Engine Hatch Removal

It's easier to pull/install the driveline with the rear deck lid removed. It's a two man job. One guy holds the lid open while the other disconnects the lift shocks. Tap out the hinge pins (if they haven't been out in a while, penetrating oil helps) The lid will stay balanced on the hinges until you lift them off. Grab a hold of the lid one on each side and remove. Putting it back on is just as easy.

I have done what Dennis said and I have also removed the 6 bolts from the hinges. Removing the hinge pins was the better way for me - it saved me from having to align the decklid after re-installing the hinge bolts. Use a small hammer when tapping out the hinge pins and take short swings.

John

Thanks guys, that's what I will do.

Went to do this today and the pin is right on a line with the weatherstrip channel, it doesn't look like it will go past the channel, any ideas?

thanks

quote:

it doesn't look like it will go past the channel, any ideas?

You are probably right.

The pins have a head end, and that end has to be towards the inside for removal to be an option.

I do not know what was stock, but many owners have been able to drive them out without problems.

Perhaps someone switched your hinges way back when?

In your case, you are stuck removing the hinge bolts. I'd undo the lid bolts first and take the lid off. Then remove the halves bolted to the body so you can switch the direction of the pins.

Realigning the deck lid after removing the hinges is a real pain. You REALLY need two or three sets of hands. You run the risk of setting it too far forward, and when it travels in full arc upwards, the lid corners can contact the body. Take your time and be careful.

Once you have things back together, any future R&R should be very easy.

A good trick for getting things like this back in the same place is to drill small indexing holes between the movable parts and the fixed parts they bolt to. You might consider doing this after things are all back together; but in this case probably not really needed.

This is however a very good trick if you ever remove a headlight bucket from the mounting plate on the cross arm. Remove the lights and their alignment housings, but before removing the four nuts that hold the painted housing/bucket, drill two alignment holes through the bucket into the mounting plate.

Getting a headlight bucket to have even gaps on all four corners can be a pain, but with the alignment holes, a couple of proper sized nails can get you right back where you started.

Larry

I reached up through the fender wells and fastned my deck lid back on, went smooth.. easy...

I just got my car yesterday, and the first thing I noticed was the rear deck alignment was off. As you lifted the lid, it caught right in the centre and had chipped paint badly off the deck lid. (Roof is okay), and also off the corners where the roof rolls around.

I undid the 6 bolts and pulled it was back and now have clearances, but the alignment doesn't look right at all. Too much gap near the roof end and I think it's sitting a little high.

Do the hinges fit straight onto the body, or are there shim plates between the hinges and the body that would space the hinges down. I would think that as the hatch opens, the forward edge should go in under the roof and to do this, the hinges must be spaced down?

It's a common problem and difficult one to solve without losing some of the alignment aesthetics.

Often too powerful shocks are used and the mounting point close to the hinge warps the decklid a little. Does your deecklid open easily and want to raise up under it's own shock power? With a wing it should barely be enough to hold it open. You can shim the hinges or even take them off and bend them at the pin joint a little if the deck lid sits too high.

Check the decklid itself for warping on the outer upper edges, indications are flush in the middle of the roofline and too high at the outer edge.

The right shocks help and some have moved the mounting points for the shocks. Ted Mitchell offers an alternative style sprung opener that helps alleviate the problem.

Only way I solved mine was to remove the decklid shocks altogether.

Julian

Thanks Julian,

The deck opens nicely and feels weighty enough to lift, yet it holds up quite well when fully lifted. It certainly doesn't appear to want to lift under its own accord.

So when the hinges are fitted normally, I take it that there is no shim at all and that the hinges fit directly to the under roof panel?

I actually used my engine puller to hold up the lid while I removed the bolts. I know it's kind of redneck but it worked. I tied rope in an X pattern on the lid with a loop in the center. Took off the struts then raised the lid to take the weight off the hinges. I marked an outline where the hinges were and noted the shim locations and took the bolts out. I pulled the engine and ZF together after removing the AC. I installed every thing in reverse order. The lid was quite simple to bolt back up and align because I marked where it was originally.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply. So there are shims under the hinges? Any idea on thickness or what the shims looked like so I can make some up.

And these shims went between the hinge plate and the body of the car, which effectively pushed the hinge downwards, away from the roof?

They are U shaped like wheel alignment shims. They were different thickness' and yes it "pushed" the hinge downwards away from the roof. I could not hammer the rods out of the hinge's also, which most likely would have been easier.

U shaped that just slipped over each bolt stem?

If you popped your hatch now, could you guestimate the thicness of the shims, or the set down from the roof?

Thanks,

Rob.

There was not a shim for each bolt for some reason. They are between the hinge and the body. I'll look when I get home Rob..