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I finally got off of my *** and started working on the shark. I have amassed almost all parts needed to do top and front refresh, rebuild coolant system (entirely), power steering system, and several incidentals (like a new hatch lock). New DieHard battery today too!
Anyway, I finally drilled the rear brace to be able to open the hatch for the first time since I've owned her. I removed the lock, and receiver and am wondering if the hatch receiver needs to be replaced instead of just the insert. One side of the insert looks mangled, like it has been forced to the point of the plastic stretching out of place. Look at the picture and let me know if I should anticipate a problem and replace the whole receiver or just go with a new insert. It may be a stupid question, but if you look at the lower side of the hatch, you can see there is a larger gap where the circular molded spots are. Sorry for the crappy pix.
Tough to tell from the pics but a new insert should work if you also adjust the motor height. make sure the 1 amp fuse is working and adjust down untill the hatch pops
The first version of the Hatch Latch Receiver had a plastic liner that goes all the way around the groove in the top. Ths second one had a gap in the top front of the plastic liner and it had a piece of plastic as part of the liner that went across the bottom front. The third version was designed for the remote latch release mechanism and I think started in 83 or 84.
Here is a picture of the second version of the receiver which has the gap in the front of the top and is intended to have a tab across the bottom of the front. That is the first picture.
The second picture is the last version with the mechanism for the remote release. Its not a whole lot better than your pictures, but I have taken it three times and for some reason the camera does not want to focus on it.
The third picture is what I think was a later factory conversion of the last version into the second version by milling off the front of the body to remove the tangs or tabs for the release mechanism. That is what I think you have in your pictures.
At first I thought you had the last version with the mechanism tangs/tabs broken off, but I found this one in my spare parts just like what I think you have, and it is not broken but changed on purpose.
Yours looks like it has the liner in it, so, if you don't have the remote release function I suspect there is nothing wrong with yours. Better pictures will be required to make a better determination from here.
Thanks, Jerry. Mine is like the third one of your pictures. I thought it was deformed from the heat out here in Vegas or something. I will probably get a new insert, as there is a small piece broken from mine. Brand new lock, so may as well do it right while I'm in there. I haven't put it all back together to see how well it latches, but will probably try it tomorrow when I get home from work. I will go ahead and buy an insert, as I need hatch struts as well anyway. Thanks again for the clarification, and I'm going to have to get a better camera.
I replaced the complete hatch receiver from 928 Intl - took about 30 minutes, plug and play, worked great straight out of the box, no adjustments required. Only way to go if you value your time.
Some remote releases fail due to the bush in the operating arm at the lever collapsing. If you meet this case, I have some brass bushes on hand that can fix this issue, with a little hand fettling. My car doesnt have a remote release, so its never affected me.
jp 83 Euro S AT 53k.
I got it put back together this afternoon. Perfect fit the first time aligning. It is closing fine and no rattles, even though the insert has a broken corner. Mine is an '83 Euro too, JP, so no hatch release. I appreciate everyone's advice...I will be posting a lot more soon. I think the top end refresh will be next.
I'm striving to replace the white/now yellow plastic insert in the rear hatch lock.
there are forums and videos on it and it seems a little trickier than just removing the hatch lock, scrapping out the old plastic insert, then heating up and inserting a new plastic insert?
Can anyone help with some tips before i go down this road as I dont want to open a can of worms. do i just loosen the two blue arrow screws? then remove the old plastic insert? then heat up and force into place a new plastic insert?
Get a 3/8 drive extension thats 6 inches long a thin screw driver flat blade
thats all you need
with the screwdriver pry the broken pieces out,
they will fall to the bottom of the latch then come out the bottom.
With the extension put the bigger end on the white round plastic part and push down.
this should free up any other bits of the old insert.
Then get the new insert and fit it to the latch,
then press down with the extension and slide the insert into place.
After fitting the part make sure that all the feet are under the inner edges and the upper pins are in the insert.
I use DC111 on the insert to make the upper part slide easier.
Adjustment of latch.
Then close the hatch lid so the upper is into the lower,
then look from the glass down to see how the side to side alignment is
you want the white tang to be even to its cutout then from the back .
Then front to back,
look from the rear, open the hatch enough to see where its inserting.
you want this to be even as well.
Once your happy tighten the bolts,
then test the close.
See if the hatch pull will open the hatch,
if not cut a ziptie and place it under the aft edge of the upper latch,
this will tilt the lower tip forward to enhance the opening of the actuator,
then retest the latch pull..
NOTE you may have to move the lower latch forward or back to make the opening cycle work
NOTE you may have to readjust the up down of the motor drive arm on the lower receptacle
Lights NOTE,
disconnect the rear 2 pin ground connector for the lower latch and leave it disconnected.
this will remove dead battery issues and other battery drain issues as the hatch switch working will turn on,
the door edge lamps, interior lights and the light relay will be energized the whole time the hatch is open,
or a door is open .
Interior light issues are usually the result of one or more of the lamps being miswired,
and or a lamp shorted out and melted, or the the lamp harness melted
Thanks MrMerlin. Will the new insert go right in? There's a video of a guy struggling with it - having to heat it up. And even then i'm not sure the new insert fit in snug.
My hesitation is i'm going to have to do the motor and some of the other manual latch adjustments with zip ties and metal pieces.
So my first goal is to tackle the easiest task - the replacement of the insert.
Any thoughts/advice much appreciated on the restoration of the rear hatch lock as this might all tie to my interior lights not working properly due to the rear hatch/lock/light mechanism triggering the functionality of all the interior lights - in particular my passenger side interior door footwell light.
I didn't have to heat up the insert at all. The ones I bought (from 2 different suppliers) were pretty pliable, so I don't know the benefit to heating the part. For sure, @Mrmerlin is a solid source for guidance.
To the extent that I can contribute anything, I found that depressing that center cylinder thing was necessary to get the bottom part of the new receiver seated. There's also a little play in it, so you can sort of push it down and angle it away (a little bit) from the front of the car (I think, but it may be the opposite) to create a some space. I remember when I was looking down there that the tightness for insertion was due to some squeezing down at the bottom and just a little bit of space was all I needed to get it to go in and seat itself.
If you follow the instructions provided the insert will go right in ,
NO heating required
Though if you soaked it in a glass of hot water it will be more pliable. Its not necessary.