Hatch refuses to close ('99 Z28)
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Teching In
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 25
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Hatch refuses to close ('99 Z28) This actually happened when I went to view the car back in November and has happened intermittently since then. This evening it took me about 45 mins before I finally managed to get the hatch to stay closed. Basically, when I bring the hatch down it just bounces back up off the lever on the latch and, no matter how hard I try and close it, or how hard I press down on the hatch (actually have sore wrists from this evening's attempts to close it), it just won't click onto the latch. I adjusted the rubber bumpers on the corners of the hatch, but that made no difference. In the end I used a screwdriver to push the lever on the lock mechanism down as far as I possibly could and then, finally, the arm that comes over the top of the striker on the hatch locked into place (around my screwdriver). When I unlocked the mechanism with with the key to remove my screwdriver and then went to close hatch, it closed first time. Does it sound like I need a new lock mechanism? Thanks guys.
Usually people have problems with the hatch the other way around (it won't release or spring up) or they accidentally throw the latch without closing the hatch. (A single cycle with the screwdriver usually clears that.)
If I remember correctly, a good deal of force needs to be put on the latch (using a screwdriver, etc.) for it to close in order to simulate the weight of the hatch.
If using a screwdriver clears your intermittent problem, then something has got to be out of alignment. If the latch was bad, it would act up with the screwdriver, as well.
How do your hatch hinges look? Some people have had problems with these ripping away from the car, which would cause the hatch to wobble or not close straight.
Here's a thread with some other members who have had a similar problem. I don't see any solutions, but you might want to hop in this thread to see if any of these folks found out anything groundbreaking: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...ease-help.html
If I remember correctly, a good deal of force needs to be put on the latch (using a screwdriver, etc.) for it to close in order to simulate the weight of the hatch.
If using a screwdriver clears your intermittent problem, then something has got to be out of alignment. If the latch was bad, it would act up with the screwdriver, as well.
How do your hatch hinges look? Some people have had problems with these ripping away from the car, which would cause the hatch to wobble or not close straight.
Here's a thread with some other members who have had a similar problem. I don't see any solutions, but you might want to hop in this thread to see if any of these folks found out anything groundbreaking: https://ls1tech.com/forums/general-m...ease-help.html
