rear hatch problems helper

[adida(r 944)]

here is what i did recently to help fix my REALLY STICKY rear hatch on a 85/1 944 (dont know if they all have this kind of settup).

if the key turns over on the hatch lock and wont pop open unless you use other force, may not always be the pins needing adjustment, could be the pin lockers not opening all the way cuasing it to stick or jam.

here is a little way to fix it.

with the hatch open take your finger or a screw driver and check the pin lockers to see if they can open up a bit more, you'll see what i mean when you do it. if it can than keep reading

i removed the Pin Lockers completly. take your time some parts are plastic like the Ball Joint slide that is used to open and close the mechanism. also remove the rubber garment or wheather stripping that sits in the pocket, may have to pull up the wheather stripping for the hatch i did but may not be nessesary.

on the connecting rod there should be a screwd on plastic piece that needs to be screwd on a little more (think i screwd mine up 2 rotations to help) reattach the pin locker leave it loose youll need to adjust it. crawl inside the car so your facing the rear. close the hatch down to were the pins are just touching the pin lockers.
line up the Pin lockers untill you can feel the hatch fall into place. let the hatch close all the way. bet you think you need to get out huh, NO NEED the hatch lock is right there turn it and use your head or a free hand and lift open. tighten the pin lockers down the rest of the way. if its still sticky then repete this process untill its easier to open

this should help. My rear hatch is 100% easier to open by doing this. didnt even have to touch the hatch Pins. or buy new parts

good luck

[Brando]

Can you come fix my hatch? I think it's misaligned because one pin catches fine, the other sticks under the latching hole on the body.

[adida(r 944)]

its not as hard as it sounds took me about an hour of tinkering to get it right

[SoCal Driver]

Brandon, When the pin catches on the body the glass is pulling out of the frame.

[Brando]

Eeeek!

[winddance]

I decided to abort the fatal engineering feats of porsche and put in a manual cable release for the hatchback. I now feel like a real man again. I simply pull the lever, the hatchback rises like an infidel dog worshipping his pagan gods, and I have quick and easy access to all the secrets of my less than ample storage compartment.

[ae1969]

Now how many of you had the hatch pop open while driving.

It looks reallllll cool.

Its like those spoilers that rise with how fast you are going except its the bumps on the roads that trigger it....

[winddance]

Is that question moot? Of course, all of have!

[Brando]

I just had that happen today ae... And socal is right. The passenger's side pin keeps popping out. I freaked today when i saw the glass and the rubber spoiler had a huge gap between them! This weekend i'll be re-aligning my hatch so it closes PROPERLY.

Winddance, can you take a few pics and maybe a how-to on making it a manual cable release?? That sounds freakin awesome.

[winddance]

I'm actually bbells. 2 log in names. Don't know how that happened. I'll shoot some digital photos after my vacation -going to the canadian border fishing - and give you a summary on it. The manual hatch release works great, takes about 1/2 hr.