944 Rear Hatch Problem

[drraulduke]

I have a 1986 944 N/A that I just recently bought a few months ago. I've been noticing a small leak in the corner of the rear hatch area on the passenger side. It is not coming in through the latch mechanism, but rather is pooling on the corner of the body, then building up and coming in over the seal. For a while, i just couldn't understand how this was happening, but then I noticed that the entire hatch seems to be miss-aligned (if that's the proper word). The entire hatch seems to be shifted to the drivers side by several millimeters, such that when it is closed the left side hatch frame sits outside of the seal and the right side (where the leak is) sits on top of the seal.

I have the rear ceiling panel out to access the hinge bolts, thinking that there has got to be a way to align the hatch. Before I do this I wanted to see if anybody knew for sure that this was possible, or had any other ideas. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

[wvicary]

Inspect the upper area of the glass where it attaches to the frame, I've seen the glass become de-bonded from the hatch frame work and cause a gap were water can enter.

[drraulduke]

Inspect the upper area of the glass where it attaches to the frame, I've seen the glass become de-bonded from the hatch frame work and cause a gap were water can enter.

Hey Wvicary,

Thanks again for the advice. I guess i should clarify exactly where the leak is coming in. I don't think that it is coming in through the frame, but I will double check that to make sure. So the leak is coming in just to the right of the passenger side rear hatch pin/latch mechanism on the very back of the hatch, and is right at the corner. I've sat out in the rain to watch it, and have sat in the car to watch it as well while it is raining (I keep it covered now when it rains). Is there a way that the entire hatch can be aligned incorrectly? I can see it very clearly when i look at the back of the car and it seems that the entire hatch is over to the driver's side by several millimeters.

[wvicary]

Yes it can be adjusted. You can adjust the hinges to some degree and also latching pins and their mating points.

[drraulduke]

Yes it can be adjusted. You can adjust the hinges to some degree and also latching pins and their mating points.

Thanks! I've already switched out the old pins for new stainless steel ones so I will just take remove them while I try to adjust the hinges and then also adjust the pin mating points. Thanks for the help!

[drraulduke]

Inspect the upper area of the glass where it attaches to the frame, I've seen the glass become de-bonded from the hatch frame work and cause a gap were water can enter.

Hey Wvicary,

Thanks again for the advice. I guess i should clarify exactly where the leak is coming in. I don't think that it is coming in through the frame, but I will double check that to make sure. So the leak is coming in just to the right of the passenger side rear hatch pin/latch mechanism on the very back of the hatch, and is right at the corner. I've sat out in the rain to watch it, and have sat in the car to watch it as well while it is raining (I keep it covered now when it rains). Is there a way that the entire hatch can be aligned incorrectly? I can see it very clearly when i look at the back of the car and it seems that the entire hatch is over to the driver's side by several millimeters.

You were right. I spent a bit of time trying to adjust the hatch hinges, the latching pins and their mating points to no avail. I started spraying water on the car and then running inside the back of the car to watch what happens in the hatch. I started seeing some water seeping in along side of the hatch and then rolling down towards the back. It's funny, because the window seal seems to be intact, but i guess the glass has become de-bonded, as you said. I know what I'll be doing the next time we have a few nice days in a row. I've seen some detailed instructions on re-sealing the hatch glass to the frame on Clarks Garage and Pelican Parts, but have you or anybody done this and have any other advice? Thanks!

Edited February 1, 2010 by drraulduke

[pattonlowe]

drraulduke

Were you able to correct the problem yourself? If so, do you have any suggestions. I am having the same problem. I checked the local auto glass shop and they wanted $300 labor with no guarantee on the glass. Thanks.

Patton.

[wvicary]

Find another glass shop. This isn't rocket science, just a matter of removing the glass from the frame, cleaning it correctly and re-bonding it. I think my friend got his done including tinting for $100 bucks.

[CUL8TR]

Find another glass shop. This isn't rocket science, just a matter of removing the glass from the frame, cleaning it correctly and re-bonding it. I think my friend got his done including tinting for $100 bucks.

Whoa, be careful. I believe your friend may have had the tint done, and the tint guy may have added some adhesive to the area. I personally have seen it shatter into infinite little pieces from trying to remove the glass from the frame. Hhmmm 86 car, it has aged 24 years. The old adhesive is rock hard. I was using a special M/B window separation tool, when mine shattered. It is not just the affected area, you have to remove the entire frame, in order to correctly seal it, or have it move back up into place. I was well past the top, and bending around the side area, when POP, it just shattered. plus a large hour or so of my time. Just take your time, and budget a couple of hours. It is a process you DO NOT hurry through, and wear eye protection as well.

[pattonlowe]

Thanks for the advice. I finally got around to doing this myself. It took much longer than expected. Removing all the trim was very tricky. I ended up needing to replace several screws and modified a screw driver to fit over the slotted nuts. I removed the glass using guitar strings. I then spent hours cleaning the frame of adhesive, sanding and repainting. A friend and I reinstalled the frame, applied 3M windshield adhesive and set the glass in place. After letting the glass set up, I reinstalled the trim. The last thing was to reattach the shocks. The glass seperated within days of reattaching the shocks. bummer. I'll be redoing this when it warms up (I hear the glass is less likely to break when it's warm). I think my problem was that I tried to center the glass in the frame rather than moving it as far forward as possilbe. The top part of the frame has the least surface area and it seems to make sense to use all of it you can.