Driving down the road today in 105 degree heat (boy, does this car HATE hot weather, it had to be down at least 50hp!), I hit a very small bump in the road, hear a muted pop, then I notice some wind noise, look back, and see the rear hatch is sitting open about 2". Crap!
I go home, yank the rear trim panel, and find that the amazingly brittle plastic GM used to mold the gearbox out of cracked at the bolt holes. All 3 of the torx-headed self-tappers pulled right out and severely damaged the plastic gearbox. What a terrible design... a critical item that sees abuse from people slamming the decklids, jars from road hazards, etc, and they use the plastic gearbox to hold the darn thing to the car?
What the heck was GM thinking molding a stressed item, especially one that holds down the rear hatch, out of such a brittle plastic? There's a nice metal bracket that the motor attaches to, why not have the stamped steel bracket bolt to the latch plate in the car instead of that really brittle plastic? Argh. I guess being a mechanical engineer I'm quick to anger about poorly designed parts which would have taken very simple steps and minimal efforts to improve.
(end venting)
After getting a price on a new assembly from my local GM dealer (my price was $320 for a new latch assembly, including the pulldown motor... I was told I cannot purchase just the motor and gearbox. List was $428!), looks like tomorrow I'll hit up the local wrecking yards. I plan on getting as many good ones as I can-- 4 or 5 if possible! I have a little reinforcement plate I made out of .125" aluminum for the two upper bolt holes-- rather than let screws tap into the plastic and cause stress risers, I'll use some 10-32 nuts and bolts and clamp the sucker in place.
What a pain in the butt...
did I mention my rear main is still leaking?
Still, I love this car...
Also, is this (see pic below) the buildsheet, or is there another? If there's another, where should I look? I found this particular sheet under the carpet after removing the rear trim to get to the pulldown motor.
Is this the build sheet?
I go home, yank the rear trim panel, and find that the amazingly brittle plastic GM used to mold the gearbox out of cracked at the bolt holes. All 3 of the torx-headed self-tappers pulled right out and severely damaged the plastic gearbox. What a terrible design... a critical item that sees abuse from people slamming the decklids, jars from road hazards, etc, and they use the plastic gearbox to hold the darn thing to the car?
What the heck was GM thinking molding a stressed item, especially one that holds down the rear hatch, out of such a brittle plastic? There's a nice metal bracket that the motor attaches to, why not have the stamped steel bracket bolt to the latch plate in the car instead of that really brittle plastic? Argh. I guess being a mechanical engineer I'm quick to anger about poorly designed parts which would have taken very simple steps and minimal efforts to improve.
(end venting)
After getting a price on a new assembly from my local GM dealer (my price was $320 for a new latch assembly, including the pulldown motor... I was told I cannot purchase just the motor and gearbox. List was $428!), looks like tomorrow I'll hit up the local wrecking yards. I plan on getting as many good ones as I can-- 4 or 5 if possible! I have a little reinforcement plate I made out of .125" aluminum for the two upper bolt holes-- rather than let screws tap into the plastic and cause stress risers, I'll use some 10-32 nuts and bolts and clamp the sucker in place.
What a pain in the butt...
did I mention my rear main is still leaking?
Still, I love this car...
Also, is this (see pic below) the buildsheet, or is there another? If there's another, where should I look? I found this particular sheet under the carpet after removing the rear trim to get to the pulldown motor.
Is this the build sheet?
