Rear Hatch struts question
 

Hi All,

So I recently replaced my hood and rear hatch struts. I cannot believe it took me this long to do this! I finally have a hood that stays open AND my hatch pops open at a press of the release by my left knee! Best ROI for anything I've done so far.

However, when replacing the rear struts, I found that only one of the spade connectors was still there, the other one has been broken off.

I have ordered some spade connectors and a soldering iron to repair...so here is the question(s):

Do these connections affect the rear defroster? Is there anything else they affect?

Thanks in advance,

GHEN

I think that they are for powering the storage area lights and the defroster.

Also, since you have new, fully-charged hatch struts, keep an eye out for binding of the latch pins and separation of the glass from the metal frame at the top.

Some gas struts are stronger than others and tend to push the hatch glass rearward harder when closed and fully compressed. Binding of the latch pins is one of the first indicators of glass separation.

The light switch is part of the RH strut.

Thanks

Thanks, any preventative measures?

GHEN

Not really, unless you want to unhook the struts before you close the hatch each time and that is no better than having bad struts. Just use the struts until you see glass separation then take the glass off of the frame, clean the old dried cement off and re-cement the glass to the frame. There are some youtube videos on this topic.

You may not have any separation trouble, as I have heard that some struts sold for the hatch have lower internal gas pressures than others, depending on the manufacturer.

Did you keep the old struts? If so reinstall them, and use a walking stick to prop the hatch open.

Why would I do that? If the glass becomes a problem I'll fix it.

GHEN

The glass is not an easy fix, in fact lots have tried and afaik all have failed to perform a permanent fix. I kept my old worn struts on because of this.

The reason is because the metal frame stretches/deforms at the side angles.

I'm torn.

I appreciate the info and advice.

I had read that this can be exacerbated by closing the rear hatch from one corner or the other, therefore twisting the rear hatch.

GHEN

Good point

Yes, the rear hatch glass has always been fragile on the 944's due to the lightness of the frame, the glass to frame bond and just the massive size and weight of the glass.

I bought my '84 new and when I went to pick it up, before they would give me the keys, the salesman had to give me a freakin' short course on how to close the hatch properly. Because, he said, they were having problems with the glass detaching or with only one latch catching because the hatch was often being cocked sideways when closing it.

The dealer said to only close the hatch with two hands, spaced an equal distance from the center of the spoiler or, one hand at the center of the spoiler in order to avoid any twisting of the hatch as it closed and to assure full engagement of both of the latch pins.

As the hatch ages and stretches the hatch pin alignment changes and can become off center, and the hatch becomes harder to open and close and could cause further stress and damage.