Rear latch pin broke at mid-shank, now what?
 

Anybody done this lately, and have positive recommendation of replacement sources? I've checked some of the usual suspects, all of whom so far do ripoff shipping charges. Who sells these without gouging on shipping?

As a practical matter, are stainless pins worth it, or is it better to use the old style OEM with the screwdriver slot for easier adjustment?

And, since it broke mid-shank, will I have to drill it out? Or remove the whole fitting with triple-square bit, then what?

Try your local Porsche dealer, where you won't be paying shipping. Slots are nice, but unnecessary.

check ebay for stainless steel hatch pins. You will also need the square pieces that the pin screws into (use a bit of glue to hold it in place)... No more rust, no more broken pins. It's not often that you can make a permanent improvement to your car for $50.

Thanks, guys, that helps.

Stainless lasts forever without corrosion, but the slotted pins are easy to adjust and can be treated with anti-seize, so which is better?

And, how likely is it that the original rubber nuts need replacement?

If you don't have corrosion on the pin and the nuts, there is no need for a slot. I have done antiseize and the factory nuts still rust.

Of course, you could use antiseize on the stainless steel threads. Some people use two condoms at a time.

Can you double-nut the bolt and remove it that way? Removing and re-installing the triple square was not hard for me. Once the triple squares are removed you may be able to remove the bolt from the rubber retainer/nut that's inside the latch metal piece.

you will have to replace the rubber nut with the pin for sure, and then grease them really well, also make sure that the pin receiver still has its basket intact

BTW, what size triple square bit fits the pin mount?

Does that size bit also fit the CV joint bolts?

Buy a set, that way you will have every one that you might ever need.

I recommend the kit from 944 online, it comes with the rubber nuts new washers, and pins. It is the cheapest option I found, and they are all zinc plated making it very unlikely to fail again. I did a video on this here ( ). You will not have to drill it out as they have little rubber nuts on the back that pop in and out (see video for clarity)

Thanks for posting the video and for the timely response to my quesiton.

Update: The video says the triple square bolts holding the lock pins are M8. Would you please recheck this, as the triple square bolts on my '86 951 are smaller than M8, which won't fit. Ideas?

That is rather odd, do you have a picture? Are they small enough to be m6s?

PET has them at M6 x 16 (early car,) driver size might be different.

I could have said it wrong in the video, m8 does seem too large. I wish it was the first time I said the wrong socket size.

Maybe it's an M5 triple square, as my 5mm Allen wrench just fits, but my 5.5 mm and 6mm Allens are too big and my brand new triple square M8 is WAY too big.

Reading prior posts on this topic, a German member noted that it is M5. Another poster cites the Porsche parts catalogue, which says M6. It's mostly a goose chase to find such bit here locally.

Anybody know for sure which size this triple square bolt is?