HarrisonH

Alright, how do I go about aligning the hatch on my 2002 Camaro? It's slid down enough to where it doesn't automatically lift itself when released, and to where whenever it rains hard, the back ends up filling with water.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

No aligning necessary.

The hatch pops up slow when the hatch struts (pistons) go bad. You just need to replace those.

Does the back fill with water when you open it, or when its shut. There is a TSB published by GM that provides guidance to add some additional sealer to stop a problem with water leaking through the hatch.

HarrisonH

Are you sure it's the pistons that are bad? It pops up fine once you lift it clear of the latch, but you can see how it's slipped from how it sticks out some on the back.

The back fills when it's closed. This is the second time it's done it, the first time it had about 3 inches standing, this time it was just very damp.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Maybe. It doesn't sound like your pistons are "bad" - they are just starting to loose some of their spring. The gas slowly leaks out over time and cold temperatures will also impact the force they put out. Now, if your latch is holding on to the hatch, then that's another issue.

This thread has info on the water issue and associated TSB: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...argo-area.html

91RS383

I don't know, it sounds like he's describing that the hatch has come loose at the attachment points at the roofline and actually moved rearward. If you remove the gas pistons completely the hatch should still close in the corect position.

I'd check all the attachment hardware on the car and hatch to see if anything is loose.

HarrisonH

http://imgur.com/8Lk9x&Sj6Ib&hlfrW&e46l7&ZfSLL

Above the image is the links to each one, showing how it's unaligned.

Thanks for the leaky hatch links.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

yea - that's bad. Pictures are good.

What do your hinges look like? It shouldn't be like that.

HarrisonH

http://imgur.com/qbiUP&y5v2S&RZ7cW&2hnbW&7i1UC&PQFmDl

Here's pictures of the hinges.

HarrisonH

Any ideas?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Its hard to see on the picture, but I think there is some shadowing of where the hinge and nuts were on your hatch. It looks like the hatch has just moved on top of those hinges. Were you rear-ended or anything like that?

You should be able to loosen the nuts and put the door back in place. Those nuts should be torqued to 42 Nm or 31 lbft.

BTW - You'll probably have an easier time of this if you remove the struts first, but the hatch will be really heavy - a 2 person job.

HarrisonH

Just an update, got around to doing it. It had been rearended before I got it, and apparently whoever fixed it was incompetent. The passenger side of the hatch is about 1/4" higher than the drivers side, as the metal part on the driver's side that the hatch bumper sits on is bent down. The gap between hatch and fender on the driver's side is about twice that as on the passenger's side.

I guess on the bright side it's not sticking out as badly as it was anymore.

EDIT: Also yeah the struts are bad too.