Sonia's Driver

Hello,

I have a 1993 Del Sol S.
Among other problems, the trunk latch isn't latching very well. In order to make the latch catch, the trunk must be shut very hard.

About 1.5 years ago, I overloaded the trunk during a move, and had to slam it shut. After that, it was requiring a very forceful slam w/ follow-through every time it was closed, and the required impact was hurting my wrist. Last week, I removed the latch mechanism (I broke one bolt extractor in the process because the screws were so tight, even though I'd been spraying it with penetrating lube for a month.) I used a lot of liquid wrench brand regular lubricant on it and worked it a lot, then reinstalled. I couldn't find anything actually broken about it, and the trunk lid itself doesn't appear to be bent, and the portion of the latch that is on the lid looks fine. The latch mechanism only catches when the nader pin travels to the very bottom limit of the catch.

After all the attention, the trunk just requires a regular slam to latch. It wasn't this hard to latch before.
Does anyone else have this issue? How far down does the nader pin have to go before the latch engages it? Is there any way to adjust the height of the nader pin? Do think I should just get another latch mechanism?

Thanks for your advice.

Sonia's Driver

Nobody else has ever had an issue with their trunk latch?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Have you TRIED adjusting it?

Mattdg67

Sounds like you need to adjust the latch and move it up for it to catch correctly. If you have to push it down chances are the latch is too far down for it to catch.

C-Zar

i think i know what your problem is.... oh and you wont be able to adjust the latch, because there is no way to do that...

but the problem is that the latch has a broken plastic lever where the pin on the trunk hits it to push it down to lock. if you look closer you might be able to see it.. the best solution is to get a new latch..

Sonia's Driver

Thanks C-Zar.
You are correct - the latch is absolutely not adjustable. I suppose that the nader pin on the trunk lid could be shimmed, but then the trunk wouldn't seal correctly.

Unfortunately, when I removed the latch and inspected it, I was unable to identify anything specific piece that was broken or missing. However, I still came to the same conclusion that you did - that there was a piece in the latch that should engage and pull the lid down, but that was missing for some reason. I was unable to identify any broken pieces, unfortunately. the plastic piece must have completely broken off.

I'll just replace the trunk latch mechanism.

Thanks for your help.

C-Zar

^^^^^^^ No Problem^^^^^^^
yeah the best way to fix it, would be replacing the latch... it might even be a perfect time to upgrade to the one from a 95+ the one that unlocks from the inside!!

Red_Army

^^that is a nice feature...

Sonia's Driver

Fixed!
Alas, the one I got was from a '94 at my local junkyard - no remote trunk release.

I tried to get the seats while I was at it, but the fool in charge wanted $50 each for some totally destroyed seats. All I needed was one of the rails anyway, and they were very rusted. :-(

Thanks for the help!