Hatch Keeps opening on the Move

EddySpaghetti · May 5, 2011

Hi,

The last time I gave my car a good outing was a drive from Perth to London at Christmas time - A couple of annoying things went wrong (windscreen washer pump died, and the headlights were intermittent due to a bad indicator stalk) but the rear hatch was fine, and I was 'stretching its legs' on the drive to get home before dark (because of the headlight problem).

Since then it has only sat outside my Dad's house for a month, and then in a dry garage, but now I can't drive more than 100m without the rear hatch opening. I've lubricated the latches (to make sure they shut properly) and the bellcrank assembly in the middle for the same reason. I don't hear the motor operating before the hatch 'releases' so I guess it must be opening due to a mechanical issue, not because the motor is actuating. The funny thing is that it happens even if I drive along a really smooth road, and I can't 'pull' the tailgate open by hand from the back once the pins are engaged - I am literally lifting the whole back of the car and the pins don't release.

My first thought is to get some new pins (maybe they will have 'sharper' edges that will engage better?), but they probably wont arrive before I have to go abroad again, so I'd be interested in other thoughts before I fall back on that option and potentially find that they don't fix it.

Thanks!

Eddy

Lowtimer · May 5, 2011

If you have no reason to believe the car has had new pins it will definitely benefit from them. I hat an intermittent pin release on one side, so it did not fly open, but it did cause the thing to squeak and creak like mad - cured with new pins.

ghost · May 5, 2011

i had this problem with mine after fitting a new rubber seal and struts. This put too much strain on the pins and clamps. I changed the pins which helped, but the hatch still occasionally opened on one side (thankfully not fully). So next I changed the worn out clamps (they were surprisingly cheap from an OPC). Everything now works perfectly.
It's worth checking that all is adjusted correctly - and don't over tighten the clamp bolts as this will prevent the jaws from springing out properly to secure the pins.

Northern924 · May 6, 2011

Its been said but check the pins and clamps, I had an issue that one side would creak when going over bumps even though it was still locked down, one side would be locked tight but if I pulled quite hard on the other side it would pop open, mine just needed some adjustment of the pin length but I suspect it'll need a new clamp at some point in the future

EddySpaghetti · May 6, 2011

This is the kind of issue I like!

Called a couple of OPC's yesterday, paid over the phone at 4pm, pins arrived this morning by 11 and I fitted them in ten minutes just before the car was due its MOT.

I'll find out later this evening whether it passed!

Now who would have thought that hatch pins would be so easy, but the fricking windscreen washer pump would have been such a total PITA to change, and more expensive! (£15 from Halfords as against £8 for two new pins including postage from OPC Chesire).

Wish me luck for the MOT!

TTM · May 6, 2011

I attempted to replace hatch pins in the past but they were soooo tight I was concerned with breaking something...
How tight were yours?

ghost · May 6, 2011

VERY tight. Had to soak with penetrating oil overnight.

EddySpaghetti · May 10, 2011

Mine were not that tight, but I had tinkered with them a bit when I first got the car to stop the rear hatch creaking a bit - only two years ago.

I released the locknut first then gripped the old pins with a big set of pliers and they came out OK. I did notice that the metal is quite soft, so I didn't mind wrecking the old ones getting them out, but was very careful with the new ones to wrap them in bicycle inner tube before applying the pliers to get them in - and used a bit of WD40 on the threads to ease their passage. I think there are some versions that have a slot cut into the bottom of the conical bit so that you can use a screwdriver, but I'm not sure what the purist way of getting pins without this in again (or out), I guess if you wanted to you could fit a second 'locknut' and then tighten the two against each other so that you have something other than the threads or the outer circumference of the conical bit to get a spanner on (in preference to pliers!), a second locknut probably wouldn't foul anything once on, but not much help if your challenge is getting the old ones out. Perhaps if you don't care about wrecking them you could cut your own slots into the bottom - like I said, they are quite soft metal...

EddySpaghetti · May 10, 2011

BTW, the car failed its MOT on rusty sills. Not sure how fair that is given that they are non-structural, but there's a part of me that feels relieved that the game is up and its time for me to invest some (hopefully not tooooo serious) money getting them all fixed up.

I'm going away for a few months work abroad so i've left the car with a bodyshop to have a look at them while I'm away and sort them out as a fill-in job, hopefully reducing the cost a bit. I'll get a quote from them soon when they do a thorough inspection and I guess I;ll be another contributor able to comment on the cost / quality of the job done. Despite the outlay I'm expecting (~2k), I am looking forward to a well sorted car that I can take on another jaunt to Europe (possibly taking int he Nurburgring) later in the summer...

pauljmcnulty · May 10, 2011

BTW, the car failed its MOT on rusty sills. Not sure how fair that is given that they are non-structural

Sills aren't structural in themselves, but where they rot is. We call it "rusty sills", but it's the bit at the back where the rear torsion beam and the seat belts attach that first shows signs of corrosion on the outer sills. [&o]

EddySpaghetti · May 16, 2011

*With Fingers in the Ears* "Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb - sorry I can't hear you"

I'll post when I find out how bad the news is, but I'm not so far along that the torsion tube and seat belt mountings are knackered - that sounds potentially terminal.

the text of the MOT fail was something like: offside front sill area, nearside rear wheel arch - so I'm hoping the rot isn't in the 'front of the rear wheel arch' area, but there's only one way to find out I guess...

As a demonstration of my complete unwillingness to accept the fact that my car may be dead, here's a question for you:

"Where can I get the little porsche crests that go in the wheelcap centres?" - I have the caps (repainted), but the original crests have already had an abortive attempt to repaint them in their lifetime and i'd like to get smart new ones if I could. Also; "how do you attach them?" - there appear to be small rivet holes in the caps, but i'm not familiar with anything other than pop-rivetting and obviously that isn't the right answer because they are supposed to be decorative!

Cheers, and cross your fingers for me boys!

Eddy