1981 Shark

Does anyone have recommendations on adjusting the rear hatch latch and what will determine when adjustment is no longer a choice and a when new parts or a new hatch is needed? The hatch does shut well and seems to seal OK, but there is some "play". However, this "play" may be contributing to battery drain.

Is there some type of shim that can be adjusted before getting into a latch?

The last thing I want is to adjust too much and not have it latch properly. Thanks.

SharkSkin

Look for wear on the latch itself. Some pix here.

1981 Shark

Dave,

Do you mean on the white, nylon part? If so, what kind and how much wear is too much? Not to sound ignorant, but, oh well, you get the idea... Thanks!

David

jpitman2

If the white liner is missing, you need to at least buy a used unit - I had to in the end to get rid of squeaks etc. There was in mine a steel plate shim ~1mm under the receiver - removing this can give you a tighter shut, but it may take more force to get it closed. Some have had success by packing the rear edge of the receiver up with washers or small coins, to change the angle. There is some slack in the bolts allowing for some sideways latitude, but not a lot. What exactly is your problem? Mine was noise, missing liner, and the top tongue was cracked which I though was allowing it to bend under load, so I replaced both parts.
HTH
jp 83 Euro S AT 49k

SharkSkin

Yep, that's it. I'd say that more than .5 to 1 mm is too much. IIRC the white plastic piece was about $5, and it took some care and attention to swap it out. Alternatively, you can spend about $120 on the complete latch plus $60 to get it re-keyed.

scirocco

check this old post of mine for some pics of a really worn hatch-latch..
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/165863-what-does-a-good-hatch-latch-look-like.html

1981 Shark

Dave - When you say "care and attention", how difficult would you rate the switch of parts?


Jpitman "What exactly is your problem? Mine was noise, missing liner, and the top tongue was cracked which I though was allowing it to bend under load, so I replaced both parts."

I have not yet done a "complete" inspection to compare to Dave's and sciroco's pics. However, no real problems, but am wondering if latch and the fit may be an electrical drain culprit. When you say you replaced both parts, which two are you referring two? How would you rate the difficulty?


Scirocco,

Where does your repair stand at this point? Did you finish? If so, how would you rate the difficulty?

Thanks.

rixter

I don't see how "play" in the hatch latch would cause a battery drain
I would check the ground strap and perhaps replace it to see if that is causing the drain
the "play" could be either the nylon piece or perhaps one of the latch sections is moving around due to a loose or broken bolt, either is fairly easy to fix BTDT on both of these issues
hope that helps

User 4221

Hi David,
The rubber-like receiver part was replaced about 2 months prior to your purchase as the previous one disintegrated.

If you suspect the hatch switch is not behaving properly, you can access the connection to the pin switch by removing the tool cover. The tool cover can be removed without removing any audio components.



<------ Look, Post number 1000! Kewl!

HTH,
Scott

SharkSkin

It's very easy. The third pic on that page shows the rivet after I pressed it out and then put it back in. The trick to re-using the rivet IMHO is to use a small-diameter drift pin to knock it out. If you use too large of a drift, the swaged end on the rivet won't have room to fold inward. If you're getting it with a new rivet just carefully drill the old one to remove the swaging, avoiding the casting as much as possible. There is a spring in there that will want to fly out and get lost in a corner, so be careful taking it apart! It's a bit tricky getting it to go back together but no big deal.

HTH

1981 Shark

Rixter - I'm only trouble shooting for the electrical drain. While I am not certain the "play", which is not much, may be causing the electrical drain, I am only guessing that if it does not allow the interior lights/door light to be totally shut off. If both doors are shut, that's what's left (?) I could be totally wrong on this, but that wouldn't be a first...

In the interim, I've ordered a BatteryMINDer, which should arrive today or Monday and will be installed in short order thereafter. Until I find my "leak", at least I'll be able to "plug and play" when ready.

-Sharkskin -
"There is a spring in there that will want to fly out and get lost in a corner, so be careful taking it apart! It's a bit tricky getting it to go back together but no big deal."

Dave, Usually, I'm all about having parts fly everywhere during a repair, so thanks for the "heads-up". Mankind, as a whole, should be glad I did not choose micro-surgery as my vocation...

hupp

I'm glad this topic got posted. I have noticed a slight mis- misalignment of my hatch as well. The gap where the front of the hatch meets the roof is larger on one side than the other.

Sharkskin,

I've tried your alignment method by loosening the hinge bolts (under plastic covers on the head liner), but when I re-tightened, the hatch tended to move back to its original position - its a little better but not perfect. One thing I noticed while my helper was shifting the hatch (while hinges were loose) is that the hinges were just pivoting around the bolts and not sliding.

My hatch still rattles!

ptiman,

What is this liner you mention. I am familiar with the white nylon latch, but not the liner. Is this on the latch or reciever?

SharkSkin

Scott, take one bolt out of one hinge and have a look at how the holes line up. You should be able to tell if there is actually enough clearance to move it. Maybe there isn't.