Durn it all. I was VERY proud of myself for reading the forums and listening to Dr. Bob and learning that I could secure the rear hatch of my '87 928 S4 by loosening the allen bolts on the female (car) side of the hatch latch and pushing it towards the rear of the car to re-secure. That seemed to have helped until today when I went to close the hatch and instead of sealing, it bounced back up. On investigation, i found it isn't closing well, and I can, once again, release the hatch just by pulling hard. What's my next move?

 

try adding a piece of thick plastic strip to the rear edge of the male (Hatchside) say about an 1/16 of an inch, or try a piece half that, otherwise the you might also have to reduce the length of the hatch level by turning in the rubbers at the corners of the hatch

 

I placed a 2/16" plastic strip under the REAR edge of the door side of the latch. This has resulted in reliable opening and closing.

 

Thanks MrMerlin and 84totheFloor. Could either of you take a picture of what you're talking about? I'm having a tough time picturing where the plastic would go and not keep getting knocked off...

 

Open the hatch let it go all the way up.

Look at the part on the hatch (the male end)that goes into the body.

Loosen the 2 screws that hold the male end onto the hatch.,so it wiggles a bit.

Place the shim on the rear edge of this part tighten the screws back down.

Close the hatch gently to see if the male end needs to be adjusted for lining up .
Once the male end fits close the hatch it should stay closed

 

Two problems:

One alignment - Remove the female return when aligning. It makes things easier and it's only a couple of bolts and one wire.

Two - Spend the money to replace female latch part on the body. I tried all the plastic tips and they just didn't work over the long haul. You can usually find one used for about 40-60 bucks and well worth it.

 

I now perfectly understand the suggestion. Thank you. Will try it tonight.