little crescent shaped catch, which is adjustable and controlled by the cable pull. Cable could become a bit stretched over time from pulling, i.e. - the more you pull the lever the more the catch moves to the left and gets out of the way of the lid pin.
Maybe the lid pin needs adjustment (?) - so check if its loose, but my pin seems pretty sturdy, there’s a nut at the top that holds the pin stem that you loosen to raise/lower.

Check that cable and latch are well lubed too. The adjustment and any adjustments should be no more than a thread or so to avoid lid becoming jammed shut.

[blucille]

I like EC900's thinking. BTW, the latch has a fail-safe that could be contributing. In the case of a cable failure, the crescent will actually retract, which means if the cable is stretched or adjusted loose, that crescent would smaller than usual, as it would be if the cable was adjusted too tight.

So, for maximum crescent/moonage, you have to cable the cable tension just right.

[theiceman]

A little threadjack but somewhat related.

i have the opposite problem actually.. my lid never pops up .. I think it is because it is an SC maybe but a tail has been added at some point in its life so the lid is heavier , so when i pull the cable it doesnt pop up at all..
Last night for the first time ever it was stuck.. . I drove it around for a bit and with the body twisting it opened when i tried again.

I was considering doing some adjustments like stretching the spring and such so it pops up the lid, but i'm a little worried as mentioned that if i don't get it back perfect it will jamb shut .. ( other than mark locations with a paint pen)
Is there any proactive measures i can take in case this happens. Anything i can do to make life easier if i do happen to make a mistake and it jambs shut ??

Thanks

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by theiceman

A little threadjack but somewhat related.

i have the opposite problem actually.. my lid never pops up .. I think it is because it is an SC maybe but a tail has been added at some point in its life so the lid is heavier , so when i pull the cable it doesnt pop up at all..
Last night for the first time ever it was stuck.. . I drove it around for a bit and with the body twisting it opened when i tried again.

I was considering doing some adjustments like stretching the spring and such so it pops up the lid, but i'm a little worried as mentioned that if i don't get it back perfect it will jamb shut .. ( other than mark locations with a paint pen)
Is there any proactive measures i can take in case this happens. Anything i can do to make life easier if i do happen to make a mistake and it jambs shut ??

Thanks

extend the rubber stops..that should solve your problem,oh ya lube the latch and the male on top too..

Ivan

[theiceman]

Originally Posted by proporsche

extend the rubber stops..that should solve your problem,oh ya lube the latch and the male on top too..

Ivan

Ivan i was so extended my rubber stops kept falling out lol.... ill add a bit more lube though , that may help.. i'm terrified of adjusting as i'm in fear of the worst lol...

[EC900]

Just a possibility, but don’t underestimate the uplift the lid struts might provide.
If one or both are weak they might not have enough oomph to pop the lid up, perhaps the geometry of the hinges has a bit of lift just to get them released those couple inches. Cheap enough to replace as a periodic maintenance item anyway.

Although I’m not sure if anyone ever tried to pop the lid without any struts at all as they primarily allow hold the lid up and open.

Rubber stops falling out? Add a shim to the frame to build up the surface, I think the tolerance between frame and rubber stop is a minimal adjustment unless the body work was damaged.

If you can still open the lid, slide a piece of paper or thin cardboard between frame and rubber stop. With the lid closed, the paper strips should have some resistance from being pulled out, maybe on side is too high or too low. I don’t know what a proper height would be but it can affect the look of the body gap lines. So just enough tension to avoid lid from rattling.

This paper strip tensioning under the rubber stops method is difficult to do alone…



This latch pin adjustment might be necessary but as stated before, it’s darn tight on mine but if anyone replaced the lid it certain to be a bit of adjustment.



Edit: I forgot to mention in photo of the latch (male) pin…that spring that surrounds it (held in place by a cup washer) is what gives the initial force to open the lid when handle is pulled. There is a return spring in the frame under the latch in previous photos that could also loose some of its tension that’s forbidding the crescent shaped catch to retract.
Remember = any additional adjustments should be minute.

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by theiceman

Ivan i was so extended my rubber stops kept falling out lol.... ill add a bit more lube though , that may help.. i'm terrified of adjusting as i'm in fear of the worst lol...

You have to adjust the male point on top the hood -male goes into female-latch,i have mentioned and Ec900 just shown the picture.......

Ivan

[garment]

Originally Posted by proporsche

let`s see your latch, how it is adjusted?

Ivan

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by garment

to start with ..your upper piece has loose bolts--do you know that one?
Ivan

[theiceman]

Originally Posted by proporsche

You have to adjust the male point on top the hood -male goes into female-latch,i have mentioned and Ec900 just shown the picture.......

Ivan

yeah il have a look .. i dont think that is though .. i think the thing is just too heavy for the spring to push up.

[garment]

They WERE a bit loose - thanks!

Maybe a small change in the force needed to latch the decklid now.

Originally Posted by proporsche

to start with ..your upper piece has loose bolts--do you know that one?
Ivan

[garment]

Originally Posted by EC900

One other thing about the lid bumpers is they allow for height adjustment so the lid matches height of the body quarters as well as cushioning for shutting.

It never occurred to me that the bumpers may need to be adjusted asymmetrically.

I just played a bit with the height of the driver’s side bumper, which was sitting a hair low relative to the quarter panel. Likewise, the passenger side was a bit high. Voila! Symmetrical height at the rear most portion of the decklid! Thanks!

[EC900]

garment or iceman …
For reference, although your assembly is slightly different, in that case add another 1/8” to compensate the thickness of the plate.

[EC900]

Garment -
The strike plate looks centered in your picture.
Once you tighten the loose bolts, make sure you don’t loose that position.
You could sprinkle some powder on the strike plate, or even out that layer of grease and then lower the pin just to make contact and get an imprint to be sure it’s lining up and centered. Tighten and align as you go.