Hatch release probs
 

Okay. I have about decided to quit fixing things on my 944. I finally had enough of using a broomstick to hold open the rear hatch and decided to do something about it. I replaced both shocks and it goes up great. At the same time, I replaced the broken hatch release cable so I can pop open the hatch from up front. Cool. I've always wanted that to work. So a couple of days after fixing this, I started having a problem where the driver's side latch would pop open after hitting a bump. I investigated the problem and discovered that a previous owner did not have any 6mm nuts, so he opted to use zip-ties to hold on the latch. I replaced the zip-ties with nuts, another problem solved. This worked fine for a few days, until I got to the music festival this weekend. When my buddy and I were needing to pop open the rear hatch to unload our gear, the passenger side latch would not release at all. All weekend we have had to reach in from the front doors to load/unload our junk. When I get back home, any ideas as to what the problem is with the passenger side?

Thanks,

George

The hatch won't open with the key?

pins aren't adjusted right and pulling too tight.

have a 2nd person push down over the pins while you work the key.

It also helps if you dont overtighten those 6mm nuts, that puts a squeeze on the whole assembly and makes it harder for the catches to slide within it. Altough you can't actually open the catches you can attempt to clean them and re-grease them.
Finally if you get desperate enough you can buy new catches from Porsche that are a redesgin, likely to address just this problem. They changed it from the dual striker to a single striker with more throw.

what 6mm nuts, the hex on the pins are 13mm.

There is another partial fix for the latch squeeze problem. the squeezing causes the latch to stick in the open position adn the hatch will pop open on bumps.

There is a round recess in the body where the 6mm bolts attach. A fairly thick washer between the latch and the body that is a small enough diameter to fit in the round recess will relieve the squeezing on the latch and place all of the presure on the outside ends o the latch where the bolts go thru.

the downside is you can't adjust the latch position as well and the remote unlock may not work as well. But at least your latchs will not stick open and the hatch won't be popping open on bumps.

sorry, i don't buy that.

after trial and error of adjusting the pins for both latching properly and releasing ok with the remote switch by the hood release, you find the happy medium.

this is the exact problem i fixed yesturday. I even put on the new struts as you did. What I did was crawl into the hatch with an adjustable wrench while my wife worked the key back and forth. I pulled the carpet back so I had access to the latch areas. while she was working the key back and forth I could see both rods were working correctly but then I noticed the latch had twisted and turned a bit on the 2 mounting screws which hold the latch and drip tray/ tube. It turned enough so when the rod would pull it wouldn't release the latch all the way. I loosened the 2 bolts and rotated the latch in the oposite direction the rod wanted to pull it and then the latch released and the hatch popped open. I realigned the latch to the appropriate position and tightened it down. Don't worry about "crushing" the latch but make sure to try it a couple of times. I also lubed the whole deal so it is smooth as silk. I no longer have to almost break my key in the lock to try to get the dang thing open :)

Speedy:)

Maybe my latches were worn but i adjusted them many times and couldn't get it to work right. I found if they were tight enough not to move they would stick open sometimes and the hatch would pop open. Or if they were loose enough to spring close they then would slide around and then the hatch couldn't be opened. I haven't had any problems with this washer setup for close to a year! See how yours work out.

Wow. I am amazed with all the responses. I got home this afternoon, unloaded the car and crawled back there. Apparently, the rod connecting the passenger side latch to the locking mechanism had come out of the little plastic grommet holding it in place. When I replaced the cable from the motor to the locking mechanism, apparently I did not snap the rod back in place.

glad you got it.

don't be a stranger.

Speedy:)