Hilton

John, you can buy JB Weld at Jaycar, if your "rockon" means "thanks for the tip".

928Myles

Hi,
I'm still trying to get a replacement aftermarket version of the hatch latch produced so this will become a thing of the past.

Myles

UpFixenDerPorsche

Agreeing strongly as I already use it Hilton, especially the "Steel". Performance of the current range of epoxies is astonishing. Obvious when one has to chip it off an unintended location with a hammer and cold chisel ... so I've heard ...

UpFixenDerPorsche

Myles, the cause of failures needs to be understood otherwise it won't. THe hatch has moved forwards slightly (a few really solid thumps under the nose at speed will do this). This forces the tongue backwards a little when the hatch closes and after a while the tongue cracks.

An aftermarket unit should allow more rearward adjustment to accommodate this.

In fact it may be possible to elongate the mounting holes in the existing latch to move it rearward before repairs. As well as the repaired tongue lasting longer the electric release will also work. Again.

Cheers

UpFixen.

Jerry Feather

UpFixen, I too am working on the development of an aftermarket replacement of both versions of the male part of the Hatch Latch. I am at the earliest stages of the development, but that includes making some adjustments in the design to beef up the areas of the originals that seem to be prone to breaking. That is only part of the solution, in my opinion. Your suggestion about knowing the cause(s) of the failure(s) is important.

This thread has taken a distinct turn from the failure shown by the OP and those about which various cures are suggested. The OP has a failure in the weak side of the tongue, but the cures shown all seem to relate to a broken-off side of the mounting base of the component. They might relate in terms of how they happened, but they are very different is terms of cure.

I think both aspects of the male latch piece can be improved to resist failure, but the cause(s) of each or either is kind of a mystery, to me.

Your theory about the hatch moving upon some thumps under the front at speed is not supported by any data that I am aware of. I have never seen any suggestion that the hatch is on the move, under any circumstances. However, it does appear that at least the break in the tongue of the latch must certainly be caused by some force from the front of the latch. I have to wonder where that is coming from.

I have no idea where the force is coming from to break the wing of the latch base off, except from slamming the hatch down uncarefully.

The only idea I can glean from all of this is that maybe one should reduce the forward edge of the tongue in order to reduce the propensity of it to be forced against the insert in the receiver.The result is that an aftermarket design of this component may ought to be designed to include both beefing up the component in the weak areas and to increase the spacing for forward movement of the tongue. Maybe that is what I will do.

Making the component with more adjustment fore and aft will be useful, but only after the latch has failed because of the supposed forward displacement of the hatch. No one will know that they need to adjust the latch aft until after it has broken.

928Myles

UpFixen:
I too am keen to see any data on what the cause of the breakages is.

Form my own reading there are parts of the male part of the latch that are weak and my efforts have been to beef those parts up to make them stronger. My understanding is that mis-alignments is responsible for the failures but would like to be educated further if this is in-correct. It is in nobody's interest for a new part to be made that also fails in the same way.

Jerry,
I see little point in both of us putting in the development hours etc for a part with a very limited market. Would you be keen for us to communicate via PM to discuss where we are at?

Myles

M. Requin

My WAG, based on my limited experience, is that if the adjustable rubber stops on the aft corners of the hatch are adjusted too loose, on rough surfaces the hatch can move quite a bit vertically, and I think it is this motion that causes the "wings" on the latch to break. Note that the stops do not have to be so loose that the hatch can be moved up and down by hand, just loose enough to allow movement when going over surfaces like washboards on gravel roads. I have plenty of experience with this environment, over 60K miles worth, and I have seen the hatch move when these stops are loose enough, and can therefore infer that it moves when they are not tight enough (two different degrees of looseness, one easily visible, one not). This is why the "wings" break next to the nose piece- they are being held rigid to the hatch by the fasteners, while the nose piece is trying to stay connected to the female latch piece on the car body. The stress is concentrated where the wings come together with the nose piece.

Jerry Feather

Martin, I think that the "wings" can be redesigned to provide more resistance to the kind of breakage you have experienced. Too, maybe depending on just what metal these components are made of, I would think the wing could be tig welded back on.

The real issue is the crack on the weak side of the tongue. It too can be made thicker to help resist breakage, but it is still not clear just how they get broken there. Maybe the same up and down force you describe. In which case about all that can be done is to make it heavier in that location also. And, as I think Myles suggested in his thread about these, use a better alloy when casting new ones.

M. Requin

I think TIG welding is possible, and perhaps the low temp alloy brazing referred to elsewhere. And I certainly agree with you and Myles, a better alloy would go a long way towards solving the problem. That hatch is so heavy I think there is more stress on these parts than the original design can accommodate, although it must be admitted the latches seem to last longer than the door handle hinges!

928Myles

Martin,
all efforts at welding my broken one failed. Even the low temp alloy brazing was unsucessfule due to the low melting point of the original material.

Myles

M. Requin

My "efforts" have not been successful, either, so I haven't even tried it on these parts. No need to add to the collection of unrecognizable melted lumps, at least not by beginning with a part I can't replace...